When I lost my job at HP in October I was truly lost. I didn't know what job I would be able to get and I was certain that I didn't know how to go about looking for one. So I did what I often do when I don't know what to do, I talked to God. I have often asked God to make things simple. I tend to get confused if I have to read into circumstances or if I have to figure things out on my own. While I think of myself as smart, life is really serious and mistakes can be costly. So I asked that God make my path as simple as possible. As a response I really felt like He said that it would be clear but I had to walk through every door with an open mind.
So God and I started a ritual each morning. The alarm would go off, I would delete 12-15 junk email and then check out a series of job boards for new jobs. I worked with a placement agency provided by HP to spiffy up my resume and sent it out endlessly. By the end of November, I had been called out for only one interview and that company wanted me to travel about 50% of the time and all across the globe. I loved the position but not the travel. In my final interview with them I was asked if I would take the job for a specific amount and I said I couldn't do it for that little money and told them what it would take for me to do the job. Core Labs decided to pass on me. So now it was middle of December, I didn't have any job interview lined up and didn't have any real prospects. The only thing I had was my teaching license which had been provisionally approved for transfer from Colorado to Texas.
It looked like I was destined to head from the boardroom to the classroom again and bring my life full circle. The thought of teaching children again was one I could definitely get excited about - at least most of the time. I have to admit I was a bit scared of the way education is done in Texas with so much emphasis on state-wide testing. But the rest of being an educator was definitely appealing.
With all the signs pointing toward going back to teaching, I have to admit I was surprised when I received a phone call for a position at Ensco plc, as a talent management analyst. After all I don't really have any direct experience in that portion of HR. The recruiter who called me the week before Christmas indicated that they wanted to have the position filled by Christmas Day. And well Christmas came and went and so did New Year's and the kids headed back to school and I hadn't heard anything from them. Another closed door - and another sign pointing to a shift in my career path from private to public sector.
At least that is what I thought until Wednesday, January 8, at 530 pm. I got a call from the recruiter wanting to know if I could interview on-site that week. I showed up on Friday morning fully expecting this to be a closed door that pointed me even further into the world of teaching. But I had a fleeting thought that I should call a former neighbor and church friend, Michael Howe, to see if his company(the name of which I can never remember) is hiring.
My first interview of two interviews on Friday was great. It was a breeze since she didn't ask me any questions and we just had a great conversation about the business and HR and general life experience. As I was lead over to the next interview I was warming up to the possibility of working in this company. The second interview was a very unique experience in that Elizabeth only asked me one question. And then we had another great conversation about the company, the work and what I might be doing. She mentioned the VP of HR, Michael, who had come from a finance background. As she continued to talk I realized that she was talking about our neighbor and church friend, Michael Howe. So I asked if that was he full name. She was blown away that I knew him and our kids played together. So we walked over to his office and met with him for a bit. As we were ready to leave he gave me a hug and said how much we were missed in the neighborhood. It was a very impressive endorsement from a very hands on VP who requires that he meet all the potential new hires.
45 minutes after I left the site, I had heard from them again to see if I could come back on Monday to meet the director, Kurt. When I sat down with Kurt, I notice his bracelet first. Maybe because bracelets on men are unusual or maybe because I could see that it said "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It was about all I needed to realize I wanted this job. Working for two men who believe as I do in integrity, honesty and have strong moral convictions was definitely something I was finding interesting. Then Kurt says he worked with one of my cohorts at HP, Caroline Atherton. For those who don't know Caroline was my last mentor at HP and the only senior manager who fought to keep me at HP. It was all I needed to know. I was coming to Ensco. But God wanted it to be even more simple.
As my interview with Kurt wound down, he asked if there was any reason why I wouldn't come to work at Ensco. I told him honestly that I was worried about the 830 am report time since the boys don't start school till 845 and Tom still has bootcamp M, W, F at 830. He assured me that they would work with me to get it all covered and then said he could not think of one reason why he would not want me to be employed there and that his only concern was he might not have enough to challenge me.
When he returned me to the recruiter, I was very surprised to see an offer sitting on the table for exactly what I had told Tom I would take if they offered it. God is all about simple. He wants us to know His path and if we sit tight He will always lead. In the midst of all my job hunting and finding, God has created some great new ideas for our family that He is still cementing in our hearts. So what I know is that simple paths are still ahead of us. There will be a day when I will leave Ensco and start the next chapter of my life but in the meantime I can rest assured that my journey is unfolding in exactly the way God intends and all I need to do is walk hand in hand with my Father and He will make the way clear and simple.
Yay! Just...Yay!
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