I am doing the job hunting thing… again. Oh no! This is a very big week for me. I have at least two job interviews and possibly three. I dislike my job at the bank so much I can hardly bear the thought of continuing there much longer. Tomorrow I have a “coaching” session with a Recruiter for a position with Ingersoll Rand (an industrial firm). The position is for a Director of Senior Leadership Development with their Corporate University located north of Charlotte in Davidson, NC. I have an all-day interview with them (8 hours worth) on Tuesday.
Then, on Wednesday afternoon I fly to Chattanooga to interview all day Thursday with EMJ Corporation for a Training Director position. EMJ is a small construction company. Then, I find out tomorrow whether or not Dell will be flying me from Chattanooga to Austin for a Friday Interview or whether or not I’ll fly their next Sunday for a Monday interview. That position is a Sr. OD Consultant that could possibly be located in Nashville. But, there would be considerable global travel to SE Asia (no fun). The Ingersoll Rand position would involve some global travel too.
I am most interested in the NC position and the Chattanooga position. I sense that Dell’s culture may be somewhat like the Bank’s. Please pray that God will provide just the right job. Please also pray that I will have wisdom to discern what the cultures and the positions will be like. I am also waery of constant change. Please pray about that as well.
Thanks,
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I have been praying, and will certainly continue to pray. I hope we can see you on Wednesday!
I will pray that the Lord will give you wisdom, and that you find a job that you enjoy.
We will pray for wisdom and direction for you.
Sharon
I am praying and will pray!
Thanks for all your prayers! I’m praying too.
We will be praying for you. I know this must be very wearying. Alan
Thanks for all of your prayers. I’ll keep you updated.
You are in our prayers as well. Job Hunting is hard work.
We pray that God will give you wisdom to discern the ins and outs of each job site and that you may make the right choice. Dad & Judy
David is busy this evening filling out an application for the job he interviewed for today. So I will update you.
He liked the content of the job very much. Head of Leadership Development for Ingersoll Rand University. (David, if I didn’t get that right correct me). He also liked the people he interviewed with. He said they were “real” people. He would really like to have the job. I think he was the first they interviewed, though and their retained headhunter has one or two more lined up to interview.
Tomorrow David leaves for Chattanooga. He’ll have dinner with Nathan and the GWaldeckers. Then he interviews all day Thursday with EMG Corporation.
The Dell interview is now scheduled for a week from Friday.
We have been – and will continue to pray. I know this must be awfully tough having to do this again. But it’s also exciting to see how the Lord will lead.
Thanks. By the way I said EMG, but its EMJ corporation. …..Anyway
I interviewed in Chattanooga on Thursday. Had dinner with the GWaldeckers Wednesday. I actually liked the position and appreciated the fact that many of the leaders are Christians and felt free to express their faith in the interview process. The President is concerned that I make more money than they are willing to pay. I expressed that I am unhappy in my current situation and am willing to take less. We’ll see. Please pray that God will sustain me as I travel to Delaware tomorrow and begin the new position with BofA. I am really dreading it.
While on the plane to Chattanooga Wednesday evening, I reflected on what God is teaching me through this difficult employment situation. I thought I would share them with you all.
* PATIENCE: His timing is perfect and it won’t be thwarted by my efforts to speed things up.
* HUMILITY: Each time I lose a job, I am reminded that I only had it by God’s grace anyway. He owns it all. My position in the workplace doesn’t define me, my position in Christ does.
* ENDURANCE: I feel like my family and I are weary wanderers. God has promised good things. But, like Abraham, I must travel through this life (literally and metaphorically) as though I am only passing through and that the only permanence in I’ll have is when I see His face in Glory!
More on what I’ve learned…
* STEADFASTNESS: I must continue to fight the good fight and press on toward the goal, even though I feel like throwing in the towel.
* MY HEARTS DESIRES ARE HIS: When I am in tune with who I am in Christ and what God has made me for, I can be assured that what my heart desires in an occupation (or anything else)is aligned with God’s own desires for me. I need to rely less on “rationality” for what I should do in my vocation, but follow His will placed upon my heart.
* WHAT I ENJOY MOST IN A VOCATION: Following God’s desire placed upon my heart, I feel as though I am gaining a clearer understanding of what my strengths are. (I am a slow learner in this regard).
* MY LIMITATIONS: Through the process of seeking God’s will placed upon my heart, I have become ever aware of my limitations and those vocational aspects that do not bring me joy.
* THAT FAMILY IS MORE EVERLASTING: Jobs come and go, but families do not. A vocation that allows my family and I to grow closer together is one that is in accordance with God’s will placed upon my heart.
* TO TRUST IN HIM, RELY ON HIS STRENGTH, AND NOT MY OWN:
No matter how hard I try, God will only allow those job opportunities He wants for me, to surface. These things never work out according to my plans, but in accordance with His will.
* HE WANTS GOOD THINGS FOR ME: When I took the position I now have, I did so because I saw it as an opportunity to provide for my family, not necessarily because of the desire of that specific job on my heart. He knows I am miserable and I trust that He wants me to be happy in my vocation.
Some other things I have learned are:
* HE IS IN CONTROL: He gave me time off during this past week to pass though a couple of doors he has temporarily opened. With a greater measure of patience, it’s exciting to see what God will do next in my vocational life.
* TO BE MORE DISCERNING: I often follow my head (thinking, rationality) rather than my heart and what God placed upon it. By listening more to my heart, I can be more open to God’s will and what’s best for me.
* THAT HE WON’T BE ROBBED OF HIS GLORY: A new vocation that that makes me happy, that is in accordance with His will for that part of my life, will only show His omniscience and omnipotence rather than any work or effort n my part. He will work it out so that I can’t boast or claim anything except His goodness. He can be nothing but Glorified through the outcome.
* HE’S INTERESTED IN REFINING ME: During those moments in which I can reflect on His will and His desire for my best, I can consider these trials as joy in the sense that He is continuing to make me and refine me into a disciple who can appreciate the sufferings of Christ.
Thanks for sharing the ways in which you are growing through this difficult process.
We would say that you have been much in thought and reflection on your situation . Whatever job God has for you, you have learned some valuable lessons that can only strengthen you. You are in our prayers. Dad & Judy
UPDATE:
Went to Austin Thursday evening to interview with Dell. With flight delays, got in at 2 am. They gave away my hotel room at the Hampton Inn. I slept in a smoky conference room on a pullout couch (for a few hours). I was quite candid with my questions during the interview and wouldn’t take that job if they paid me a million dollars. With flight delays, got home about 1:30 am Saturday. (I’m tired).
Received an offer from the job in Chattanooga while at the airport Thursday am. (That’s why I was so candid at Dell). Not a bad offer actually. I have a few reservations about the job/culture of the org. But bigger concerns about our ability to financially make the move. They aren’t helping terribly much with relocation. Our home has lost value with the housing market downturn, and we’d have to pay lots of $$ in realtor’s fees. It doesn’t help that there are three homes next to us that can’t sell.
I have a second interview at Ingersoll Rand (Davidson, NC) Tuesday am. Still have a few concerns/unknowns about this job/company as well. I plan to give notice to the Bank on Thursday. I will take the Chattanooga job and trust God to work out the finances (if I don’t get the Davidson job). Please pray that I’ll (we’ll) have discernment if I receive offers from both places. It’s exciting an d scary to see what God is doing.
Still prayin’!
We will keep praying.
Sharon
Was told Friday by the recruiter Friday that I will be receiving an offer from Ingersoll Rand in Davidson, but not until Friday of this next week. I need to let Chattanooga know by EOD tomorrow. Quite a conundrum. The recruiter for the Davidson job misrepresented the compensation.
We also got a Comparative Market Analysis on our house from a Realtor yesterday. Bad news! Our house is worth less than we paid for it. Not to mention the tens of thousands we put into it post purchase or the tens of thousands in realtor’s fees.
Please pray for us.
What a dilemma! Looking forward to seeing how the Lord works this out in the midst of your place of weakness. We will cry out to him with you in this.
Thanks for your continued prayers.
Thank you! Please do pray!
UPDATE! Well, I talked with Jay at EMJ in Chattanooga explaining that Janice and I have been anxious about the house thing, her staying here indefinitely to sell the house while we are apart, relocation concerns, etc., hoping that he might offer some relocation help. He didn’t and so I informed him that we (mostly Janice) felt that the timing would not be right unless we received some more help. He was very understanding, not upset at all and very supportive. Which actually made me feel even worse about turning away the opportunity. I then talked with the Davidson Co. and accepted. They were ecstatic. I would have rather been in Chattanooga, and may have liked that job better, but we just had too many concerns. Thanks for all of your prayers. We are looking forward to seeing how God will bless me in my new job. I still have a goal of getting back to Tennessee sometime.
Thanks again for all of your prayers.
Also, I feel rather empty knowing we could have been in Chattanooga near family and yet we aren’t. I don’t really like Charlotte, but maybe God has something for us to do here still. I love my Waldecker family so much that I can’t think of anything better than being near you all. I don’t have any friends and I suppose that makes it harder.
It would have been great to have you near, but we’re glad for your new job there, and hope you are able to enjoy it. It seems like it’s been so long since you’ve been able to enjoy your job! Some stability would be nice, too!
I am glad that the decision-making is over for you all, and the tension resolved. It would indeed have been awesome to have you all here, but I am sure that God has great plans beyond our imaginations!
Praise the Lord!
I will pray that God will give you some good friends!
It certainly would have been very nice to have you guys nearer, but I am happy for you, especially since the Davidson Co. is so happy to have you. I’ll pray you enjoy it–the job, your boss(es), and your peers.
Also, I am so very glad, Uncle David, that you are part of our family.
Thank you all for your continued faithfulness and prayers. It’s wonderful to have such a loving family.
You probably made the right decision. Even though you are worried that this job will be as bad as the last, try to begin with a positive outlook. Dad & Judy
I just returned from a three day seminar held in New Jersey just outside New York city and read your news. It is good when God opens doors after closing them. But often the view through the new door isn’t always clear. That is where our faith comes in. God has something in mind for you in Charlotte and that is where you need to be.
Woody