Good Friday

No...not THAT Good Friday, silly...

Today was a good day. Shall I regale you with my tale? Well, since you said please...

It started off (as most mornings do) with waking up; but the beauty of it was that I felt rested! I was in a wedding yesterday. (Groomsman for one of my accountability partners) and had a looong day - in the middle of a looong week - not getting home until about 11pm. I was a bit worried that I would be too tired for my interview, but was very grateful that God gave me the rest I needed.

Good Day Item #2: our company had the quarterly social/fun event: combat mini-golf. There were a few special rules for hitting opponents' balls, putting with your off-hand, etc. that helped your score - and I won! Admittedly, my competitive edge was simmering under the just-having-fun exterior. =) Couple with more golf experience than a majority of the others, I suppose I shouldn't brag too much about out-putting everyone else, but still, I had fun and won some cool foodstuffs from Alaska.

After the golf, I rushed back to work and quickly changed into my interview outfit. I realized that today is the first time I've worn a tie in a long time! I got to the address in plenty of time, to allow myself a few minutes to just sit in my car and get focused mentally, and pray, and psych myself up with positive/confident thoughts. I think while I was driving over I had a bit of nerves, but was pleasantly surprised that as I walked in, the nerves left and I felt very relaxed and at peace. I'm going to credit that to the prayers I know you guys sent up - Thanks!

By the way, the job is for an HR Generalist position at a national health care company. This would be a couple pay grades above what I'm at now - VERY good for us if I get it!

The interview lasted a little over an hour, and consisted mostly of her asking me a lot of questions about my HR experience and knowledge. There were a lot of the "what would you do in this scenario" type questions. As it went on, I found myself gaining even more confidence, and feeling more at ease. It was starting to feel like a good fit. She seemed pleased and - dare I say it - even impressed with my responses. There was even a "tricky" test when she had me read through a couple pages of a certain policy and then role-play with her as an employee needing to be counseled/disciplined for violating it. She said that I did better at that part than any of the other candidates.

After I asked her some questions I had, I ended by asking her if she would mind giving me some feedback as to what kind of feeling she had about me. She said that she really liked my communication skills and that what really "hit home" with her, was how I did on the role-playing test and the good questions I asked. I would be a good fit for this office.

But...

She said she was a little hesitant because I didn't have much "hands-on" experience. Meaning that because the majority of certain HR functions (approving FMLA, having the 1-on-1 counseling conversation, recruiting, etc.) I've handled the back-end, paperwork processing, rather than being the initial POC. So that puts me at a slight disadvantage there.

She said she will be making a recommendation to her boss, who will then do a final, phone interview (because he's out of state) by July 6. I'm hoping that I can use that opportunity to try and explain how that "disadvantage" isn't so bad, because I'm very confident that I can handle it; maybe even making the connection that I spent 4 years counseling, mentoring, and disciplining (sometimes in very difficult, tense situations) as a high school teacher.

At any rate, I walked out of the office, head held high (despite the light rain), feeling very good and smiling. I felt fulfilled, in that I knew I had the best interview I could have had, and was proud of how I handled myself. I also had a real sense that God (and many family/friends) were thinking of me at the time and I can only assume He gave me the peace, confidence, and words to say.

To end the day, we got a yummy Costco pizza, my brother came over to hang out, and he and I went to the pool/jacuzzi with my boy. My biggest smile of the day came when I stepped into the pool and held my hands out to help Connor in, and he randomly says: "You're the greatest!"
=)