By Cathy Francois
Contributor, Career Services
On Independence Day 2011, I was enjoying fireworks downtown in a city outside the greater Washington D.C. area. I was in awe to see generations of families celebrating the event together, which was a far cry from the party scene in downtown Miami I was accustomed to. Now, I love my hometown of Miami, but I found myself falling for a new city and thought to myself, “I want to raise my family here.” And so the journey of my new job search began.
Ask. Embracing my “sometimes” impulsive nature, upon my return home I submitted for a transfer to a position in the D.C. area after only being at the company for 5 months. Not surprisingly, I heard nothing (cricket, cricket); however, I did not take it as a “bad” sign or defeat. I just came to the realization that it was going to take some time, and of course strategic planning, to uproot my family from the sunshine state to the suburbs of Washington D.C. After some careful thought, the end of Summer 2012 was set as my target move date.
Believe. By early winter, I was eagerly searching for possible positions and companies that I would apply for when the timing was right. I stalled on posting my rèsumè on CareerBuilder because I was certain employers would call me, and I did not want to be offered a position prematurely. By February 2012, I could no longer contain the excitement and posted my rèsumè. One company in which I was particularly interested called even before I had applied! Though the opportunity ended early with a telephone interview with HR (I’ll write about that experience later), it was truly a sign that I was sending the right messages to the universe.
Receive. Then the universe responded. I received an email to confirm my attendance for a group interview the very next afternoon! My stomach was in knots; with me sitting at my office desk wondering what I should do and how will this work. In short, I was out the next morning on the earliest flight to D.C. I arrived to the group interview to find that I was up against 5 other candidates for 3 available positions. Despite the competition, I still left with the certainty that one of the positions would be mine. By then it was March, and I was told a decision would be made in 2 weeks, so I awaited my call.
I returned home excited about the possibility of a new opportunity and drafted my resignation letter. However 2 weeks came and went, and I still had not received a call from the hiring manager, but in faith (mixed with some fear) I submitted my resignation letter anyway. My boss thought I was crazy, though deep down inside I truly believed an opportunity would come my way. Thankfully it did; and by the third week I received the phone call I was waiting for and I started in April.
The journey to my dream job wasn’t without some natural fear and anxiety. There were certainly barriers along the way, but choosing to focus on the opportunities kept them coming my way while I took action. If you don’t believe, it’s easy to give up when your faith is tested. Ask for what you want, Believe with persistence, and Receive with joy and watch the universe respond!
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