Oh, the (work)places you will go!





One of my ideas for a book was a collection of stories from my work experiences.  I have had several jobs in the course of my “professional” life and with each one there is at least one good story to tell, whether it was funny, disheartening, or shocking.  I was thinking of one such story related to a temp job I had in Minnesota and that lead me to review all of the jobs I had since moving here.

I moved to Minnesota in October 1995 (next month being the 16^th anniversary of my arrival – I have a better anniversary to celebrate in October that deserves its own blog post), and I have had 15 different means of employment.  I held a couple of the jobs in conjunction with other positions, but I’m still amazed at the number.  I’m averaging a new job every 13 months; and considering I held one job for 7+ years, the other nine years must have been spent struggling to find my “work self.”

The map above shows places where I have worked and each spot is numbered in chronological order. The red dots are full-time employment; the blue ones are temporary jobs; and the greens are second, part-time jobs.  You will find there are only 14 dots.  The green “3-6” is the Southdale Mall where I had two part-time jobs at different times.  I numbered the green dots to coincide with when I held a more permanent position.

After the jump, I will provide a brief summary of each job below with the expectation I will regale you with tales of woe (or “whoa!”) as I create a series of World of Work blog posts.  This should be a lot of fun as I have no shortage of material.

1.)    BI Performance Services (now known as BI Worldwide) – I started this job in November 1995 during a severe snowstorm and stayed until September 1997.  My starting salary was $20K/year and I had to pay an employment services company $2000 to get it.  My first raise after my annual review was a solid 7%, but seven percent of a crap salary is more crap salary.   I held a second job at Blockbuster Video in Edina (the green “1” dot) to help make ends meet and to raise money for my upcoming wedding. I quit the Blockbuster job soon after getting married in June 1997.  I was in search of better pay before my full second year at BI was complete and found a job with;

2.)    Carlson Wagonlit Travel (a division of Carlson Company on Carlson Parkway in Carlsontown, MN – this last bit is a joke) – I worked on the seventh floor of the 501 tower starting in September 1997.  This was the start of a series of jobs where my starting salary was $30K.  I was eventually fired (my first - but not my last!) in April 1998.  The beginning of the end was when I had a meeting with Human Resources for using the F-word too loudly in my cube.  It was probably for the best as many people left before and after I did.  My boss’ boss, a woman neither of us could stand, later become a radio personality in Minnesota.  The same day I was given a two-week notice, I was approached by a headhunter for a job at;

3.)    American Research Corporation (publishers of the Law & Leading Attorneys booklets) – My first day was in April 1998.  The company was constantly in financial straits and there were times when I was worried my paycheck would bounce.  The company shuttered its doors a few months after I was laid off in July 1999.  While I was working there, a group of us had created and played a Murderball version of basketball years before Murderball was cool.  I took some time to find a temporary job as I was working with a nascent baking goods company and had a part-time job at B. Dalton bookstores (green “6” dot).  The temp job was at the corporate offices of;

4.)    SuperValu – I didn’t work here long as I was actively pursuing full-time employment.  I started around October 1999 and stopped in December 1999.  The group of temps had a Secret Santa party and I was able to get some tickets to a Vikings football game right on the 50-yard line because a SuperValu salesperson couldn’t use them.  The start of the new millennium was very promising as I secured a position at;

5.)    Innova Marketing – This would be just the second job from which I was fired – and still wouldn’t be my last.  I started soon after the start of the New Year.  The company was an emerging marketing and advertising firm that specialized in “living commercials.”  They would hire talent to be at key events and locations to hand out free samples of products.  You may have run into similar advertising where you are.  The management was very fluid and I didn’t have a true job description – I could make of the job what I wanted.  What I learned about myself was I need structure and guidelines as part of my job.  I had a 90-day review in April 2000 and was given the option to leave after the meeting or at the end of the day.  I packed up my cube into a small box and was gone before lunch.  I immediately drove to my wife’s bakery business and started working for;

6.)    Bramblewood Cottage (co-founder) – I learned something more about myself with this job; I would prefer not working with a spouse or loved one.  Work wasn’t all bad, but there were a lot of late nights baking and packaging in preparation for farmer’s markets and deliveries to small local shops.  I was able to create a combined balance and cash flow statement our accountant found very useful.  Money was still tight because of the recent job losses, so I had a part-time job at The Museum Company store (green “6” dot).  The part-time job didn’t suit me, so I walked out on it one night and found a temp job at;

7.)    Ford Motor Credit (FoMoCo) – I started this job in about August 2000 and stayed until December of the same year.  When I was studying business in college, I thought I wouldn’t want a job in sales or collections because I hated asking people for money.  The fact I took a job in Ford’s dunning group says a lot about how poorly things were going for me.  I was able to get a deal on a minivan for Bramblewood Cottage because of my association with Ford Motor Credit.  Ironically, I would later have to surrender the vehicle to a local dealership.  I was able to move from this job to my new Site Manager role for;

8.)    Acorn Mini Storage – Have you ever seen those commercials about getting credit even if you have a divorce, bankruptcy, or job loss in your history?  In 2001, I hit the trifecta.  I was originally hired to be the Marketing person for all six storage sites, but the money for the position dried up.  Fortunately, the Site Manager for the Eagan location quit and I was offered the job.  I was able to get the salary originally offered, which was probably 20-30% higher than a manager job.  They were probably hoping I would be able to pay for myself in short order, but that never panned out.  After filing for bankruptcy in early 2001 and deciding to get divorced in the summer, I was summarily dismissed in October.  This lead to my next temp job with;

9.)    Wells Fargo Home Mortgage – I was a mortgage information processor and actually worked at three different sites around the Twin Cities.  I had an initial orientation in November 2001 for about a week in downtown Minneapolis, spent the bulk of my time in an office in the shadows of the Mall of America, and finished my tour in the main office building off 35W in south Minneapolis.  This job had everything I hate – cube farms, constant phone calls, and incessant monitoring from supervisors.  The work dried up in February 2002 before I could secure another job, so I had to collect unemployment for a few weeks.  I was soon hired by;

10.) Ziegenbein Associates – My first role with this company was as a Marketing Coordinator when I was hired in April 2002.  This would be my longest held job ever; but it didn’t start well.  My car had given up the ghost soon after I was hired and I tried biking from my studio apartment in Minneapolis to the office in Oakdale, about 10 miles east of St. Paul.  I figured the distance was about 20 miles and if I could average 15 miles per hour, I could get there in less than two hours.  I was out the door by 7a and didn’t get to the office until well after 10a.  Knowing what I know now about my boss, I’m shocked I didn’t have a sit-down with him.  His first name was Mike and his last name should have been Romanage.  It was through the course of working here when I donated plasma to raise some extra cash and later had a paper route (the green "10") with a buddy of mine.  The route returned me to my Eagan turf and completed the circle of my working life; my first job being a paper route in Connecticut.  I was laid off from this job in July 2009 and was lucky enough to find another job at;

11.) McQuay International – I started in September 2009 and will have completed two full years on the 28^th.  I love this job and can find nothing to poke fun at or find amusing about it.  I see no reason why I can’t be here forever and ever!