Stops and Starts

I have a new job. It seems crazy to write those words. I have been looking for another job, off and on, for about 5 years. When people talked about what a tough job market it was, I knew what they meant. I got my hopes up, got disappointed, felt discouraged, almost gave up, and everything in between. But I now believe more than ever in the idea that everything happens for a reason.

I discovered the posting for my new job by chance. The midwife that helped deliver Brett sent out a letter that the midwife practice was moving to the InterCare clinic. Then I got an email at work that one of our Vice Presidents was leaving to take a position at InterCare. Having heard the name twice in just a couple weeks, I decided to Google it. As I poked around on their website, I saw the job posting for a Training Coordinator. As I read the description and requirements, I couldn’t help but think, “This is me.” So I applied.

I didn’t hear anything for probably about six weeks. I had kind of figured I wasn’t going to get a call (or even a thanks, but no thanks letter). Then I got a call. The HR manager I talked to said they had been working on filling a number of positions and were finally turning their attention to this one. She told me about the job and asked if I would be interested in coming in to talk to her about. I ended the call and was shaking I was so excited!

Then came the interviews. Interviewing is a lot like dating, except there are no fun movies and going out for drinks. And you have to much more aggressively sell yourself because you only get a couple chances before it gets to the getting serious stage. So I got out of my box and tried to talk myself and my skills up. And as they asked the questions, I realized I didn’t have to work hard to give them examples and to talk about how I would handle situations. And I left the interviews with the same feeling you get after a great date – those excited butterflies in your stomach and the hope that it was the start of something.

Then there was the waiting. While hiring for the position was not their only task to do, it was the only thing I could think of. I stared at the phone; I watched my email for a note from my references that they had been called. (Strangely, a lot like dating again.) Finally, the call came. I had got the job. And the offer was sweet. Better than I had anticipated. I immediately called Troy, then my sister, and cried happy tears.

While it feels crazy to think that I have a new job, it feels just as crazy to say that I resigned my job at Lakeland. I have been there 8 ½ years. I started there single and living in my parent’s basement; I am leaving there married, with two kids and a house. Stops and starts, or changes, usually stress me out and make me nervous. I am a type A person – change is hard for me. But the fact that I am not nervous about this change at all, tells me it is right.

So now I am at the starting and stopping point. I don’t like to think of it as beginning and ending. Really, the job is not beginning; the idea and vision of it has been there for a while, on both my side and theirs. I am just starting with it; picking it up and running with it. And my time at Lakeland is not so much ending; I will just stop going there and being involved in projects. I hope to maintain many of the relationships I have built there; some on a professional level, and some on a friendship level.

There is something about a big change in life that brings a sense of hope and that great feeling of getting to start over; getting to create something new. Hope is something I have needed for a while now. So I believe even more that everything happens for a reason. Whether it is fate or faith, or a little of both, thanks for working out just right this time!

Me with my offer letter from InterCare!!!