So, I FINALLY finished that MBA in November. That meant that it was time to start looking for work, and I was DETERMINED to leave the company I presently work for.
Then one day my dear friend--a former supervisor in my present corporation--called me to come to her office. She told me she was retiring and that I should apply for her job. The whole time she's talking I'm thinking about how much I love the people there and how 4 years ago her job would have been my dream job; and also about how in the past 3 years I've gotten SO fed up with the glass ceiling at my work. She was probably really confused about how non-committal I was.
BUT I left her office and walked straight to the office of the director of the division (who I know), where we had a nice conversation that actually included the possibility of growth opportunities (Twilight Zone!). So when the job was posted, I applied.
I interviewed for the position just before Christmas, and they hoped to make a decision immediately. I felt good about the interview, but I saw the resume of one other person, and she was and is fabulous. Over the subsequent weekend, I knew that that job was not mine. I was disappointed, but I was grateful that I got to deal with the disappointment privately.
The hiring manager kept in contact with me every few days, letting me know that the decision still had not been made. After a couple of weeks, he came up to visit with me shortly in the cafeteria; and as he walked away, I had the feeling that I WAS going to get the job. It was strange because I really wasn't being just pessimistic before. I had known that the job wasn't mine.
In the meantime, I had applied for another job--with another corporation--and it was for the job I have DREAMED of having for over a decade. I received a call asking me to come for an interview. But now I was SURE I was going to be offered the job at my company and that they were on a pretty strict timeline because my friend is retiring. So for a couple of days I stewed and prayed and thought and talked to family. And I came to the very calm conclusion that if they offered me the position, I would accept it.
This past Thursday I received an appointment request to meet with my friend and the hiring manager. His words were, "The bad news is that we are not offering you the job you applied for. The good news is that we have another job we ARE offering you." It turns out that upper management decided--after the interviews--that they wanted to restructure the job rather than having it as it has been for the past years. They did that during the weekend when I KNEW that I was not getting the job. The restructure came together and was approved this past Monday, the same day that I KNEW I was getting the job. What they decided to do was take two jobs, throw them together, and assign the duties from those two jobs to two different people. So that woman who I was sure would be great? She is getting one portion of the job. She gets the more technical side of things: running reports, keeping databases current, and overseeing technical support for the employees of that division. I will be doing the more supervisory/managerial stuff and some technical writing.
Hiring two different people, however, meant that there needed to be approval to hire them both at the higher level they had advertised; and THAT requires managing director approval. Enter our managing director, who used to be the director of the division for which I was applying to work. He's a brat. He's a bully. He's a diva. He and I have a courteous relationship, but he knows that I don't love him. But in less than two hours the hiring manager went from an email to me that said, "We've hit a snag," to sending me the meeting appointment to offer me a job. Our managing director had not even hesitated to sign the approval when he learned it was me they were talking about.
I accepted the position offered to me. I'm very happy about the opportunities to do new things and learn new things. I thanked my managing director for his goodness to me in this particular case (that was actually a really nice conversation). I went down to my new office and did several hours of training on Friday. I announced my new job to the people in my current division. I cancelled my interview with the other company.
And with all of this, I wouldn't say I am excited. I'm happy, yes. I'm anticipating. But mostly I'm calm, and that is a wonderful, wonderful feeling.
Yesterday Briana and I went to the temple. After we had performed our service there, I walked over to the prayer roll to enter some names. As I stood there I had clear recollections of two different friends who--during the course of the past couple of weeks--had put my name on the prayer roll when they've attended the temple. And now I know that I am calm because of the tender mercies of the Lord. He has been giving me gentle care all along, and I am incredibly thankful for His watchcare and for the beautiful blessing of wonderful friends.
