Erincita

Itching to go!
Saturday, July 08, 2006

My life has been so drama-free lately it's pathetic. I'm becoming pragmatic. I'm turning into my mother. Not a bad thing. But lack of emotional turmoil makes for uninteresting writing. Work has become my life. It's something I can control and predict and maneuver. This particular post is about how even my work life recently became unmanagable. Mom's advice was to follow Sarah's example and not go into new job details until I had actually landed a job. I've been so busy in the last few weeks, updating my resume, going to interviews and job fairs etc etc. After several interviews and a few job offers, one of my favorite managers convinced me to apply for another WaMu job, saying I shouldn't be bitter with the company. The next morning I got a call from the hiring manger and by mid-afternoon I was sitting in a conference room with an offer laid out on a silver platter. So the big news is, I'm going into sales at almost 100% commission. We shall see if I've inherited the Purcell gene for making a sale.

About a month after we got news that we were being laid off, I took my vacation to go see the fam. We spent a lot of time discussing my options. I have to give props to cousins Brian & Shannon, who not even once thought this layoff to be anything other than a great opportunity for me. I had this amazing revelation late one night at the folks' and realized that my dream job, what I was meant to do, was be an International Student Advisor. I really am perfect for it, but I don't have any actual experience in the title job. Still, I took great pains to apply for an opening in the heart of the University District, my old stomping grounds. Obviously it didn't pan out and I was really excited about it for awhile. The position has been filled and I'm really not as disappointed as I expected I would be. I nailed that interview with National Direct Sales. If I was able to sell myself well enough to get an offer on the spot, I just may have found my niche.

I must say that this is the most pleasant termination I've ever experienced. We got plenty of notice, a decent severance package (which I will forgo since I'm staying with the company), and lots of support from the company itself. We had job fairs and college fairs right here at work, and the company even gave us paid time for any interviews that happened to run into a scheduled shift. WaMu is also footing the bill for personal job consultants for all of us for up to 3 months. This morning I got a nifty little binder with DVDs, CD roms, and mounds of info on successful job search skills. This is one expensive layoff.

Next week is my last, though I will still be showing up here to train for my new position. The great thing about staying with the company is that I will keep my tenure. I won't be agonizing over lack of benefits (or wasting time looking over new plans), and I get to start my 401k and buy shares if I so choose. This will be the first job I've held for more than a year. I may be growing up!

I will be working in Lynnwood, which is only half as far away as my current place of work. And still I'm going against the traffic! As you can tell, I'm very excited. I'll try and keep you updated as I learn more.

11:59 PM |