Catching Up - The Career Search
| Updating my blog has been on the list of things to do for quite some time now (nearly 8 months since my last post?!?!). There's way too much to catch up on to put it in one post, so I'll start with the probably the biggest change - a step in the right direction career-wise. After finishing grad school in August of 2005, the career search SUCKED! It wasn't that I didn't get interviews, there were even some that I thought I nailed, but it just seemed like the action-people (you know, the decision-makers that could actually offer me a job) were just to caught up in other things to follow through. I had several interviews that resulted in second or third interviews, numerous email communications and phone calls, but nothing seemed to pan out. With one company, I started the interview process in June. Two more interviews, a bazillion phone calls and emails, and 4 months after the process started, I had a job offer...with a great company...with lots of growth opportunities...in North Carolina...making about what I could make working my old camera store/retail job full time. Don't get me wrong - it's not all about the money. But for Daniel and I to pick up and move across the country, away from our support system, it really just wouldn't have been possible for us to meet our goals over the next few years (Daniel go back to school, buy a house, etc.). I decided to respectfully turn the job down, but kept the lines of communication open because you never know what the future will hold. With another company (this time in the Bay area), I had a phone interview that resulted in more phone conversations about the job and several emails too. Every time I would be diligent about following up, the person seemed geniunely interested. The communication would continue, and then it would trickle down to non-responses. And each time that I would give up on anything actually progressing, I would get an email or a call out of the blue. This went on with this particular company from October through March before I finally gave up. In the midst of the career search, Daniel and I did get to go on a trip to visit my parents in China for a month, the details of which are documented in this blog. (Ironically, most of our air fare came courtesy of a sales contest that Daniel won at work, which was put on by the Bay area company I just spoke about.) We spent part of January and February traveling around the country and enjoying the time with my parents (who had been living in Suzhou for the past year+). The looming job search didn't escape me completely during the trip; I stayed on top of communications with the companies I had been interviewing with, researched new positions, and even got an email from a friend/classmate telling me I should apply at Columbia Sportswear, where an old friend/co-worker of his works. I sent my resume to my friend to pass on, but didn't follow up beyond that. Anyway, I went back just a few minutes ago and read my post from the day of our return from China, reflecting upon returning to reality. It reminded me of just how depressing and defeating the job search was. Here's part of what I wrote: "As for the career search, it is a downer. It should be this exciting time in Back to the timeline. In late March, another classmate sent out a general email saying that the department he worked in at Columbia Sportswear was hiring. I set up a time with him to talk about the job and find out what kinds of things they would be looking for in an application. In April, I went to a Supply and Logistics Management career fair on campus. Columbia Sportswear was there, so I went to introduce myself to the HR rep. When I said my name, she replied with "Oh! I've seen your resume." This caught me completely off gaurd. I stumbled over my words for a few seconds and tried to figure out how my resume made it on her desk. It finally dawned on me that it must have been from my friend who emailed while I was in China. My resume must have gone through at least 2 or 3 people before getting to her. But she remembered me, that was the important part. I gave her my updated resume, pulled out my handy-dandy planner, and made an appointment to talk to her regarding the open positions. I ended up with 2 other interviews out of the process, but the prospect of Columbia was the most interesting to me. Anyway, I stayed in touch with the classmate that worked there and he also put in a good word for me when my resume came across the table at prelim for upcoming interviews. I interviewed a week or so after the career fair, was offered a job a couple days later, and started working in the Planning Department in early May. I don't think I could have asked for a better place to work thus far. Another of my classmates also got hired, so there's familiarity with the three of us being in the same department. Another alum from my grad program (who graduated a year before me) is also in the department. The other people I work with are great and it didn't feel like it took very long to start to fit in. I got to join a volleyball team at work for the summer volleyball tournament (we placed 3rd overall). I get to wear flip flops, jean skirts, tee shirts, etc. every day at work. And I really can't complain about the discounts on apparel and footwear. Columbia is also very generous with allowing friends and family discounts, so they've been enjoying this too. So, that's the saga of the post-grad career search. I know I'm not the only one with this long, drawn-out experience. Lots of my other friends and classmates have had similar experiences and it has worked out for most of them too. And I can say that it was worth the wait and all the frustration. Everything has finally fallen into place and my life is returning to some semblance of order again. I'm finally on my way again. |