just in case you haven't laughed yet today...

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

a bird in hand AND two in the bush

this should be the last post regarding my lovely job-finding escapades.  namely because i have one now.  a really good one.  last night david said, "congratulations on finding this job, michal." i reminded both of us i had nothing to do with it--i didn't find this job, it found me!

so i need to tell a little history.  two weeks ago, i interviewed at a pediatric office for a medical assistant position, and had a phone interview with labcorp for a phlebotomist position.  both interviews went extremely well and i was sure my job search would end with one of these two positions.  the pediatric office was a 25-30 mile commute, and the labcorp position would be closer to home.  so commute and wage were my top concerns, and whichever offered the better deal would be the job i'd take.

at the end of my phone interview, the hr rep at labcorp said the area supervisor would get in contact with me for a personal interview in the next week or so.  the pediatric office was the same company i've been with, but a different office in the valley.  the office manager offered to have me "sub" with their office until her decision was final; she really needed the help, and i needed zero training.  i left the interview saying i'd love to sub, and to let me know which days she'd need me.  two days after my labcorp phone interview, i left a message with the area supervisor.  a week passed, and i didn't hear anything.  last tuesday i emailed the pediatric office manager to see if she still needed a sub.  i also left another message with labcorp.  still no answer from labcorp, and i didn't hear back from the pediatric office until friday evening.  the office manager said she'd love to have a sub, but the job was mine if i wanted it and i could start monday.  she had been waiting to hear from me about how the other (labcorp) interview process was going (she was very sympathetic to my not wanting to commute 30 miles if i had another offer closer).  since she'd emailed me so late, office hours were over and i couldn't reach her directly.  so i emailed her back hoping she'd get my message first thing monday morning.  

i prayed for guidance from the Lord, and here was my final decision: by monday 9am i was going to call labcorp, talk with the hr rep.  if they could guarantee me an interview this week, i'd sub at the pediatric office until i could see where labcorp was going.  if they couldn't guarantee me an interview this week, i would request they pull my name from the interview process, and i'd start full-time at the pediatric office on tuesday.  i would make my calls at 9 and know what i would be doing with the job situation by 930.  period.  i went to bed sunday night feeling very excited.

monday morning rolled around and my phone rang at 8am.  it was the director of education from fortis college, a new tech school in murray.  after introductions, she said, "i'm sorry i'm calling you so early; i was going to wait until this afternoon, but i felt so impressed i needed to call you now.  your resume has come to my attention, and i want to offer you the position of part-time medical assistant instructor, and in 6 weeks when student volume picks up, i want you to be our medical program chair in addition to teaching."  !!!  i was speechless!  this is my dream job, right here, packaged and ready to go for me, being offered to me sight unseen.  i couldn't have been offered a more perfectly tailored position!  i couldn't believe it.  we talked for a while longer, and i had to ask, "you know, i am really sorry to ask these things over the phone, but today was my decision day for two other jobs i've been interviewing with.  before i add this one to the mix, i need to know what the commute is like, and what the wage would be."  she completely understood.  she actually lives near me, so she could give me very specific directions and commute times to the campus.  and let's just say the starting wage was enough to get me to drive up there for an interview at 11 the same day.  

the first thing i asked her when i sat down for the interview was how she had received my resume.  i had no recollection applying for this position, and had never heard of fortis college before she called me.  she said she honestly didn't know where it came from.  fortis college is a part of education affiliates, a network of private post-secondary schools.  she said they had sent a call out wondering if anyone knew of a candidate for this position they needed to fill.  she said my resume came across her blackberry late friday night, and she was so excited about it she wanted to call me on saturday, but thought that would be unprofessional.  so she waited until monday, but couldn't wait until the afternoon (and, might i add, called one hour before my self-imposed deadline).  i was amazed!  in december i had interviewed with techskills institute, an online post-secondary program, but i don't know if they are a part of the education affiliates network.  the interview i had with them went very well, but i ended up turning down the job because it was part-time with no chance of going full-time, and the wage wasn't enough to make me want to commute to salt lake.  that's the only place i can think of that would be a potential source for my resume being sent to her.  

i spent two hours there on monday, getting all my questions answered, looking at syllabi and curriculae, texts, getting a tour of the classrooms and labs.  today i went back to do a teaching demo (passed), and spent about 3-4 hours filling out paperwork.  so i'm officially a medical assistant instructor!  the rest of this week i'll finish training, and classes start on monday.  this campus offers medical assistant certificates and associates, medical office billing, medical office adminstration, dental assistant certificates, dental hygienist degrees, rn degrees, paralegal certificates, and has an hvacr program.  this campus just opened in january/february to get employees, and the very first classes start next monday.  classes go in 6-week increments (they call them modules), so they are hoping by the next module, june 1, i should be full-time (with a salary raise and everything!), but definitely by july 13.  

i am still in shock as i'm sitting here writing this.  when i started this career search last october, i had set very high wage requirements, and refused to settle for anything less.  i thought i was better than the jobs out there.  slowly, over the months, i have been whittled away, and made sufficiently humble.  i was ready to accept any job that wasn't a "college graduate" job, and that offered less than what i was making before i went back to school.  i think i had to become completely reliant on the Lord to remind me He does know our needs very intimately, and He is involved with the details of our lives and wants us to succeed.  He wants us to move forward and be happy.  david and i were discussing this wonderful blessing tonight, and he made the point, "the Lord promises us a blessing, then makes us wait for it, and after we've worked so hard by our own efforts, and seemingly failed, He sends us the promises in full and more--so we know it came from Him--so we know He is the source of our strength".

God's sense of humor