God Works in Mysterious Ways

Guess what folks? I got myself a job.

In a nutshell, I applied for 842 jobs (on average) over a four month span. In that time, I was only called in for 2 interviews. The first interview was explained in this blog, and it was a shady pyramid scheme. The second interview was a decent and legitimate job.

And I got it.

Out of the 842 jobs I applied for, I'd say about 45% of them were in Austin, Texas. I was completely open (and mentally prepared) to move south to be closer to Happy Pants and start over in Austin, seeing as how I feel like I'm stuck in a rut here in the DF Dub.

But, oddly enough, the job I landed is in Fort Worth. On one hand, it's perfect. I abso-freakin-lutely love Fort Worth and have wanted to move to that area for a long time. I had been praying that a door would open where I needed to be, whether that was Austin, Fort Worth, or wherever. I ran into slammed door after slammed door and nothing came as smoothly or incredibly easy as this job.

I went to this particular business's website and found an internal position open, clicked "apply," attached my resume and hit "send." That was it. A whopping 25 minutes later, I get a call from Holly, who schedules me for an interview the following day. I go interview the next morning, and the interview goes so well that she calls the CEO and sees if he has time to meet me. He does. So I go meet with him. I feel that interview #1 went swimmingly. Interview #2 was questionable, as he was not as easy to read. But it was still a pleasant meeting.

On my drive home after a morning full of handshakes, nods, smiles, and politically correct responses, I'm exhausted. I drive home (in the snow, mind you) and I get a wave of depression. It's ugly. I want to shake it off but I keep feeling discouraged. I would never have considered this my dream job by any means. It may not pay enough and I may not even like it. But it's a job and I really need a job. And I realize that the CEO may not have even liked me, so I may have screwed up the only job that's been thrown at me. Too many thoughts running through my head.

Later, I anxiously await a phone call that never comes. I get really nervous because now I kinda want the job...I think. I go to bed that night, not knowing what the hell I want or need anymore. I'm at my wits end. I'm so tired of the hunt, the waiting, the rejections, the unanswered emails. I'm not sure I can do this much longer.

It was around 3 a.m. that I popped awake (BING!) and I remembered a dream I had about three weeks ago.

I dreamed that I was driving around with my boyfriend, looking for a place I was supposed to interview. After I found it, I walked in and spoke to a woman at the front desk of this really neat place. She told me that the CEO was in a meeting and would be out to meet with me, but to beware, because he was a bit intimidating. Once he came out, I realized two things. A) he wasn't intimidating, and B) he had a copy of my resume in his hand. I didn't have my resume on me and so I was relieved when he miraculously had one. He told me that he got it via email. Whew! Then he walked me over to a meeting table and we began a meeting. I felt important already. I really liked this place and this feeling.

So the reason I startled awake at 3 a.m. was because I suddenly realized how this dream paralleled with my real-life interview that day. Why, you ask?

1) The woman who interviewed me made me feel very important.

2) She then called the CEO and asked him to interview with me.

3) When we both realized I was without an extra copy of my resume, she emailed one to him.

4) She warned me that he may be intimidating.

5) When I met him, I decided he didn't intimidate me.

6) He came in with a printed copy of my resume (that I didn't supply him with).

7) I was wearing the same deep pink shirt and blazer that I wore in my dream.

Holy schnikeys! Do you see why I was freaked out?

So this gave me a sense of renewed hope that for whatever reason, whether I understand it or not, God was reassuring me about this job. Maybe telling me not to give up hope yet?

Two days later, I get the call from Holly congratulating me on my new job.

So why here and not Austin? I don't know. Happy Pants and I are both slightly bummed that an Austin job didn't pan out, but it's okay. We will be in the same city when the time is right. And apparently, I'm needed here for a bit longer. I just have to keep an open mind and a faithful heart.

Here's to a happy 2010 and a new job! I hope that you, too, had a new year filled with pleasant and unexpected surprises.