So in August, I moved from the far east coast of Canada to Edmonton to take a small step up within my hotel chain (associate and sometimes manager in an unofficial capacity to full supervisor at my new property). It was a huge move, a big risk and though the money was definitely there (Alberta is Canada's big money province after all and the city offers a great deal of financial opportunity no matter what industry you're in) but I was unsure about leaving a workplace where I was undeniably valued and had worked for years securing trust and esteem to a new place where I'd essentially be starting from scratch. My old property had what amounted to a glass ceiling: all senior management positions were filled by longterm employees who weren't vacating anytime soon so I would have to wait years for a shot at advancement and would still face a lot of competition as the rare promotions there are hotly fought over. I wasn't going to achieve my goal of running a restaurant by age 30 at my old hotel. So I had to risk starting over in a new city to advance at all.
Well the risk has paid off. Today I was officially promoted to Assistant Outlets Manager in charge of my hotel's restaurant, lounge and in-room dining. I am salaried for the first time in my life, which seems inconsequential but it makes this feel like my first real adult job in a way. What's more is that my direct superior is in contention for her own promotion and in the instance of her getting it, I would be the interim department head until her position is filled which will get me a lot of points for when I eventually vie for that seat. I originally set myself the goal of two years in Edmonton to run my own department but my initial estimates were clearly conservative as now it seems like I'll be running the outlets by summer and have a real shot at officially being the department head by year's end. The General Manager, Operations director and People Resources Director have all told me that they expect big things from me and are keen to groom me as a leader so there's a certain level of pride in this.
The tipping point for the senior management team has been my work with a beta test of transitioning our conventional paper menus to iPad interactive menus. We are the first hotel in our chain to experiment with upgrading in this way and my beta test is going to set the standard for all of our outlets across the country. The actual programing has been outsourced to an independent firm, but I designed all the spreadsheets and point of sale system formulas to compile the beta test data into summarized presentations my manager and I are using to prove to corporate that their investment will lead to increased revenue and guest engagement. And evidently, my work is paying off.
I apologize for the length of this. I so rarely get to indulge in big successes like this that I can't help myself.
Well there's a reason why Alberta is made up of a lot of people from the East Coast. The Atlantic Provinces are poor as hell, and the Edmonton-Calgary corridor has USA-style GDP with a Canadian standard of life, it's incredibly alluring.
And it's only winter here for seven months of the year.
Well the risk has paid off. Today I was officially promoted to Assistant Outlets Manager in charge of my hotel's restaurant, lounge and in-room dining. I am salaried for the first time in my life, which seems inconsequential but it makes this feel like my first real adult job in a way. What's more is that my direct superior is in contention for her own promotion and in the instance of her getting it, I would be the interim department head until her position is filled which will get me a lot of points for when I eventually vie for that seat. I originally set myself the goal of two years in Edmonton to run my own department but my initial estimates were clearly conservative as now it seems like I'll be running the outlets by summer and have a real shot at officially being the department head by year's end. The General Manager, Operations director and People Resources Director have all told me that they expect big things from me and are keen to groom me as a leader so there's a certain level of pride in this.
The tipping point for the senior management team has been my work with a beta test of transitioning our conventional paper menus to iPad interactive menus. We are the first hotel in our chain to experiment with upgrading in this way and my beta test is going to set the standard for all of our outlets across the country. The actual programing has been outsourced to an independent firm, but I designed all the spreadsheets and point of sale system formulas to compile the beta test data into summarized presentations my manager and I are using to prove to corporate that their investment will lead to increased revenue and guest engagement. And evidently, my work is paying off.
I apologize for the length of this. I so rarely get to indulge in big successes like this that I can't help myself.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
My helpdesk should you need me.
Alberta and all their money...
Well there's a reason why Alberta is made up of a lot of people from the East Coast. The Atlantic Provinces are poor as hell, and the Edmonton-Calgary corridor has USA-style GDP with a Canadian standard of life, it's incredibly alluring.
And it's only winter here for seven months of the year.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains