No Longer DEV's Community Manager, But Still Got Lotsa Love For Y'all! 💚

#devto #career

Heyo folks! 👋

It's been about a month since I was let go from DEV (see the post here) and I wanted to return to the community to give a few quick updates about myself and how I'm feeling:

a. First off, I'm getting on just fine! Been busy looking for new opportunities and am generally feeling optimistic. I'm continuously honing my LinkedIn, resume, and portfolio website all while keeping the job applications flowing. At the same time, I'd been working at DEV for 5.5 years straight, and while I had vacations, I was feeling a little more burnt out than I realized... so, I've also just been trying to chill out and enjoy a little bit of this downtime between jobs. On the whole, it's been a good mental reset, and I'm confident something will come along soon enough! 🙂

b. I've got nothing but love for the Forem organization, its founders, and the DEV Community. Same thing goes for all current & past Forem employees (or former Foremers as I like to call'em), plus the many mods whom I had the pleasure of working particularly closely with! So many cool folks have contributed their time, hearts, and minds to this community... I feel lucky to count myself among this crew. 💚

c. I'm sure this ain't the last you'll see of me on DEV, though I am taking a bit of a break and probs won't be a daily visitor — hey, I mean, I'm not a dev. Still, I've forged a lotta friendships here in this community and believe it to be a special place on the web. Because of DEV, I know so many kind, interesting folks (mostly devs! 😄) from all over the world... so big thank you to everybody I've had thoughtful interactions with here – it's really nice to have gotten to know you all. I absolutely wanna keep in touch, so please don't hesitate to connect with me... or if you have any opportunities that you think my professional background would be well-suited for, please send'em my way! 🙌

Thanks to everybody who has reached out to me during this transitional period! Whether you've suggested a job opportunity to me, given me a recommendation (or would like to give me one via LinkedIn 😉😉), or simply sent me a supportive message, it all means a heckuva lot to me.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is well and see y'all around! ✌️

Top comments (32)

Michael Tharrington • Jun 12 '24 • Edited

Wrote this post early yesterday right before heading out on a little journey to visit my parents in my hometown. Anywho, it's so nice to come back to so many kind, encouraging comments from folks I know here!

I'm going to use this message to collectively respond to everybody and let ya know that I miss you all very much... but hey, I'm still very much alive and kickin' too, haha. 😄

So, please don't be a stranger! In the great big digital neighborhood of the internet, I'm only an email or a LinkedIn message away. I hope you connect and let's keep in touch! 🤝

Mahmoud Harmouch • Apr 25

Damn, that's a huge loss for Dev! Now I get why this place feels kinda empty, ngl, after you left. Loved your Music Monday series! Starting a petition to bring Michael back, now! Wishing ya the best in life and beyond!

Ben Halpern • Jun 11 '24

💚

Thaísa Vieira • Jun 11 '24

You were the first one who made me feel that the DEV Community was a different place, with kindness and safety to ask and learn. I'll never forget your weekly posts, especially about music albums. I wish you a good rest time and opportunities to keep changing the world in your own way!

Schemetastic (Rodrigo) • Jun 12 '24

I can't imagine someone in this community that I could miss more than you, Michael, you make so many people feel welcome, including me. However, changes are inevitable, I hope the new changes in your life turn out very positive. 💖

For the old times, the good ol' Music Mondays (on a Tuesday):