Just when I thought it was over

I got a phone call from a company that I applied to well over a year ago. They are a big renewable energy company that has come to Colorado. They are filling thousands of jobs here, on an order of magnitude larger than they originally anticipated. Everyone I know that was interested in a new job has applied to them, and none of us have heard a word.

They called me for an interview last week. I didn't think it could hurt to go, and didn't think my odds were that great. As usual, they made a stink about my job history, as everyone has a right to do. If I hadn't been laid off, I wouldn't be in that position again right now.

Anyhow, I got the call last night. And can I say - "they liked me, they REALLY liked me!"

I'm expecting an offer. This is going to get difficult. We'll see what happens. I really like the idea of being on the right side of the energy equation - of being part of the solution and not part of the problem. Wish me luck.

Since I'm no longer unemployed...

At least for the time being, I'm going to put a pause on this blog.

I am, however, going to start a new blog to discuss something else going on in my life. I'm happy to share it with friends and family, but this blog is going to be private, because, well, I want to keep it between friends.

If you are interested in checking out my new blog, send me an email and I will send you the link. It will be a pain in the butt because you'll have to log in and stuff, but I may be posting pictures on this site that I don't want just anyone to see. NO, nothing explicit - sheesh, aren't pictures of de-feathered chickens enough for you people?

In the land of limited privacy, where the world can run off with your data and your images, this is a blog I want to protect.

Send me an email, I'll give you the link, and we can see what new adventures lie ahead for the now employed professional...

Final Closure

OK, just to end the soap opera for everyone... Things had been up in the air, but sometimes things just work themselves out. Company number 2 has now twice delayed my meeting with them. I've been working for a full 3 weeks now. BY putting me on hold, they made my decision for me.

My job may not be the best for my skills, but the people at my company are really wonderful. And sometimes that makes all the difference. Plus, those friday afternoons off are pretty cool.

SO I am staying where I am. I am no longer unemployed. I am enjoying using my problem solving skills again - and for more things than "how can I feed seven dogs without losing a finger?" It's nice to interact with people all day - instead of turkeys and sheep (though I like my turkeys and sheep!)

It's good to be earning a paycheck, too...

It's not over yet

I started this week. And I am having trepidations.

The 11th hour company is still pursuing. I'm meeting them again on Friday.

And tonight I am calling an old friend, and former career coach - she's a woman with a lot of experience, and incredible amount of poise and honesty, and I need her help!

I may have to pull a really crappy move, but in the long wrong, I gotta take care of me and my family.

I must decide today

It's almost 6 AM. I have until noon today to possibly renege on the offer I accepted at one company. Or not. If I turn them down, my other offer is still contingent on background checks, drug screen, and an ergonomic physical evaluation. Not that I think any of those things would screw me, but it's still a risk. And I put off getting paid another week or 2.

The jobs are different - manufacturing vs. quality. The companies are different -plastic medical devices vs. metal flow measuring equipment. The locations are different - Boulder vs. Fort Collins. The people are different - but almost everyone seemed nice. One company has a small company feel with a larger corporate ownership that seemed to stay out of the way. The other company is a formerly family owned company that is currently owned by a private equity firm and is on the block to be sold.

I like them both. The jobs are very different. The people are different. One of them has a 4.5 day work week, and man, for a chick who lives on a farm, that might just be the coup de grace.

The 11th Hour

I accepted a position. I've already told you that. I start on Monday.

But there is this other company that is playing hardball and they want to hire me. I guess that puts me in the power seat. It also may put me in the asshole seat. If they give me an offer I can't refuse, I have to go back to a company I said yes to, and bail on them. However, no paperwork has been signed. There isn't even an offer letter on the table, just a phone call. Which was weird.

So that is where I am. One more round of negotiations. We'll see where it takes me.

I accepted

I go back to work in 2 weeks. Weird.

That'll put me at about 2 months of being unemployed. I need to buy new pants.

IN 2 months, we have revamped the budget in our house, re-organized our priorities, put a project list together, and learned a lot about what it's like for one person to be home and the other "working".

In 2 months, I've worked my tail off at times, I've gotten some extra sleep at other times, I've gotten some things done, and put off others.

Now I have 2 weeks - I have a website re-do to complete, and some other SWE tasks to finish. Then we get back to life the way it was, but it'll never feel the same to me. I am already looking forward to "retirement" although I have been looking forward to that for a long time!

Offer #2 on the table

Got another offer. A job that is more suited to my skills than the first offer. In an industry associated with energy, so it's more stable than my last job. Equivalent salary to my last job, half days every friday, a volleyball league within the company. Also closer to home than the first offer. The first offer was also contract - which could be good or bad.

Contract would have given me an easy out if AVA Solar ever decides I am worth their while. But instead, I am going to sit down, shut up, and be happy with a job, work my tail off.

And the first order of business - I'm buying a new fridge. And I'm getting a stainless steel one. THEN we start working on running water and electric out to the pasture, and building our greenhouse. Thanks to the lay off, we were finally able to talk about finances, put together a budget and a plan for getting the BIG things we always wanted.

I see the finish line

A drug screen tomorrow, which is good. One more interview tomorrow, too. I hope that's the finish line I see, because interviewing is EXHAUSTING!! I shouldn't complain, I could have nothing, and I can't imagine what state I would be in if I hadn't any invitations to interview. I'd probably be in a very depressed state - there is something nice about being interesting. Anyhow, I think today's interview was a complete flop, though I did like the company. What they asked about in the interview that was NOT part of the job description - finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics. Yeah, not since undergrad. They won't offer me a job, which is too bad, the company seemed really cool (and the closest to home so far!)

Oh well, I have an offer on the table, a drug screen tomorrow, which I can't screw up. Hopefully offer number 2, which is cool too. This means I have to start getting up early in the morning again!

Offer on the table

So, I was completely caught off guard today by an offer. It's contract, which seems kind of cool. But I wasn't expecting it today. And I wasn't expecting that they'd want an answer so quickly. I mean, I know that I am unemployed, but that doesn't mean I am desperate. It doesn't mean I don't have the right to think before I leap, and choose the right job, instead of any job.

But it's on the table. I have 2 more interviews this week, and I think I owe myself the option to see if they go anywhere, and anywhere better than this offer. Which is outside of my industry.

So I don't know, I really don't. All I know is I don't like being pressured. Last time I was pressured into a job, I ended up regretting it.

Lost count

A full day of interviews tomorrow. Which is nice. And I only dirty one set of nice interview clothes for 2 companies. It does take the entire day, which is sort of like working. And sort of keeping my busy for a day. At least I'll be fully air conditioned all day. but I won't get anything done at home, and this place is a MESS!

Anyhow, it's all positive stuff at this point. I can almost smell the new hardwood floors.

Vacation during my hiatus

I'm taking a trip, which is cool. I don't have to use up any vacation days to do it. hee hee.

I am hoping that next week might have some good news on the horizon. I have another phone interview tomorrow. I have a face to face lined up for next week.

And hallelujah, I have a recruiter with an inside lead at AVA Solar. I'll do anything to get to work there.

With all these interviews, the odds are with me that one of these fish is going to bite. I'll be back at work. Ah! Air conditioning again! Which puts the pressure on me to finish some projects at home while I have the time. Which is good. I get a lot more done when I am in a time crunch.

Like right now, trying to get the house prepped for my departure - filling up food bins, cleaning, labelling, etc. Then some free time for me...

I lost count

This blog may be very short lived, which is fine by me.

I have a company going through the motions right now - applications, background checks, drug screen. Usually they don't take the time to do this unless they are serious. But it isn't a sure thing. I've gone through this before just to be turned down. And I know it isn't the drug screen that gets me turned down. So I am trying not to think this is a sure thing.

In that case, I have a phone interview lined up for monday, as well as a face-to-face I am trying to get scheduled. I'll keep interviewing until someone bites. When it rains it pours, and I have to admit, this is all happening a lot faster than I expected. Which is fine, I have dreams of hardwood floors and a new greenhouse in my mind. This time it will happen.

In the meantime, I have a lot of things to get done while I am still on "Summer Vacation"
I have to finish painting the hallway, getting my garden covered in straw, hanging bird scares in the orchard, finishing a web site for SWE, and getting this house cleaned up some. I may only have a few weeks to get it all done now, but everyone knows, you get more done under pressure than when you have all the time in the world!

Day 29 or something

When it rains, it pours. I have interviews, phone screens or phone interviews lined up with 3 more companies between today and early next week. That's a good thing, it means the odds are playing with me right now.

I have high hopes for one of the jobs -I got a call back from them last night, but no message, and no return yet this morning. I'm thinking it's bad news if it is this soon... It's OK, we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, I have some other things on my mind right now that are very distracting. But I will continue to apply apply apply... it can't hurt, or can it?

Day 27 - 4 weeks

So, essentially, it's been a month. I am fearing my summer vacation is coming to a close. I could be wrong, I could be right.

I had an interview yesterday, and they called me today to schedule me a second interview this afternoon. As I said, I saw my competition leaving the same time I did. I get to meet some more higher-ups and the hiring manager today. I need to print out some more resumes and polish up my list of fancy questions. This could be it... I could be smelling new hardwood floors before you know it!

I also have an interview lined up for Monday afternoon, but the company is pretty far away, and I might not want to drive that far. Of course, I had a call for a contract position in Chicago. He saw my area code and thought I was still in Detroit. Nope. Chicago is a bit too far to commute.

Anyhow, this could be the light at the end of the tunnel, or at least the beginning of some new projects at home.

Day 26

Again, it's the ups and downs.

I had a good interview today. Saw my "competition" as I was leaving - he left the same time I did, which means I spent twice as much time there. I got handed off to the boss's boss, and he got shown the door. Another one bites the dust. I think it all went well and I have my fingers crossed. BUt my resume looks like shit. I've bounced around too much, and just when I find the job I want to retire with, I get laid off. Now it looks even worse.

Add on top of that the amount of stress I am under. I am going bald. And that's not a joke. My friend was pulling hairs off my sweater yesterday, because I was shedding. This morning, in the shower, I pulled out enough hair just from shampooing that usually gets caught in the drain in an entire week. I better get a job before I look like Sinead. Not that it was a bad look for her, but I have a bumpy head.

I felt good about having an interview, but it always feels bad to leave when they keep asking you why you bounced so much. ON top of the fact that they recognized my name from having applied there in the past. ouch.

Day 25

I have an interview tomorrow, and I am looking forward to it. Definitely.

I just found out today (because I didn't get yesterday's mail until today) that I won't be getting much unemployment. Seems I wasn't at my previous company long enough to get much from them (less than $1000 total) and since I left the company before - I don't get anything from them. So the $11,000 ma I was alloted got knocked down below $1000.

That changed plans drastically. Had to redo our budget all together and things are tighter than ever. This is going to stink.

So cross your fingers for me for the interview next week. Please.

Day 23.5

I may not get a chance to post tomorrow. It's going to be a busy day! I am going to our first Farmer's Market in town. We only have a few chickens left to sell (aside from the ones we will process in August! Then we will have 50 more!) And once we put together the 300 eggs we deliver weekly to our restaurant customer, I still had another 13 dozen left over! So I'll be taking those to the market tomorrow too. Since Husband is out of town this weekend, it's all on me - gotta feed the chickens and turkeys in the morning, let the pups out and head to the market and spend most of the day there. It's going to be a GREAT time!!

BUT I wanted to post about something else! I got a call earlier today, someone has me lined up for an interview 11AM on Monday. This job is closer to home than the last two I have spoken to recruiters about. The job sounds fun, the company is part of a large conglomerate (I have been around many of their subsidiaries throughout my career). In other words - large, stable company. That is a good thing.

It's interesting how I can start feeling so imbittered by this whole ordeal - and then get a call for an interview (I only sent in my app on Wednesday!) and I feel totally different. Already planning in my head the fun house projects I get to spend the money on... (hardwood floors, new kitchen, solar hot water heater...shall I go on?)

Day 23

I had a meeting with a recruiter today, for a job in Louisville. It's a contract job until the end of the year, that could get extended for a full year. I have never worked contract before, but it could actually be pretty cool. I should hear early next week if they are interested in talking to me.

No offense to any recruiters out there, but that can be a hard route for me to go. Often, recruiters are NOT engineers, nor do they have any engineering experience, they can't often really comprehend the jobs from the employers, nor can they translate an engineer's background to fit with a job description. It sometimes leads to dead ends, but any route is worthwhile. A dead end doens't really cost me anything (except the gas it took to drive to the city this morning!)


Anyhow, I was complaining about the fridge this morning, and husband says "That's what you can do with your first paycheck. By a new fridge. You can use all your money for house stuff"

Which is exactly what I intend to do... NOW, there's a little trick about the paycheck... gotta find someone to hire me for what I can do for them. Still working on it!

Day 22

I have a meeting scheduled tomorrow with a recruiter. The job is interesting, but I am not a great fit. I am stretching at this point. I also spoke with another recruiter about a job in Golden. It's also a stretch, possibly, but he didn't have a great write up of the job. Interesting industry, but what would I really be doing? And is driving to Golden daily even worth my while?

I am following up on these things, but we'll just have to see.

And none of these people know where I live or how to pronounce my town. Both of the claimed to be from Michigan. One of them knew were Berkley is. The other forgot what city Wayne State is in. Sigh.

I am beginning to wonder if the gas to drive to Denver is worth it for a potential dead end...
Besides, I have my brain focused on Saturday's farmer's market, which I will be attending solo (well, maybe with a dog companion) because husband is gone for the weekend.