Today is a lovely day. I’m enjoying the first of many Sundays at home as I prepare to start my career tomorrow. I am leaving the repetitive world of retail sales and entering the exciting world of the non-profit sector.
This adventure began in August of 2011 when I stumbled upon an online job posting for a job that I was sure was custom fit for me. I applied for the job and, before I knew it, I was going through a series of interviews. I was sure the job was mine. I wowed the hiring managers, left each interview with a little more confidence than I walked in with, and felt certain that I fit the bill for what the organization was looking for. Fast forward a couple months to when I received a phone call that I was not going to be offered the job at that time. I was devastated. Shattered. How could this be? I was positive, mostly, that I was the person they were looking for. I broke the news to several family members and friends that I wasn’t going to get my dream job after all. I took the hit on the chin and moved forward.
I accepted my failure but never forgot about how badly I wanted an opportunity to work for the organization that initially turned me down. All I wanted was an opportunity to do good and honest work. I wanted to go home at the end of the day feeling like I really made a difference and I wanted to make a difference with an organization that I am passionate about. I wanted to be proud of what I did for work and I knew this employer would deliver all of those things.
Through an ironic stroke of luck, another position opened up and I was reconsidered for it. Eleven months after my first interview and after a couple emails, I was sitting in front of a Director for the organization having another interview. I had nothing to lose at this point. I’d been through this rodeo before. My expectations were low and I was beyond thrilled to be in the office again. Second chances are rare and I thought if it doesn’t work out this time, it’s time to hang my hat.
Now as i write this, I am the newest employee of the organization that was the ultra-exclusive club that I just HAD to be a part of. I am a part of a family. A network of people who aren’t strangers but members of a team. I am going to work with, for, and alongside true heroes. True fighters. True pioneers for an unselfish and relevant cause. And so begins what I know is the start of a rewarding, successful, and fulfilling career. All things that are worth it take effort and persistence. This is a new venture that I will nurture and care for because I already know what it feels like to lose it.
I can’t wait to walk into the office tomorrow at 9am to begin fulfilling my commitment to my new employer’s mission.
