My company does a lot of work in Newark, New Jersey

For example, at my cousin’s wedding last month an old high school friend of mine said, “Hey, so what are you doing now? I heard you’re a nurse practitioner, right?” A nurse practitioner… really?

While I don’t get mad or upset at whatever profession my friends and family insert into the brackets, I do get a kick out of what they think I’m doing. Over the last year or so I’ve heard that I’m a full-time lawyer, university administrator, teacher, website guy, state employee, writer, and – of course – nurse practitioner.

None of these professions – while exciting and interesting – are correct. So I thought I’d take a minute to explain what it is that I “do” at my full-time job.

I work for a nonprofit loan fund – a Community Development Financial Institution (a CDFI). The company I work for focuses on what we term “underserved” communities throughout New Jersey. In other words, we do a lot of work in underserved geographic areas like Newark, Camden, Asbury Park, Trenton, etc. However, we have a broad definition of “community” to include groups of people such as folks with physical and developmental disabilities. From that perspective, we’ve done a lot of work in areas that are traditionally considered affluent like Manalapan, Budd Lake, Eatontown, East Hanover, etc. And we also help traditionally underserved industries such as charter schools, early care centers, the supportive housing industry, etc.

Two quick definitions before I talk about what I “do” at my job. First, when I suggest that my company “works” in an area or an industry, it means that we offer competitive or low-cost financing for development projects. For example, when we work to provide supportive housing for folks with developmental disabilities, I’m suggesting that my company provides a loan to an on-the-ground service organization to purchase a home and use it to provide housing for the developmentally disabled. Second, when I say that an area, group of people, or industry is traditionally “underserved,” I’m suggesting that there has been – historically – a disinvestment of private money from that area, group of people, or industry. Not a disinvestment of public money (i.e. taxpayer dollars); a disinvestment of private money.

That’s a very important distinction. My company receives no taxpayer dollars nor does it seek taxpayer dollars. Instead, we take investments from private organizations, individuals, and like-minded nonprofit organizations and utilize those dollars to make loans to the underserved.

Make sense? I hope so. Back to what I “do” on a daily basis.

My current title (though it’s supposed to change in the coming weeks) is Lending Officer. If I worked at a traditional bank, most would assume that a Lending Officer translates into being an underwriter or Relationship Manager. In the CDFI industry, Lending Officers are so much more… Yes, I’m the guy who underwrites loans. However, I also manage relationships with our borrowers, close loans, act as a new business development officer, manage a multi-million dollar federal grant, serve as a communications and public relations officer, act as the company’s charter school specialist, seek out new investment and grant opportunities for the company, make presentations on behalf of the organization, work with researchers on finding new ways to solve community problems, serve as a problem loan work out officer – I could go on.

So what do I “do” on a daily basis? Well, a little bit of everything, really. Yesterday, I spent a lot of time reviewing submitted material from a possible client who wants to borrow over $4 million to purchase an old Catholic school building and use it as space for a charter school. This information includes test scores, the school’s financial history, operating projections, resumes and bios of the major staff members, awards won by the school, and so much more.

The day before, though, I spent the bulk of my day contacting attorneys and asking them to finalize different legal documents for loans that my company closed (i.e. funded) over the last twelve months. Many people don’t realize this, but there are an enormous amount of documents that need to be executed before a house can be purchased, a construction job can take place, or any type of financing can be advanced. Well, one of my jobs is to make sure that all of those documents are signed and in order before funds go out the door. The problem, though, is that once the documents are signed, they typically take between six and twelve months to work through the different attorneys’ offices and recording areas. So when I close a loan, I have to make sure that those documents are in order and, eventually, on their way to my office.

I hope that this entry gives my friends and family who read my blog a brief example of what it is that I do all day. Sure, I could get into all of the ancillary jobs that I’ve set up for myself outside of my day job (the websites, the teaching, the consulting, the volunteer work), but that’s for another entry. If I wrote this entry correctly, then the next time I see someone who reads my blog and the topic of professions comes up, they’ll have an idea of what it is that I do… and it won’t be nurse practitioner!

If you are interested in a job in which you can also make a difference, check out online social work courses.

Not a smart move, right?

Anyway, now that I’m the guy in the front of the room I have a much greater appreciation for what professors have to go through. As the title of this entry suggests, I now have an appreciation for some really ridiculous student excuses when it comes to handing in their work on time. Some background information: my students are made aware that an 8 – 10 page paper is due on November 26. And since we don’t have class on that date, I even told the students that since November 26 ends at 11:59pm, they have the entire day to send me the e-mail with their paper attached. What a nice guy!

My students are also made aware that every day the paper is late, the student loses 10 points from their grade (some professors say that you lose a letter grade for each day that a paper is late, but I prefer to use points because it gives the students more time to send in the paper and still earn some credit). All of this is spelled out in the syllabus as is required by the university. So what can you expect between 11:30pm and 11:59pm on November 26? That’s right – tons of e-mails from the students. And I’m fine with that! It’s part of the deal – I get it and I understand completely.

But what I do not understand is when students hand in a paper 5 days late and expect to not lose 50 points from the paper’s final grade. I repeat in every class that if the paper is late, you lose points. Yet when points are lost, students are confused…which, in turn, confuses me. And what really gets me are the students who give me ridiculous excuses as to why the papers are late. The most ridiculous excuse that I get these days is, “I sent my paper by e-mail – I KNOW I did! But I don’t see it in my sent folder, so here it is again. Please do not mark it as late.”

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Riiiiiiiiiiiight! And I’m the Easter Bunny! What’s great about these students is that they send you a Microsoft Word document that actually tells you when the document was created. In other words, I can go in to an area of Word and have it tell me that the document was created on November 30. This is the same document that was due four days earlier!

I felt compelled to write this entry because when I was an undergraduate I never handed in anything late. And if I had a problem getting something in on time, it was a real situation and I was sure to get the item in on time by any means necessary. Who spends all of that money to go to college and then doesn’t actually hand in a damn 8 to 10 page paper on time – especially when you have three months to write it?!?

It’s amazing, really.

Is there anything more pathetic than a person who just “exists” in their job and does nothing to make their company or employer better at the end of the day than when they arrived in the morning? People should have a ferocious passion for what they do everyday. They should attack their job on a daily basis. Career workers should grab each day by its neck and make that day their own!

I believe that I think this way because I come from a family of hard workers. My Father was a dedicated and committed employee even up until a few months prior to when he passed away. He was a loyal employee during his active working years and he was a trusted hand during his retirement years. My Mother is the same way. She works for a local Township and because of her efforts since assuming her department’s management role, the department has become more efficient than it has been in years. She makes her department better each day than it was when she showed up in the morning. My brothers and I are on the same track. My older brother has worked his way to a front end manager (when needed) at his restaurant and he’s one of the Owner’s trusted confidants. Plus, he’s been working diligently at this various jobs for the last decade – even becoming the number one cell phone salesman for the now-defunct “The Wiz.” And my younger brother is so committed to working that the kid held TWO jobs while taking college courses last semester! In my family there is a ferocious commitment to working and making our employers better before we go home for the day.

For what it’s worth I see these types of passionate employees all around me. My roommates, my friends, most of my coworkers, etc. I know people who have to be at the office between 7am and 7:30am and who generally leave the office between 6:30pm and 7pm; and these people do this on a daily basis and excel in their positions because they attack their jobs and their various daily tasks. They make their employers better.

Sure, everyone has an off day here and there. And yes everyone “slacks” from time to time. But anyone can tell the difference between an employee who wants to make a difference and the employee who is there to collect a check. Think about the last time you called your cell phone company or cable company’s customer service hotline. How many of you encountered someone who thought outside of the box to solve your problem? How many of you got someone on the phone who didn’t need to transfer you because they were going to take the initiative to solve your problem in the best interests of every party involved? Very few of you, I’m sure.

In an economy like this it becomes blatantly apparent when you’re dealing with an employee who just wants to get his or her check at the end of the week. I recently asked a vendor that I’ve been working with to make a business inquiry to a third party on my behalf. Three days (and multiple opportunities to make the inquiry) later, my vendor not only had not asked the question on my behalf (which, remember, he is being paid to do), but he actually assumed what the third party’s answer would be! What the hell is this?! Without going into too much detail, the “assumed” answer from my vendor could have only been reached if he didn’t take a ferocious stance in favor of his client (me).

Talk about taking no pride in one’s work! This vendor is being paid by me to represent me to the third party! F’ing stand up and represent my best interests, damn it! This is a blatant example of someone who doesn’t have a ferocious commitment to their client. This is an example of someone who is concerned about making their quota for the week/month. This is an example of someone who wants to generate revenue at anyone’s expense – even his client’s! This is also an example of someone who has lost my future business.

The moral of the story is that you should be proud of your work. If you hate your job, then find a new one. It might take some time in this market, but start looking today. You should be passionate about what you do; at the very least you should know at the end of the day you’ve accomplished all that you can accomplish to the highest degree of excellence that you are capable. Attack your work. Be ferocious. Excel.