A New Job Opportunity

This wasn't the first time I started a new job on a Friday and if you were to sit me down a year ago and tell me, 

"Val, you will be in a different position, in a different program area, making 46% more money a year..."

I would have called you crazy and seriously laughed in your face. The reasons?  To start off, nothing like this happens to me, especially with work. I have been working from home for almost six years, had little to no contact with anyone at headquarters, therefore, not networking or putting myself out there. I was doing the same mundane thing with no advancement; my supervisor was taking things away making my day and my position less challenging than it used to be when I first started in that unit and I was just going through the motions at that point. I desperately needed a change. But, how? How do I blindly go into another job and hope that it's a good fit?

The decision to send one text to check-in about two years before started this whole chain of events. I had little to no expectation when I sent it because I wasn't sure if they even wanted to talk to me, let alone want me back into their life. I just wanted to rekindle a friendship that I missed due to a miscommunication and some unfortunate events.

Anyway, I believe it took a lot of courage on both sides to even start communicating again and once we did, it got easier and easier every day, but I know it will never be the same. Those days are long gone. We are older, been through different life changing things and here we are now, a chance to move forward.

The DJA was a good change of pace for me. I was able to be in the office once a week, meet new people, network and learn a new program area the best I possibly could. Of course, I hoped that it turned into a job opportunity but at that point, I was happy just to get a chance to do something different and fill my afternoons with actual work.

But a job opening did show up at the beginning of January and I got excited. I knew I would have to earn it. Nothing is guaranteed. I tried to learn as much as my DJA allowed. I asked questions and I tried to understand why we did the things we did in that unit. I started working on my resume, cover letter and going over possible interview questions. I wanted to be prepared for when the job posted.

I was given just enough information to keep it ethical. I also was taking a two-week vacation to Europe with Ben during this time. I was hoping that when the job posted, it didn't close while I was gone. I did worry about that. Luckily, it did post while I was gone but it didn't close until a few days after we returned. I was able to come home and put the finishing touches on it and send it off. I hoped for the best.

After a nerve-wracking interview and waiting until the end of March. I was told I got the job and I could feel all the nervous energy disappear. Except, it came with another problem that was out of my control. I will not go into specifics, but we did have to report someone to HR for their behavior.

My first day was interesting. Since it was a Friday, we were at home and for the next several weeks I would be in training with my new supervisor learning the other things I didn't do during the DJA. That included more of the challenging emails in the shared inbox, settlements, more wage releases, RTR's, refund requests, special projects and eventually citations and determinations. This unit did a lot for being so small and understaffed.

I know this sounds weird but after several years of not being challenged, bored out of my mind, being isolated and micromanaged, this new job was a literal breath of fresh air. I do believe that there is the right place at the right time for everyone. The stars had to align just right for this opportunity to present itself. This was the first time in my state career I felt like I was in a position that mattered and being treated how we should be treated as people. The best part is my supervisor lets us do our job!

We have several goals we'd like to get accomplished as the year goes on but the main one is to get some of the things we do in our unit caught up to at least monthly or weekly. I am sure we will hit several hiccups along the way, but we were determined. We might even get another team member within the year or so and possibly a 5th person bilingual position to fill eventually.

Here's to the new job opportunity and a chance to make positive changes to the unit!

New Adventure: A Squaxin Park Geocaching Event and Adventure