Back in December

I wanted to wait awhile to write this blog. In December I was laid off from my job. I really wasn’t upset about the whole thing, mainly because I had been looking for a new job since November. I was unhappy in my position, so were a lot of my co-workers. In fact, two quit right before the lay off, and myself and one other were putting our feelers out for new positions. So, when I got the call it was almost a relief. One might say it was a blessing in disguise. It gave me time to really job hunt.

My number one goal in finding a new job was to find a growing company and a company with positive revenue. When you get out of school, I think you feel the need to just find a job. After I quit my first job, it was to move to Chicago and be with Michael. So, in the search for my second job, I asked more questions. In my first job, they glorified the position and the company and then once I got into the company reality wasn’t the same. It gave me great experience and helped me to decide how much I loved being in sales. As I interviewed for my second job, I definitely asked more questions about day to day life and responsibilities. When I started my second job the company had great vision and definitely could go somewhere. After about a year and a half things started to change and the futuristic visions started to fade. The reality set in for me that it might not be the best fit for me and my career ambitions. So, that’s why I started to look in November and why I wasn’t too bothered to be laid off. I saw it as an opportunity to find a company and a position I could grow with my career and spend a lot of time investing myself and my life.

There aren’t very many people who knew I was laid off, but now I think it is time to share about the time I spent looking. I am very lucky, Michael and I are super smart with our money, so first and foremost we didn’t stress about that portion. Michael was great, and told me not to take any position just to take a job. I started looking for a new job the same day I was let go. I knew two things, I wanted to stay in sales and I wanted to stay in the Healthcare industry. I love selling to people and I am pretty good at it. The reason for staying in the Healthcare industry is simple. It is constantly changing and growing and reality is it will never go away. So, with that I had a lot of companies to look into. Number one thing when looking for a job, don’t apply for a job just because. I always read tons of information about companies before I even got to the career section on the website. I only applied for jobs with companies that caught my interest in one way or another. I believe I have been very lucky, because I have had 1-2 interviews a week. Lots of diverse companies and definitely several, after the first conversation, I knew I would not like to work for them. I have received offers and rejected them, for one reason or another, but I have been looking for a company that could get me excited about selling for them. In the sales world I think that it is very important to one believe in the product or service you are selling and two believe in the company.

During the week of Valentine’s Day, I was sent to Seattle to interview with a company. The company had been the top of my list from the first time I spoke to them on the phone. I had a good feeling about them, and each time I spoke with someone their excitement and enthusiasm was infectious. I love people like that, mainly because I can definitely get excited over the littlest items. My first discussions started in December, and I wanted to meet everyone in their main office the next day. I wasn’t interested in moving Michael or I again, so I would be working as a remote employee. The company wanted to try and find people local, darn…but then they called me and had changed their minds. Reality is finding a person with specific skills and abilities can be a struggle for any company and then also looking for that person in a certain area definitely adds to the struggle. I was lucky yet again. So, they flew me out to meet everyone. I must say I was impressed with each individual for different reasons, and felt like they were definitely still at the top of my list. So, I quickly learned everyone liked me and they were going to be sending me an offer.

I received and accepted an offer to work for this Seattle based company last week. I am very excited and will be beginning my new adventure next week. I will be traveling between Arkansas and Washington several times over the next few months. I am truly excited about this position. It was exactly what I was looking for in a company and for my career. Even though, I turned offers down for whatever reason, I knew there was something out there for me, and I didn’t want to settle. Everyone, especially Michael, has been super supportive of me finding a good job no matter how long it took. I find job hunting to be very interesting, mainly because of the things people say and the types of companies out in the world. I hope if you are unemployed or unhappy in your current position, that you will take the time and find something wonderful that will make you happy.