A Tale of Two Jobs

Considering how quickly this whole job process has been moving, I have not been keeping you completely up to date.  I confess it’s because there are so many details that I just didn’t know how to condense everything.  Today, I’m going to sit down and try.

This is a tale of two jobs: Job 1 and Job 2 (It sounds kindof like a Dr. Suess book)

Job 1 – a great opportunity.  The interview process took over a month, so it was a little bit of a rollercoaster.  After a phone interview, an interview with the manager, an interview with the team, and a background/reference check, I  got offered the position on a Friday afternoon.

Job 2 – I began the interview process with Job 2 right around the time of the background/reference check at Job 1.  I REALLY liked Job 2.  A lot!  They had an interview process of three interviews and a background/reference check as well, so I knew the process would take some time.

During my second interview with Job 2, Job 1 called and left me a voicemail.  When I called them back, that was when they offered me the job.  It was Friday afternoon.  I asked them if I could have until Monday to think about it.

I called Job 2 back and told them that even though I would really like to work for them, I was just offered a job at a different company.  She told me they were interested in me as a candidate and she would see what she could do about speeding up the job interview process.

Both jobs were GREAT opportunities for me.  That Monday, there was so much going on, I don’t think I could re-tell it chronologically if I tried!  I was working through final details with Job 1 and setting up another interview with Job 2.  At that point, Job 1 still could have fallen through, so I continued making plans with Job 2.  In the end, we decided to go with Job 1.  Therefore, beginning August 1^st, I will be working with the National Marrow Donor Program as a Survey Research Assistant.  I am excited to work in a challenging job with a great company.  I did let Job 2 know I had accepted the offer from the other company, and they were very understanding.

After many ups and downs over the past four months, I can absolutely say thank you to readers, friends, and family.  I have enjoyed your thoughts, encouragement, and prayer through this process.  I hope it was informative for those who wanted to keep up with my personal job search and for those who may currently be going through the job hunting process themselves.  We are excited to see what this new job brings and pray that it will provide many opportunities to reflect who God is and how awesome He is!

How does one effectively wrap up a blog?

Peace out :-)

Sliver of Hope or Disappointment?

I have enjoyed this time away from work.  I have had the opportunity to spend more time with my husband, spend extra time in my garden, and get caught up on “back-burner” items.  I feel relaxed and rejuvenated.  As a Christ-follower, I value the time I’ve gotten to spend reading my Bible, praying, and reflecting.  I’m in awe looking over the past 3 ½ months and seeing the work being done to refine who I am.  God has been gently caring for us and reminding us how to find peace in his leadership in our lives.

My husband’s job situation this summer has evolved differently than we anticipated, so we are spending a lot of time together at home.  It has been awhile since the job search started, and originally, it was easy to enjoy all of the free time.  I have had the opportunity to catch up on life, so we are now entering a time where it is getting to be more challenging to be thankful for the free time.  My mind is being challenged less on a daily basis, so I don't feel like it's as sharp as it was.  We decided to give up TV because it is so easy to slip into a TV coma when you’ve got an abundance of time.  This has been helpful as it has made us look to books, hobbies, MN summer activities, and time with others. 

I feel excited about my potential job prospects.  Job #1 (from the previous post), I am at the background and reference check phase of the interview process.  Another job, I had a first interview on Friday.  Both of these prospects are GREAT options.  They have good benefits, reasonable pay, and great office environments (near as I can tell).  When I am feeling hopeful, two worries constantly creep into my mind:

1)      Maybe I won’t get an offer from either of these places and I’ll be back at square one.  That means more free time and more risk of slipping into laziness.

2)      What if I get offered both jobs and I have to figure out how to decide.  I won’t know which job is the right one.  What if timing doesn’t work out and I somehow don’t end up with a job from either because I won’t know how to figure out the timing of job offers and answers.

I have mentioned how determined I am to break the mold on worry, so these thoughts are naturally frustrating!

I have the hope of a job AND I have daily battles with worry and laziness.  Some days I feel down, other days I feel hopeful.  In the meantime, our reliance on God’s provision is strengthened daily for our spiritual and physical needs.  God never said it would be easy, He did say that we wouldn’t be alone.  I am thankful for God’s presence on the hopeful days and on the hard days.

The Waiting Game

Interview processes are a giant waiting game!! An update since my day of excitement:

Company #1: (The phone interview) In my opinion, the phone interview did not go well. I was discouraged! Things aren’t always what they seem; I received an e-mail a few days later asking me to come in for an interview. WOO HOO!! I’ve been especially nervous for interviews with this job because I really think I’d be great at it. I put extra pressure on myself because I want it so bad. I felt better after the in-person interview, so I went home and waited. Within the next couple of days, I received an e-mail asking if we could schedule a final interview with the whole team I’d be working with. I’ve never been interviewed by five people at once before, so it was a little intimidating. I was trying really hard to think of everything… “make eye contact with each person, remember the question, be honest, be friendly, set yourself apart from other potential candidates…” all while trying to intelligently answer their questions! They told me I should find out by Friday (today) if I will be offered the job or not.

Company #2: (The in-person interview) I felt this interview went well; however, there were a few things about the job that I wasn’t thrilled about. They called me back for a second interview with a few more people from the company. The second interview was confirmation that it wasn't the right job for me. After a discussion with my husband, we decided that if they called, I would turn them down (man, I hate doing that!!). The next day I received an e-mail saying they had chosen someone else for the position. It’s funny - even though I didn’t want job #2, there is something about not being offered the job that is kindof un-nerving. It’s a good reminder just because I want a job offer at job #1 doesn’t mean I’m going to get one.

In America, we have worry engrained into every area of our culture: worry about our kids, worry about our government, worry about the weather, worry about getting a job, worry about keeping a job in this economy….worry, worry, worry. During this job hunt season, I've been trying to buck this trend. When I worry, I’m telling God that I don’t trust Him. The fact of the matter is, I do trust God. He has provided for us in amazing and unconventional ways in the last three months and if I don’t get this job, I know that provision will continue.

So today, I wait.

It's Going To Be An Exciting Day!

Job hunting certainly is a ride! Here's an idea of what job hunting looks like:

March 3^rd: Applied for first job of the hunt. I thought I was going to get this job. In fact, I honestly thought I was going to skip this whole job-hunting process and move from one job to the next…I foresaw a smooth transition – HA!! I waited for a call about an interview. Instead, several weeks later I received an e-mail saying I was not being considered for the position…ouch!

April 7^th: Last day at job. I focused on the job hunt.

April 8^th-Today: Floored by the generosity of people/supporters around me (shout out to Hope Community Church)! I have had referrals for many open positions. People have found out what I’m looking for, then they’ve kept their eyes and ears open…AND they’ve sent me job openings they’ve seen. Wow! I am thankful for those people in my life! I have wanted to accept many jobs for the simple fact that someone referred me to that job and I wanted it to work out so badly. God has been gently reminding me through this process that I need to be patient, not a people-pleaser. So, patience it is.

Middle of April: Applied for a number of jobs with a well-known company in Minneapolis. I heard great things about them and know a person who works for them. I poured time into finding good-fit jobs and writing great cover letters.

Beginning of June: Hadn’t heard from them for any of the positions, wrote them off as being a big fat NO.

June 9^th: Got an e-mail from them wanting to set up a phone interview.

May/June: Decided to start checking craigslist for jobs. I don’t really like looking there because there are so many scams and postings from staffing agencies. It takes a lot of time to weed through and find legitimate posts from actual employers. My general rule is that the post has to have the company name listed. If the company name is listed, I can find their website and double check the craigslist ad is a legitimate post. While I waste a lot of time weeding through, I have found a few legitimate posts and have applied to those companies.

June 13^th: Got an e-mail from one such company. They would like to schedule an interview for Tuesday, June 14^th at 3:00pm (in the meantime, got a response back from the June 9^th company, they want to schedule an interview for Tuesday, June 14th at 2:00pm).

So, after months of job searching, I now have two great options (from what I can see so far) for employment, and they want to do interviews an hour apart --- seriously? Well, in that land of multitaskers, you make it work. Here’s how this is going to break down today:

8:00: Write this blog post

9:00-Noon: Prep for both interviews: get resumes ready, StrengthsFinder info ready (if you haven’t taken the StrengthsFinder, you really should. It’s a great tool!), make sure I’ve read through and understand the job descriptions, and research each company online. Research goes a long way in an interview and employers are impressed when you already have a general knowledge about their company.

Noon-1:30: Get ready for in-person interview. Picking out something to wear is always so difficult. In this case, based on the website and the e-mails I’ve been receiving, the company seems to 1) know how to have fun and 2) be professional while doing it. So, this calls for a fun, but professional looking print shirt and black pants to keep it neutral. It’s the best I can do to balance the two. And yes, this much thought does go into my interview outfit (I won't even write about how much thought goes into how to do my hair)!

2:00: First interview (this one is a phone interview). E-mail said expect a 20-30 minute conversation, so I will mentally prepare for 45 min. to be safe.

2:35: Leave for second interview (an in-person interview). If first interview goes long, I’ll have to finish it in the car.

2:36: Use all brain energy for finishing up a good phone interview AND not getting lost on the way to the second interview.

It’s going to be an exciting day!

A Job for a Season

AKA: a seasonal job!  When I started my job at the garden center/nursery/greenhouse, I was super stoked!  I’ve been behind a desk for six years and this was an opportunity to not only work and get paid, but also to learn about a growing passion of mine…gardening.  So, my seasonal job began and the lessons learned are countless.  Alas, I am going to attempt to name a few as they come to me:

1)   Customer Service is HARD work!  I challenge you, when you are being served by another person, to do everything in your power to see them as a person.  I’ve seen rude in almost all of its forms and I can tell you, trying to finish out a day greeting every person with a smile and treating them well when you’ve just been treated like dirt…is hard!  Show grace and kindness to those serving you, you may just turn their day around.  And if they haven’t been having a bad day, you may be just one more reason they can enjoy their job that day!

2)   On a sale day, I see four kinds of people: The folks that don’t say much-they just pay and leave, the folks that are super excited about their savings, the folks that argue with you because they don’t think the amount on the computer is ringing up as enough of a sale price as they’d like (usually these people have read the ad well and have found every loophole possible - they generally treat you like an idiot in the process), and the people that scoff in disgust even at the sale price.  Please make every effort possible to be one of the first two – it makes our lives easier, and I’m sure it will improve your quality of life as well!

3)   "Seasonal Job” in the gardening world means May - Beginning of June, not May - September (hmm…that makes this whole job search thing a little more of a priority!!)

4)   The last expected day with a chance of frost in MN is May 15^th

 

5)   A whole slew of other gardening knowledge that you’ll just have to ask me about if you want to know more!

So, there you have it - my small bit of knowledge in the land of seasonal customer service.  As I wrap up that job, I continue to have many experiences to share in the job-hunting process.  So, until next time…