My dear friends, are you becoming "positive and healthy" or still acting like "scheming villains"?
I am still a "positive and healthy person" while SS is acting as both a "scheming villain" and a "shepherd". Therefore, I have entrusted her with the responsibility of meals and hygiene at home, while I mainly focus on eating and self-isolation.
Now, let's talk about the two choices I made at the end of 2022 in terms of work and life. I will also share some of my insights and experiences.
1 Job Transfer#
I transferred from the iOS side to the backend.
The reason behind this was that I casually mentioned during a meeting if there were any opportunities for job transfers within the department. Our HRBP remembered this and later confirmed my intention and reasons for the transfer. At that time, my response was something like, "If there's an opportunity, I would like to give it a try," and "I feel that the backend has more control..."
After a few weeks, there happened to be vacancies for backend positions in other teams within the department. The HRBP approached me again, indicating that I needed to make a decision.
I then scheduled a meeting with the person in charge of the backend team to understand the specific situation. The main points of the conversation were:
- Team situation: organizational structure, team culture, mentorship.
- Market situation: online status, expected profitability.
- Job responsibilities: current tasks, challenges, expectations for me.
(However, looking back, I didn't actively introduce myself. I'll make sure to do it next time.)
In addition to understanding the job situation from the backend team leader and confirming the impact on my compensation with HRBP, I also sought advice from my current leader, seniors, and backend colleagues. I didn't expect to get specific answers from them, but rather wanted to understand if there were any aspects I hadn't considered.
I once read a passage that said, "Our problems generally fall into two categories. One is technical problems with clear answers, such as driving or building a house, etc. The other is adaptive problems without clear answers, such as choosing a romantic partner, personal career transformation, buying a house, investing in stocks, etc. When facing adaptive problems, we shouldn't expect ourselves to provide directly applicable answers to others. It's already great if we can listen, take an objective perspective, and ask valuable questions. The same applies to our expectations when we ask adaptive questions to others."
The questions I asked were actually adaptive questions, and I received some valuable questions in return:
- If you transfer to the backend, what would make you regret it because it doesn't meet your expectations?
- What do you think you would lose if you transfer to the backend?
- Frontend focuses more on users, while backend focuses more on business and technology. Which one do you prefer to deal with?
- Are you someone who enjoys taking risks in life?
I couldn't fully answer these questions, but while I'm still young, why not try more and make mistakes? Besides, this job transfer is not a 180-degree change. The company remains the same, the department remains the same, and the field remains the same. The risks are still manageable.
Well, if one day you also have the need for a job transfer, I hope this sharing can serve as a reference for you: "First, inquire about job transfer opportunities from HRBP. If there is an opportunity, communicate separately with your current leader and the person in charge of the target position, and finally confirm your intention. During this process, you can seek advice from anyone who may provide help, but don't expect to get clear answers."
2 Moving#
I moved from a large single room with a commute time of 40 minutes or 60 minutes to a one-bedroom apartment with a commute time of 20 minutes or 30 minutes.
Due to the long commute time for SS and our different schedules, as well as the decrease in rent caused by the end of the year and the pandemic, we recently moved (which also created the conditions for isolating myself).
As a programmer, this move exposed me to many industries that I was not familiar with before (of course, I also encountered many viruses, so now I'm positive [Doge]). Although we are engaged in different jobs, I can feel their sincere passion for their work, which touched me. For example, the real estate agent who is good at bargaining and arranges housing the night before the viewing, the China Unicom employee who will promptly come to activate the card if the customer applies before 10 pm, and the broadband installation personnel who patiently explained the difference between the modem and router because of my question...
Here are some tips about moving:
- Make an appointment with movers in advance and start packing early. Don't be too optimistic about estimating the amount of your belongings. Start packing a few days in advance, or else you'll have a large workload to finish in one day, which can be exhausting. Also, I thought the "small move" package would be enough, but we ended up making two trips with the "medium move" package.
- Buy cardboard boxes and woven bags in advance. Moving companies won't allow you to pack small items in loose form, as it's difficult to transport and easy to overlook. However, the cardboard boxes and woven bags provided by moving companies have a relatively low cost-effectiveness. For example, this time I spent 50 yuan to buy 2 woven bags, but both of them ended up with a hole after the move.
- Rest well. Moving is physically and mentally demanding. You need to categorize your belongings and arrange them properly in the new home.
- Other tips: Clean the new house in advance, change the locks, set up broadband, report to the community and property management.
PS#
Recently, I discovered a Mac app called AltTab, which allows us to restore the Windows experience when switching between software. Personally, I think it's more convenient for managing multiple browser windows.
Alright, my dear friends, Merry Christmas! Even if you're positive and healthy, remember to take good care of yourself for a month!
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