STRESS levels are FINALLY down ...

You can NOT believe the level of stress we've had here over the past couple of weeks!!!

The good news is that Paul has accepted a new job. The bad news, however, is that it has been VERY stressful getting to this point ...

We applied for a Senior LAN Technician position at Company A and heard from the recruiter the next day. He had received more than 10 applications and was picking the best two to interview. Paul was one of the two, so they scheduled a phone interview for that Friday. On the phone the interviewer asked Paul if he could do an in-person interview on Monday. (In-person interviews are kind of tricky since the HQ doing the hiring is based back East.) So, the in-person interview was scheduled for Monday afternoon.

This company seemed to want to move at lightning speed and said they'd like to interview on Monday and then have the person they select start the following Monday. So, we totally expected them to make an offer the next day. When they didn't call, we figured they must have gone with the other guy. However, late Tuesday the recruiter called and said that Paul was their top pick thus far, but that they also were going to interview one additional person (probably an internal referral from the sounds of it). That interview was Thursday. They also wanted to ask Paul a few more technical questions. So, Thursday morning first thing Paul answered their technical questions without a hitch. We were getting very excited at this point.

Thursday afternoon Paul also received a call from Company B. They had seen his resume on Monster and really liked what they saw. They asked if he could come in for an interview, so Paul scheduled that for the following Tuesday.

So, we expected to receive an offer on Friday from Company A, in which case Paul would then have canceled the interview with Company B. However, we got no word on Friday.

Going through the weekend was torture, but we made it ...

Then Monday he heard from the recruiter that Company A was going to make a decision and let Paul know on Thursday or Friday. Okay, that's a lot slower than we planned to move, but that gives us time to talk to Company B. Paul interviewed Tuesday with Company B, and they LOVED him. He is told they'd try to get him an offer on Wednesday, or for sure by EOD Thursday because he was expecting another offer.

Friday morning comes (very slowly) and we're waiting to hear from both companies. He finally hears from Company A about their offer, and they say they'll FedEx the details. Of course, it's Memorial Day weekend, so they won't come until Tuesday. TORTURE!!! They finally give Paul a number (salary), but we figure there will be a lot more info in the FedEx.

Then Friday afternoon he hears from HR at Company B. Turns out their CEO is buddies with the CEO at Paul's current company, and therefore the two CEOs made a little "agreement" that they wouldn't hire each other's guys. Totally shady and frustrating!!! So, they won't even make Paul an offer unless he terminates employment before they make an offer, or if he gets managerial approval to move to Company B.

Paul's new manager is the one who wouldn't approve his MCSE training and wouldn't even discuss why he wouldn't. (That's a whole other story!) So, we figured his manager wasn't a good person to ask for approval.

We fret for a bit, and finally we decide the only answer is for Paul to talk to his CEO about the opening at Company B. We pray that somehow he'll still be in the office when Paul gets back at 6 p.m. on a Friday night before a three-day weekend. Not likely, but miracles can happen, right?

Amazingly, he's still there. He's talking with other people, so Paul waits. Meanwhile I come up with talking points for Paul to use in his discussion. (See, my PR skills do come in handy once in a while. :) Paul has the discussion w/the CEO and tells him that he's leaving the company one way or the other, so he asks for the CEO to provide permission for him to go work at Company B. The CEO agrees, but asks that when Paul sends the contact info he'd also like Paul to send two lists -- one that says what lead him to his decision to leave this company and one of what the company can do better.

(As a side note, during the conversation Paul mentions that he now has his MCSE certification. The CEO says, "Great. Did we help you pay for that?" Paul says, no, that the company refused to pay for a penny of it, and actually required him to use vacation time to attend the boot camp. The CEO is concerned and said that's the whole point of the program. Uh, yeah, that's what we thought, too. At least the CEO acts like he still wants to offer it, even if the people actually available to make decisions don't. But as I said, that's a whole other story ...)

Paul came home from the conversation just wired. He couldn't believe he'd just marched into the CEO's office and "demanded" he give permission for Paul to work at another company. We have all been VERY impressed with him having the guts to do it!!! Every once in a while Friday night Paul would say, "Aggghhh! I can't believe I just did that!"

So, Paul and I spend Memorial Day weekend writing up the lists. They're pretty good lists, too. Paul sent them off to his CEO, who then sent his approval to Company B to resume talks with Paul.

Meanwhile Paul gets totally and completely sick. He has severe nerve pain (from a car accident when he was a teenager) that he's never had, and every bone in his body aches. The problem here is that when Paul isn't feeling well his brain shuts down. Not a good time to be negotiating new salaries and jobs when it's hard to even think straight.

Tuesday comes and Company B calls and asks Paul to go out to lunch w/the team. He goes even though he's not feeling well, and the lunch is nice, but nothing of consequence happens there. Later the HR guy for Company B says they'll get him an offer by EOD Tuesday. All day Tuesday we also await the FedEx from Company A to get the final details of his offer. It never comes.

By Tuesday afternoon Paul is beat -- in addition to the stress he's got some kind of virus AND the nerve pains in his arm and hand.

Wednesday morning arrives and Paul calls in sick to his current job. He is barely thinking straight, so I log onto his e-mail and let the recruiter for Company A know that we didn't receive the FedEx package. He e-mails back and says to call him because he's confused. At 9:30 a.m. Paul finally checks his v-mail from the night before and hears a message that Company A wants an answer by 10 a.m. Huh? So, he calls them and lets them know that he needs more info about their benefits and such before being asked to make a decision. They say they'll work on getting that to him. (Turns out since they told him a number verbally they decided not to send a FedEx. We're guessing the confusion came from the recruiter's back-up who stepped in Friday while the regular guy we worked with was out.)

Meanwhile we contact Company B to find out about timing since Company A is chomping at the bit. They send an e-mail asking if Paul can buy another day or two. Are you kidding me?!?

So, Paul gives them a call to find out where they are in the process. Turns out they're hoping to offer Paul more than the pay range usually runs, so it needs CFO approval. That could take an hour, or it could take a couple of days. We're really stressing out.

Finally the recruiter for Company A e-mails the insurance info. Meanwhile Paul has a conversation with Company B, who says the CFO rejected the higher pay. They went to him with a lower amount and he vetoed that as well. So, that's where they left it -- they weren't going to make an offer.

So, we figure it must be meant to be for us to go with Company A. However, we decide to try to get a little higher salary. Paul contacts the recruiter and says that he'd like more, so they put him in touch with the lady doing the hiring. Once he gets a message from her, he paces for 10 minutes (stressing the rest of us out) before finally calling her back.

He got her to go up a little higher, and he got an additional week of vacation. So, it ends up being a lot more than his current salary (HOORAY) and probably will be a bit less stressful than Company B anyway. We're happy a decision is FINALLY made and that we can start focusing on that instead of continuing with the stress.

We come home (we were at my mom's house) a few hours later, and there's an e-mail from Company B. It says, "Apparently I spoke too soon. We do have an offer for you ..." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????? With bonuses, the offer was similar to Company A's offer; however, we stuck with Company A since we had already accepted their offer. Company B says they will keep Paul in mind when they have any senior openings, which are more in his desired pay range and experience level.

Now that we've had a little chance to settle down, the stress level here is beautifully low. You can't believe how much stress this whole situation caused -- and all for nothing! Company B seems like a great company, and maybe one day Paul will go work for them. However, not for now. Interestingly, nearly three years ago Company B also offered Paul a job the day he started with DirectPointe. The position paid $20,000 more than what he got offered at DP, but it required a lot of travel. Paul used that to leverage a higher pay at DP then, but I can't figure out the purpose of them stepping in and creating so much stress this time.

We were extremely excited about Company A until Company B came along. Company B has better benefits (not health benefits, but other perks), and they have a lot more positions that Paul could move into. That got us excited, so we felt like Company B was the company for Paul. However, throughout we prayed that he would get the offer that was right and that we would know. Maybe Heavenly Father knew the excitement of the perks would override the promptings of the spirit about not going to Company B and that's why that offer fell through. However, I sure wish they'd never even come into the picture so we'd be a little more giddy about Company A's offer instead of feeling let down that we didn't have two to choose from. I wonder, though, if he will eventually end up at Company B and this opened some doors for down the road. I'm going to hope that there was a reason like that instead of just unnecessary stress!

In any case, Paul is leaving DirectPointe and going to work for a company called TA Instruments. They're also in Lindon and actually just a little down the road from DP. I'm VERY excited that he won't be in a car all day and that he can take leftovers for lunch. (Although I'm sure he'll miss his daily ham sandwich. ;) The health benefits are head-over-heels better than what we currently have (WAY better coverage AND more than $200 cheaper per month for premiums), and his overall pay is a lot higher as well. Now that we're not stressed out of our brains we're getting excited and feeling very blessed.

Paul's employment hunt lasted only about a month, which was a great relief. He sent his resume to about four or five companies, and he had about eight companies contact him unsolicited. (In fact, just this week he has been solicited for two more jobs!) We have a neighbor on the same street who works at TA Instruments, so we're hoping to carpool and cut back on our gas costs. (This seems miraculous to us since there are only 10 houses on our street, and we didn't even know he worked there until Paul showed up to interview.) And although they've been a good company, we are glad to be leaving DP. (Only one more week to go!) Paul is ready for a change and looks forward to his new responsibilities. Paul is also looking forward to his training back East for one week with this new company, because the company HQ are only 45 minutes from Havre de Gras, MD, where Paul spent 7 months of his mission. And we're grateful to know that the Lord is mindful of us and answers our prayers, even if there is stress and confusion along the way.

Paul, you've just won a new job at TA Instruments. What are you going to do next? I'm taking my family to Disneyland!!! (In October, that is. :)