My 29th birthday is one that I will not forget any time soon. We have experienced huge blessings this week, ones that will be life changing in ways that we never could have imagined, or dared to hope for.
Back in September I did a complete overhaul on my resume and for kicks and giggles (what could it hurt?), decided to keep it out on Monster.com for whatever opportunities might come. Well, it got someone's attention this past Wednesday, and I received a simple email inquiry as a result. The email asked if I was still in the market and would I be interested in a position with their company as an Analyst, if so to respond by email or phone. That day was a particularly busy day at the office, and I was curious about the company but just didn't have the time to look into it at all during the day. That night at home my husband did some digging, and we determined that they were a seemly well established company, and that it couldn't hurt to talk to the guy. So I had in mind to follow up with the man the next morning by email and just see where things went. The next morning I didn't have the time to even frame my thoughts on a follow up email before I received a voicemail from the man asking again, if I was interested in speaking to him about this position. That got my attention. This guy was serious, and he was clearly interested in me. From there a wild email conversation followed that quickly snowballed from "Yes, I'm interested in speaking with you today. When is a convenient time to call?" to "Come by our offices at 2pm, and we can discuss the possibilities". So, that I did. All the while thanking our Father who knowing what was in store for my day, had me prepared for an impromptu interview by having the appropriate clothing on and opening my schedule for the afternoon to allow for the said impromptu interview. So I made a quick stop by Kinko's to print off a more snazzy copy of my resume (yeah, he already had a copy... but it couldn't hurt to show up with a *nice* looking copy of one vs. one he probably printed on copy paper assuming he printed it at all). Grabbed a Cherry Coke from Sonic, and headed to the address of the offices. At this point, I really wasn't sure what to expect. I was prepared for the possibility of an interview, but was really only expecting a conversation. It ended up being far more than even just an interview. I show up, introduce myself and sit down. He proceeds to tell me about the job, and how things are run. A little about the company, what they do and how they've grown. Then comes his question to me, does this sound like something you are interested in, do you feel like this would be something you would enjoy doing? In short, YES! The job, to be brief, is right up my alley in terms of things that I enjoy doing. I would be pulling data, and analysing it. Preparing reports, and supplying them to the sales manager and the companies we sell product to. This is something I have always enjoyed doing, and have been told I am quite good at. But here lately have not had the time to do near as much future planning and data pulling due to changing processes, and constant fires in my current job. The next big question was compensation. To which, I had no answer. I guess at least up to this point, hadn't decided how much a move like this would be worth to me and what it would take for me to leave where I was at. So he decided to let me sit with the other lady in the office and get a view of exactly what I would be doing, and how often. Just to get an over all feel for what I would be getting myself in to. After sitting with her, I was even more excited about the possibilities. The nerd in me was spazing out! They want me to do what I like?! Under a less stressful, more flexible environment? Next came the compensation discussion. When the number was provided, and the question was posed "So, are we in the ball park?" I was able to very calmly answer "Yes, you're in the ball park". While in my mind reviewing "Less stress + More flexibility + Good Pay = HOLY COW! Is this really happening? At this point, it was revieled to me that one of the references listed on my resume was an aquaintenace of the man I was interviewing with. The reference was also a co-worker and friend one of the interviewers good friends. Who also happened to be someone who knew me, and worked with me early on in my Walmart career. So while I was job shadowing with the other lady in the office, he called his friend up and got a good reference for me. To hear that was just amazing to me. How God put together this chain of events continues to amaze me! After wraping up our discussion, and preparing to leave the comment was made that "I have one more interview tomorrow, but if I had the option I'd make you an offer right now!" I couldn't even have begun to hope that that impromptu interview would have gone so well, and that I would walk away with a possible offer! The excitement was amazing, and Jeff and I proceeded to discuss the process and talk through questions I needed to ask or get clarification on. We wanted to be sure we weren't missing anything. This was all happening so fast. The next morning, I decided I was going to drop in to the office of the man I had listed as my reference, who is also a mentor of mine. I talked it through with him, wanting to get his perspective. Wanting re-assurance that I was looking at everything I needed to be. Is this company stable, is this man going to stand up to his words? And I had a very fruitfull conversation. I had, in fact covered most of my bases. I was given some advise to ask a few questions. But all in all was told, "if I were in your shoes, I would take this opportunity". All answers pointed to GO! So when the offer email came through I asked my questions, but let them know I was very interested. A phone call over lunch ironed those details out. Immediately returning from lunch I typed up my letter of resignation to the company, giving my 2 weeks notice. Which still seems surreal to me... I think I've been running on adrenaline since 2pm Thursday afternoon. The week of Christmas my new life outside of Walmart begins. I'll have my very own office, window, and front row parking (this is a big deal to those of you who have never had to walk a mile to your car in the rain, cold or other nastiness)! I'm looking forward to this new chapter in my career building. The possibilities are seemingly endless. And I stand in Awe and wonder how I (and my little family by extension) deserve all of this. I never would have imagined such an amazing thing would have been dropped in my lap. This kind of thing only happens in movies, right?! :) So, here I am, wide awake at 2:30am. Still wondering if all of this is real, and could this really be happening. God is SO so great. It is clear to me, that without him none of this would have happened. He prepared me, he tailored this for me. Now the excitement begins, and to Him I give ALL my praise!