New Job At Last Share

April 1, 2010

I am not sure how philosophical I should get with all this, but I am proud to announce that I have a new job! Now, you know I have to say more than that. I want to provide some of the drama and stress involved, as well as some of the accolades and thanks.

Truly, I can trace my job history all the way back to decisions made while working at eBay, which lead me to New Horizons where I picked up the majority of my technical ability, which lead to American Express, which lead to where I have been working for the past year, Rio Tinto. Working at Rio Tinto has been beyond great for me. I mentioned on this journal some of the things I have enjoyed about it. Covered parking, close to home, new building, fantastic people, freedom to learn and grow, lots of experience, and more. I have learned and focused my SQL skills so much while at Rio Tinto. I would definitely call the people I work with my SQL mentors. They pull me when I need it, and push me when I need it. I have been able to develop some really good relationships, which is awesome.

The whole time though it was a contract position. There was hope initially that it would turn full time. In fact my manager told me that was the way things were heading. But due to the economy and mining environment (Rio Tinto's business) the contract was cut short and I was told to look elsewhere. Stressful? Yes. But I wasn't worried. I had the benefit of warning and time. I began job hunting, primarily using Craigslist.com but also using past contacts at Consultnet and a few other agencies.

I wasn't worried during most of the job hunt for a few reasons. I was getting lots of interviews, had time, had options. Some of the interviews went really well (others less so). But as Beckah and I have learned in the job field, we are in God's hands. I think both of us trusted God to find a job. That doesn't mean I didn't look for jobs, or that it wasn't scary. I was concerned, but never shaking in my boots, as I have in the past. I would love to recount all the interviews I had just for the sake of memory. In fact I've been putting off making a journal entry because I wanted to get a job lined up before I told all the stories. I'm not sure I would gain much by recounting all the details, but here are the important ones.

Last month I had an interview with a company called Teleperformance. I liked it, they liked me and it all looked great. I kept their number and kept looking. Lots of water under the bridge passed. I then had an opportunity at Rio Tinto. It would be on a different team doing something different. The pay was the same, it was an extension of the contract I had in place. No guarantee, but at least it had all the same benefits that I have dealt with the past year.

That was all set to happen. This was yesterday. Then Teleperformance called back with a firm job offer, full time, with benefits. This was exactly what I had been looking for. I decided it was best to go with Teleperformance. How can I pass up a full time job with benefits compared to a temporary contract job?

So, all that happened yesterday. As of Monday, April 5th, 2010, I will be a TelePerformer! The job as I understand it now is SQL Database Administrator and Developer, mixed with support AND I get to work with MySQL and PHP. All of this is very cool from an IT perspective. I am thrilled for the opportunity. I think it proves God works in job situations. Although I don't know why he seems to wait until the last minute!

More news but before I get to that I wanted to say how careful I try to be with this journal in regards to jobs. I learned from eBay that if you publish too much more than the name of the place you work trouble can soon follow. I keep all my job related entries pretty surface level ever since eBayGate. I wanted to update this journal with all the interview stories. Some of them were very fun. Others were strange. I enjoy interviewing. It just doesn't pay very well. It's fun to hear what companies are doing to lead them to decide to hire people. It totally accesses the MBA in me and makes me want to be an executive. One place I interviewed asked me what my goals were. I told them my long term goal was to be an executive manager (true). He asked me why. I wasn't prepared. I answered and he then picked my answer apart and basically told me my motivation was off. I think I agree with him. I need to rethink my long term goals perhaps? Or at least how I relate them to others.

Anyway, the moment I post details of interviews on my journal and then do more interviews about ecommerce, the more people will look at my Webpage and make judgements thusly. Well, that stinks. It's my journal, right? This is my place to say what I want about what I want, and vent. I guess if I really want that, I should get a book and not publish it on the Web. Not the first time I've had these thoughts, but I've had them again. Blogs are two edged swords. The more you say, the more you risk making a fool of yourself. I know some good Bible versus about that!

So, the job news is really big news. But there's lots going on. I expect to be playing drums at Shadow Mountain Church soon. I'm teaching drum lessons (only one student but its fun). Also, we are pregnant! 16 weeks, the child is as big as an avocado I'm told. Tomorrow we are going for an appointment to find the sex of the child. I will post the journal entry here and I'm sure I will on Facebook as well.

Everything else is wonderful. It's snowing today, but spring is around the corner. I have planted a bunch of new plants in the greenhouse downstairs that I am very excited about (lots of herbs and a few other things). That is all for now. I'll keep everyone posted!

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