I'm Pregnant

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

NO, NOT REALLY!!!

But...

I did accept a job offer today!

In my senior year of college, I took a "free pass" class, Accounting in the Hospitality Industry, for my graduate accounting elective. My professor was awesome and I believe impressed that I already had a job offer in hand to a Big 5 (pre-Enron) accounting firm. Everyone else in the class was a hospitality major. As a result, I didn't have to do much. For our term paper we were allowed to pick ANY topic relevant to accounting. I chose to do a comparison of various accounting jobs. Public vs private. I also delved into how recruitment by the Big 5 was similar to rushing a sorority. What I didn't know then was that job hunting could also be like trying to get pregnant.

For those who don't know me personally, I was laid off back in August of 2008. I had naively felt I had job security. My performance was good. And then suprise, I was part of the first non-performance based mass layoff since 2001. My husband had suspicions the night before my meeting. But I was in shock. I had worked there for 8 years, straight out of college. I resisted the many recruiter calls over the years and was dedicated to a career with the firm. I was also 6 months pregnant.

I received a generous severance package that covered the time I would have been on maternity leave. I kept in contact with several recruiters with an ear out for an appropriate position. After a year, I decided I could and should be doing more in my job hunt. I valued the time I got to be home with my kids. I never would have had the opportunity if that layoff hadn't occurred, but I needed to get back to work quickly. For both financial reasons and my sanity.

In September, I put my search into overdrive. I began to consider positions that I wouldn't have before. Within a week I had an interview. I got called back for a second interview and had great feedback. And that happened again. And again. Employers have gotten more choosy. They know the job market gives them the advantage. With tons of applicants to choose from, positions that would have been filled by a Manager with 8 years of Big 4 experience in a heartbeat a few years ago are now holding out for someone who also has experience working for a private company.

The ups and downs were hard for me. I had gotten my first position out of college with my excellent transcript and stellar interviewing technique. I had never even considered that I would have so much trouble this time around. And trust me, I know 4 interviews isn't a lot compared to some experiences. But I got to the point that I didn't want to discuss my job search with anyone. I was sick of talking about my excitement after a great interview only to be questioned by everyone in the aftermath, with no good news to share.

I got pregnant with my first born in the first month of trying. I naively expected the second time around to be as easy. The five months of trying felt like an eternity to me. The anticipation, the waiting. And again, I realize that I was blessed to ONLY have to try for five months. But as every other trying to conceive woman knows, the disappointment is there every time. And only gets worse with time.

Recently, I began to communicate to those close to me that my job search was becoming an off limits topic. I would share good news when I had it. If I wasn't sharing anything, clearly I had not heard back from my most recent interview.

Interestingly, when I finally did get pregnant the second time around, it was the first month that we didn't "try." We had just booked a trip for Disney World 3 months later and I decided I didn't want to be pregnant for the trip. I planned to put everything on hold until after the trip. If something happened before then, great, but we weren't "trying".

Two weeks ago, I decided to consider a temporary position I found on careerbuilders. At the very least it would hold us over for a bit. It had the chance to become a permanent position. But if it didn't, I would have the opportunity to be home with the kids for the summer. And I would have gained the much coveted private accounting experience that every other place was focused on finding. I was familiar with the company because I had audited their benefit plan in the past. It is a good NJ location (yay for no parking cost and bridge toll!!!) and I always enjoyed working with the CFO there. Yesterday, they called and offered me a position. A newly created permanent position. And I accepted today. I will be the Financial Reporting Manager. Oh, and I start Tuesday. YIKES!

And so, my fairytale year and a half home with my cherubs will very quickly come to an end. They will ease into their new daycare on Friday and Monday. And Tuesday is showtime!

While writing here and reading all of my new friends' blogs has been an amazing outlet in the days of no other adult contact, I don't think I'll be quitting all that. I may not be able to visit everyone as often, but I do plan to keep writing. I love it. Who knew.

8 comments:

Lisa January 27, 2010 at 10:04 PM  

Congrats! We'll have to celebrate soon.

Anonymous,  January 27, 2010 at 10:32 PM  

Julie, Congratulations! Love reading your blog!

Mai

monica January 27, 2010 at 11:52 PM  

Congratulations! I also just accepted a great job after being laid off in the construction industry with no notice and no severne package. I don't start until April but I am way excited!

Autumn January 28, 2010 at 7:04 AM  

Congrats on getting the job!!! I'll miss you like crazy but I'm so glad to hear you got a permanent position at a company you already know you like!! That's awesome!!!

Kristin (E) B,  January 28, 2010 at 12:47 PM  

Congratulations!!! So excited for all of you. Hope the kiddos have fun in their new daycare!

Nanny Debbie January 28, 2010 at 1:01 PM  

Congratulations Julie, I'm really happy for you :-)

January 31, 2010 at 4:52 AM  

Congratulations!!! In this economy, getting any job is no small feat. To get one that you really want with a company you admire is wonderful !

I just started reading your blog last week and I'm really enjoying it. Hope you have some free time with your new job to keep it up :)

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