Well, I'm being cautiously optimistic here because I have never actually dealt with a recruiter before and I would assume they are trained to be able to converse with people without giving them false hope or whatever, but I felt like it was a very good chat. I got the sense that she was more guiding me in interviewing her rather than her interviewing me because apparently they have a lot of positions to fill and I got the distinct impression she was trying to feel me out to see where I fit best while trying to guide me in asking about the specific things I was interested in, if that makes sense. She said they are in the process right now of finding out what big contracts they are awarded so she knows there will be more jobs opening in the next month or so and she mentioned a few specific ones that seemed suited for me, based on my resume. She mentioned that the person who had forwarded my name forwarded it to her, along with a group of others, telling her that these were some of the best candidates she found and to talk with us and see.
Timeline-wise, this couldn't be a more perfect fit. I'm committed to my current job through the end of the semester (May 7) and they are looking at getting people started around 1st to mid-May. It is a work from home position but the division I'm looking at is based out of Denver with another big office in Kansas City. Little travel, averages about 1 trip quarterly, usually to KC, for team meetings and team building type stuff. Every once in a great while, team travels to job site, but she said that is usually only at the beginning and/or end of project and is not always a given. She said they do as much online as possible with differing Covid restrictions and travel being a bit of a mess. They provide all the "equipment" I need to work online as well as cover travel expenses (obviously) related to the quarterly team meetings. On a personal happy note, one of my oldest friends from grade school lives in KC with her husband (he is from there) and my beloved nephew and his fiancee will be moving to KC in late May or early June because my nephew just accepted a research position with some big medical company there, so I would get to see some of my favorite people while I was there working.
Full benefits package. We didn't discuss actual salary since she has several positions open at this time that I am suited for and she will have more open in the next month so she said she would be glad to answer salary questions, but it would really depend on specific position. Since she'd already said that, I just let the number go, but she did tell me it was very competitive and a little research showed me a base salary for one of the positions starting out was only a few thousand less than double what I make now. So, obviously it would be a pay raise for me. A different world than I'm used to, but hey, for that kind of money and working from home, SIGN ME UP!
She told me it was a very productive conversation, at least from her point of view. She kept saying she'd like to touch base with me again in a month when she has a more complete list of openings to talk about those openings and see what I prefer. Like I said, since I have never worked with a recruiter, I'm being guarded in my enthusiasm, but that sounds fairly promising to me that they are at least going to give me a second look once they know all the openings they have. She said they are really looking to amp up the number of employees in the division I'm looking at because they are probably going to double the number of contracts they have for the coming year and will need a lot more manpower to get that done.
She basically left it with she'll reach out again in about a month once they get all their other new positions up. She said, in the meantime, if I have questions or need anything to feel free to contact her, as I now have her info. She followed our call up with a quick email thanking me for my time and reminding me she'll be back in touch in about a month and to reach out to her in the meantime. I had sent her a message thanking her as well and letting her know I'm very interested. Timing is a funny thing and our emails must have crossed because hers wasn't there when I started typing mine but as soon as I hit send, hers popped up.
We'll see what happens. Furlough starts Monday and I really need to get it in gear to find something part time. We filed our state taxes today and are both due a refund that will just about cover the loss we'll take for March, so hopefully we'll see that refund before the end of March. LOL Who knows? I'm also going to spend a little time Monday, assuming I get out of taking Sparky's mom to her appointment, looking for more full time jobs to apply for to start getting some interviews lined up and get rolling. Sparky's mom texted me Wednesday and told me that, weather permitting, her sister is going to come in from Texas Sunday evening and stay over to take her to her appointment Monday. Fingers crossed she can get here after that nasty ice storm that wreaked havoc on Texas the past few days. The only good thing that came out of it for us was our school was out yesterday so I got to stay home and do my interview from home, but our roads weren't bad so Sparky went to work and I got the whole house to myself all day to relax and prep for my interview. It was a good day. I'm seeing, yet again, that I'm worth far more than I realized and it is boosting my confidence to really get out there and find the gig that is meant for me. I love this job and I'm sad about it ending, but if I can move to one that pays so much better, it will make a huge positive impact on mine and Sparky's future.
So, I'm just going to chill this weekend and try to not think about any of this stuff too much. Monday, if I have to take Sparky's mom, I will deal with all that BS. If not, I'm going to use the time for a little self care, job searching, and having a nice meal ready for Sparky when he gets home. It's a new normal that I'm not terribly excited about, but we'll make it through somehow. Hopefully...................
If you are a praying person, I would appreciate your prayers for my successful job search, things to fall in line for me and Sparky to be able to get through the furlough without too much issue, and to find some relief from the stress somehow. If you are not a praying person, I will also accept positive thoughts, chanting ceremonies, tree hugging, voo doo dolls, whatever your particular choice of vibing is. In the immortal words of The Temptations "I ain't too proud to beg".
