Here we go round and round...

The recruiter just called and said - all the job opportunities I thought I was interviewing for at the New England company that would leave me in the Midwest were resolved internally. None available at all. :(

However, the head actuary for the whole Commerical Insurance area of that company wants me in his organization. We had talked way back on my first visit about a unit he wants to build within Claim and Loss Prevention to support those areas with actuaries. That's what he wants me for, apparently. I guess it's a more senior job than anything I had interviewed for with them to this point. :)

This guy wants me back in to their New England home office for another set of talks about this job, and to meet the CFO, the head of Claims, etc. He's serious enough, apparently, to also make the recruiter suggest that this trip also double as a househunting trip for Deb and me. Which means it will be a New England based job, only, in the city where we lived before. Not in St. Paul, not in Milwaukee. We are looking at either the 2nd-4th of November, or the 9th-11th, for that trip. On one hand it's encouraging that they still want me, and for a responsible job, but discouraging that it has to be so far away from people I love. So, I should be happy... but...

And on another front... the recruiter sent my resume to yet another company in Chicago, a reinsurance firm, who would want me to work for them as a telecommuter out of my home here, going into Chicago now and then as needed. They are still interested in talking but the hiring manager has been traveling. She will follow up again Friday or Monday. So, we'll see... too early to tell if they will pursue it. But, it's always good to have a backup plan...

Now tell me... should I feel good? Or... what?

Disappointment

Here's what I send to J & J today to keep them abreast of their Dad's situation...

" :(

I heard today that the job I had thought was such a good opportunity, but would require a move to St. Paul, is definitely out.

The hiring manager had thought he was going to lose a couple of key people, and did not. Now he's going to promote one to take the job I was hoping for.

He and the head actuary for the company are going to be together Monday and Tuesday at a meeting, and will talk about my situation, and see if there's a viable alternative to discuss with me. I should know about that by Wednesday afternoon.

Other than that, I have nothing else, and am unemployed as of the 28th.

Be glad you're young and just starting out… it gets tough at this stage of life. Reminds me of Eccl. 11:9 - 12:8. Pray for me if you think of it.

Love
Dad "

I have to stave off the discouragement, but really don't know how. I feel like I am being reduced to nothing, beaten into a lump, so that God can take me and make me into something, like a batch of old clay being refashioned into a new vessel. I don't like the process... will I like the result?

Arghhhh!

This is excruciating!!!

The hiring manager for the St. Paul job has been back from Europe for 3 days now, and I expected to hear today if he's going to offer me something and what. So I send the recruiter a desperate email whining about not knowing anything yet.

She calls back and says that the guy called her last night after 7PM (which is after 8PM EDT), meaning he is working pretty late. He told her he is out of the office all day today and half of tomorrow, has his back to the wall on many fronts. Yet, he still took the time to call her. That's positive - he's still thinking about me. :)

He said she should call him Friday AM, at which time he'll have the final details of the unit structure worked out and have decided what he wants to offer me (if anything - my phrase, not his). So... I wait some more.

She thinks that Friday will not mean an offer, but rather a decision on what position the offer will be for, and the offer itself will come next week. Oh, I hope so. Next week is my last in the office and after that... I start eating into severance and have to pay for COBRA benefit continuation, etc.

Help!!! My nerves are getting to me... more drugs, more alcohol, more caffiene... no - just kidding. But it feels like that. God, grant me patience - and RIGHT NOW!

Stay In Touch

That's what people are starting to say now, when I see them. "You have my email address." "Don't be a stranger, now." "Call me sometime, we'll have lunch."

Found out today that the two lingering internal opportunities are officially dead. I'm out of here for real. This is sounding pretty final - finally. I really do have to think about packing up the office. I just want to have a job offer in hand before I start. It would make it feel so much better to pack, knowing it was going to go somewhere.

Who wants to leave something or someone behind... when there's no place else for you to go? It feels so empty to leave without being able to look forward to anything.

Silence

Not deadly silence, but silence just the same. Still at least a week from knowing if I get an offer about the job in St. Paul, or something related to it. Nothing about any continuing interest from the telecommuting job the recruiter inquired about. Nothing from internal sources - at all... just silence.

In the meantime, I signed the severance agreement today and forwarded it to Home Office. Final day... 10/28. I'm procrastinating on packing. Pfui! I'll wait.

Jenny's waiting, too. Still no word from the art shipping company, but she will inquire again tomorrow. Today is her last day at the Art Institute in that temporary job - nothing there about being rehired for anything, so as of tomorrow... unemployed. And, she's going with new girlfriend to see an apartment tonight to rent together. Net cost $400 each per month. Where it's going to come from, I don't know... right now, from my checkbook...

Safe at Home?

Hm. On the same day that I learn my final day in the office will be 10/28, get the official letter with COBRA benefits, etc., I get a call from the recruiter that there's another job she wants me to explore with a Chicago-based company. This one would report to the highest-ranking professional in my field in that company, and have the strong possibility of being a telecommuting position, with no relocation needed. They brought that up to the recruiter, not vice versa. Hm.

Apparently they do lots of telecommuting kinds of positions, have a lot of experience at it and understand how it should be done. And, that's what I asked the recruiter to research in the first place. Nothing was available at the time. How odd... So, I told her to pursue it, at least enough find out what the position is all about and show them my resume' to see if they're really interested. We'll find out.

Now, if they are, and I am... will everyone else in my life be? Or have they all gotten used to the idea of me moving away?

Rounding The Bases

Got a call over the weekend from the hiring manager for the St. Paul job. All the feedack from the interviews was "very good", and he's "hopeful we can work something out." Looks like I stroked a liner into the gap in right center... :) Now, the question is... how many bases will I get?

He is not yet settled on the structure he wants for this unit, and one of his current staff, a key guy, is being recruited away. If he loses him, it may mean more opportunity for me. So, I don't know yet whether they will offer me a management role or not, but it sounds pretty clear that they'll offer me something.

Now, I wait two weeks until he's back from Europe to find out what he's decided. Arghh... more waiting. It's like I'm rounding the bases and someone presses "pause". Will it be a long single, or can I stretch it to a triple? Probably not - I'm not that fast... :) I'll take a solid double, though.