The Ministry of Happiness

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Patience is not just the ability to wait, it’s how we behave while we’re waiting. ~ Joyce Meyer

So a few weeks ago I wrote a post about some decisions I was trying to make related to my current job search.   This time around is a little bit different for me.  Normally, as my regular readers know, I typically work three or four years and take off to travel for a time before returning to work.  However this time around, there’s an interesting convergence shaping up.  You see, I need twenty years in the retirement system to get the retirement I want, and I need to be at least sixty to collect it.  I turn sixty in six years and if I work the next six years I will hit twenty years of service at the exact same time.  So this time around I’m looking at staying in a position for six years.  I’m always fairly careful about my job selections, but this time I need to be extra special careful and there are some things I need to get out of this trip.

I do need this time to make sure I hit salary goals that will set my retirement at the right level, effectively I’ll get 50% of the my next to last year’s salary when I retire.  So I need to make sure wherever I start on the next salary schedule, that by year five I’m at a level I want to be at for my retirement.  I also need to be in a job that will be able to give me enough of a sense of accomplishment that I can happily stay in the position for six years.

So I’ve started the application and interview process, I’m happy to say that I’ve been offered interviews for four out of the five positions I’ve applied to so far and the fifth one, is the one I’m most sure I’ll get an interview for.  There’s a sixth position that doesn’t close until the end of this week and I’m confident I’ll at least get a first round interview for that position as well.  So things are going really well at this point.

I’ve done a first, second and third interview for one position, and it’s a position I liked of course, that’s why I applied, and it is  a position that has seriously grown on me through the interview process.  I think I have a shot at getting an offer and it’s something I will seriously consider.  Here’s the wrinkle, I also have interviews for two positions, one is the position I’m most interested in, that will pay significantly more.  So I may soon have a Cornish game hen in hand, with a turkey in the bush and  I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Fear is killing your happiness

It’s funny when I started this process again I was initially a little gun-shy.  My brother had just been through a horrible job search process.  And as I started mine, and as things always take longer than you expect my self-confidence started to wane a bit.  It’s nice now, to have had interviews and have interviews coming up to start feeling that the self-confidence I normally carry in relation to my work is being validated.  Who knows how all of this will work out, it will be interesting if I decide to pass on an offer.  As a blue-collar kid, I’ve never passed on a full-time professional job offer, and it will be interesting to see if I’m willing or able if I’m in that position given it will be for the highest salary I’ve ever earned.

My friends what I want you to take out of this, is that first of all, fear is a liar.  We all spend time afraid of things that we shouldn’t.  It’s important to believe in yourself, to have confidence and to take risks.  Never sell yourself short, and sure, you may fall down once in a while, but you won’t die from a miss or a little failure.  And once you reach a little further than you think you are able, and succeed, well it will make for a very happy day my friends, so take the leap. ~ Rev Kane