Last one out, turn off the lights

Flickr: Fatty Tuna

If anyone’s keeping a list of dumb things to do in a recession, I’m sure quitting one’s job and moving across the country are pretty near the top. (Turns out I’m right.) Yet that’s exactly what I’m doing. Friday will be my last day at the National Council, and Monday I fly back to Seattle, which is home, and was home even when I was living in such exotic locales as Walla Walla, Oxford, Dublin, and here.

I feel like part of a young, urban exodus—or rather, a regular turnover of workers who come from somewhere else, dive into employment in the DC metro area, and then pull up stakes and move on. This is especially true of my graduate cohort, many of whom plan to move away within six months (and make my Seattle plans sound like child’s play, compared to their itineraries in South Africa and Ecuador).

But it’s a step in the right direction for me anyway, because I’ll get to build my career near my family. And I look forward to taking what I learned at the National Council to a new career role and blending old experiences with new ones.

Some things I learned at the National Council that I’ll be bringing to my future career opportunities:
1. Yes, nonprofits do have the right to lobby their government.
2. Don’t duplicate when you can imitate. Take advantage of what others have already created and (with permission) adapt it or build on it for your work.
3. Be a gatekeeper, not a buck-passer. Suck it up and wrangle cold-callers and other annoyances so your colleagues don’t have to.

And some things I tried to impart here that I hope stick after I’m gone:
1. Relationships are everything. Getting funded, earning media coverage, finding a job, finding an employee—they all work around relationships. Spend time building them.
2. Save your colleagues time: don’t bug them by asking for something you can Google, or find on the server by using the “Search” function in Windows.
3. Like wine, nuts, caffeine, and many other things, issuing press releases is only healthy in moderation. Don’t overdo it.

My next opportunity is TBA, but I hope to stay in the sector, in which case our paths may cross again. Until then you can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn as I enjoy the view from the west coast, spend time with my family, and mentally edit highway billboards. (“Homestyle Cooking At It’s Best”? Really?)

You take care of yourselves now.