In the five and a half years since Heidi and I did not move
to Africa, I have struggled in my career. The first job I got after we knew we
were staying in the United States was at Costco. I took the job as a seasonal
employee since I could not find anything in three months of searching and
needed some money coming in. On Christmas Eve I found myself collecting carts
in a blinding snowstorm. I did not really enjoy that experience. One year and
two jobs later I found myself working for someone with whom I did not get
along. For three years I was looking for something else while hoping against
hope that she would move on. A year and a half ago she told the other staff
person and myself that she was leaving. It was a happy, happy day. People who
know me would agree that I don't have much trouble getting along with people so
for me to struggle so much with someone was unusual. It seemed that things had
turned the corner in my career but that did not end up being the case.
For the last four and half years I have worked for a trade
association for the remodeling industry. Most of my work involved recruiting
new members but I also had quite a few other responsibilities. When the
Executive Director left, I applied for the job. Unfortunately, my previous boss
did not paint a favorable picture of me to the Board of Directors. I was not given a true interview and informed
via email that someone else was offered the job. It was a tough pill to
swallow. To this point all of my attempts to find a different job had failed so
I had no choice but to stay the course until I could find new employment.
The positive in all of this was that Nick, who the Board
hired instead of me, is a pretty great guy. We pretty quickly settled into a
good working relationship and I was able to heal from the three years with the
previous boss. Working with him also allowed me to hone some skills that I did
not really know that I had.
At his point I should point out that I was struggling with
my identity in regard to my career. My job felt like a dead end since I was
unable to advance to the Executive Director position. I would look at some of
my former classmates and see what they had accomplished and felt pretty small
in comparison. Yeah, I know that is dumb, but I still did it all the time.
Every day I thought about how I wished for a career move with a better title
and better pay but no matter how many positions I applied for, nothing was
happening.
I admit with shame that I was struggling in a big way to
trust God with my career and finances. I could have faith for others to see a
breakthrough but I was thinking that none would be coming for me. It seemed
that my struggle with confidence in that area of my life would continue
indefinitely. All I could think about was how I am past 40 and my career is stalled.
This was not how I pictured things going when I was younger.
A month or so ago at church the pastor invited people up for
prayer at the end of the service. He specifically encouraged people who were
struggling with issues of employment to come up. After a minute of watching me
stare forward Heidi nudged me and told me to get up there. I am so happy to
have a wise wife. So I trudged to the front with no faith at all that God was
going to move. A young woman that Heidi and I had met a week before came and
prayed for me. She told me that she felt the Lord say that He is waiting for me
to put my eyes on him and there will be a breakthrough. That was the point when
I finally started to trust again.
I had decided that there was one of two tracks that my career
could follow and either would be fine. The first was to pursue association
management and the second was to get into non-profit development (fundraising).
In the past year I had had promising interviews in both fields but neither led
to an offer. At least I knew I was on a reasonable track. So a few weeks ago I
saw a job on LinkedIn and decided to apply. It was for an organization that
works with eye care professionals. They were looking for someone to manage two
small trade associations and it seemed like a good fit for me. To my surprise,
they called the next day to set up an interview. It was only after I had agreed
to the interview that I realized that they are based in Woodbury, about a 35
minute one way drive from my house. I take pride in having a short commute to
work and never would have applied if I had realized where it was.
Before the interview was scheduled I had set up a networking
meeting with a woman who is friends with our good friends Peter and Julie. She
is a Major Gifts Officer for a large non-profit and I wanted to pick her brain
about fundraising. We talked for about 45 minutes and I was able to pick up
some helpful ideas. From there I headed to Woodbury for the interview and I was
not terribly enthused about it. That worked in my favor.
About halfway through the interview I found that I was not
all that interested in the job. It was a good opportunity but I was thinking
how I would not be upset if no offer followed. Then, about two thirds of the
way through, the CEO of the organization joined the interview. The completely
caught me by surprise when she started asking about my fundraising background.
She proceeded to tell me that they need someone to run their foundation and
offer career services to their members and how she has never seen anyone with a
background in both. I told her that I was interested (in my mind I was ecstatic
but I tried to stay cool) and that I would love to get more information. At the
end of the interview they asked for me to send my professional references and that
they would follow up with me after the finished all the initial interviews.
Then I had to wait. I hate waiting.
After a week and a half I got a call from Janice. She
offered me the job right then over the phone. I asked to give her an answer in
the morning but it was pretty much a done deal. After praying about it, I
accepted the job. I'll get a nice jump in salary and a better benefits package.
My current boss took the news well and I am excited to start in a couple of
weeks.
I don't know what will happen next but I am grateful to God
for his provision and I feel so much better positioned for the future. All of
the waiting was frustrating but I know that I can trust God in all
circumstances. Over the last few years I have been able to be grateful for my
wonderful wife, four adorable children, great family and friends in my life, and a
house that we love but I was mostly not grateful for my job. I am grateful that
God is good all the time, even when I have trouble remembering it.
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