One Exciting Week

So... my first real week in Phoenix was not spent laying by the pool like I thought it would. I got up every morning the same time Todd got up to go to work. Then I would send out a few resumes and search for jobs. Tuesday I met with Robert Half and had the similar feelings I did with every recruiter - nice and promising, but not sure if they are on the ball with anything. Tuesday evening I got a call from Ajilon Finance, asking me to come in Wednesday morning. Once again, another recruiter. Oh well, it wouldn't hurt, so I agreed to meet them Wed morning. The guy I met with, Dave, was great. He was very upbeat even though he personally had no open positions in his recruiting queue. I was there talking with him about my career history and goals for over an hour. Then he wanted me to meet with his partner recruiter, Jessica. She came in and chatted and then said she knew of a position open at US Airways. Well, I had seen jobs with US Airways a few months before, but nothing came of sending in my resume. And then the jobs were gone, so I assumed they were full. Well apparently a finance position was still open, so of course I was interested. She said she would try to get me an interview.

I went shopping the rest of the afternoon at the Scottsdale Fashion Square. I wanted a mall with a Limited or Express, as I know their suits fit me best. Todd was a little nervous to send me to that mall because they carry stores like Gucci, Guess, Coach, Armani, and Tiffany's. Well, I ended up finding a great deal on a new suit jacket for $12! I am a darn good shopper! :)

So, on my way home from the mall, I gave Jessica a call back to see if anything had happened. She said she was just waiting to hear back, and I might have an interview the next day. I don't often take things to heart, especially when there is a lot of unknowns involved. Nonetheless, she called me about 4pm and said I had an interview and wanted to prep me a bit. We went through some common US Airways interview finance questions, things they like me to bring up in the interview, and she did a mock interview as well.

I only get nervous about something when it means a lot to me. I find when I don't care about something, I do a better job. This job was one I really wanted, and it was my first interview in 3 years! My nerves were fried.

Todd has some friends that work at US Airways, so he wanted to know the names of all the people I was going to be interviewing with. I was reading them off to him, and one of the names he had a surprised reaction. It turns out it was actually his 2nd cousin from Keswick, IA! Very strange. He wanted me to bring up this little fact in the interview - it couldn't hurt!

The interview I felt went very well. I met with the two finance directors (one being Todd's cousin), and the controller of the group. They asked me some accounting questions. One I struggled with because I had never dealt with the topic directly at work. The other ones I aced though. I left there with an overall positive feeling. Jessica had told me to call the other recruiter, Eric, after my interview to give my feedback. She was actually traveling to NY, so she wasn't going to be available. I couldn't get ahold of Eric, so I left him a message.

I went back to Todd's hotel and we had lunch together. Although I had to bring lunch back because he couldn't leave the hotel as he was working the desk that day. Right before I was about the leave the hotel, the closing company for my house called and needed me to sign one more thing. Luckily, I was still there to use the hotel fax. After that was finished, I left for home and called Eric on my way. He asked for my feedback and then proceeded to tell me that they all really liked me, and I must have knocked their socks off, because they wanted to offer me the position! I was in shock only because everything was happening so fast!

I spent the rest of the evening getting my references together for the recruiter, and relaxing in the pool. I couldn't believe I had an offer only hours after my interview! And I had just heard about the job the day before! All I can say is that something seems to be meant to be.... my house sold in 5 days, I got a job in 4 days. :)

I go in Monday morning for the drug test and meeting with HR for filling out the admin forms. My title will be Senior Financial Analyst. It will be some Accounting close every month, but mostly financial analysis. I've wanted to cross over into Finance for awhile, as I am getting burnt out on Accounting. Accounting alone is typically boring and monotonous. The great thing about accounting is that there are usually quite a few jobs out there because every company has an accounting dept. So finally my background is getting me somewhere worthwhile. And I'm totally excited about this job! Not to mention that US Airways has great flight and travel benefits for employees. Now I will be able to fly home to Iowa easier!