Another interview today, a follow-up to the one last week. The general manager from the Canadian company liked me and so called up the Vice President of the American company and asked him for his input on me. This one was a telephone interview and again it was much like a conversation. He was a nice sounding man with a pleasant, mild American accent. I liked him. We talked about maps and cartography, about his company, the directions he sees it going, about me, of course, my interests, what I’ve done. All very pleasant. I hope he felt good about our conversation. I can’t say he felt bad about it but I have a nagging feeling that perhaps I didn’t come across eager or strong enough. He was all so relaxed so I was too.
It’s out of my hands now. I hope I get the job. I look forward to the fun of saying good-bye and moving on to something new. It still makes me nervous. Would it work out? Will I work out? It’s frightening and exciting, an adventure. As long as it ends well.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Saturday, July 22, 2006
A Door Opens, the World Changes
Every once in a while something happens that spins you around and suddenly the world looks different.
About 7 weeks ago my wife goes to a trade show and learns that a respected map company is looking for a manager of their cartography / GIS shop. She gets the card of the sales manager and I send her an email, asking her about it. No response. That’s okay. Perhaps the opportunity had already passed.
A few weeks later I am at a conference and I talk to someone about a teaching opportunity but it turns out that I don’t have the qualifications. No surprise.
A week or so later, this same person who I spoke to about the teaching position sends me an email and asks if I'd be interested in a job as manager of a cartography / GIS shop. Of course, I say, thinking that it is the same job my wife had heard about. Then . . . nothing.
I go camping. I return to work and get a call from a young sounding woman. She works for a head hunting agency. Would I be interested in a job as manager of a cartography / GIS shop? Of course, I say. Send me your resumé, she says. So I send the evening cleaning it up and send it off five minutes before a storm hits and the power goes out - for 44 hours. I call her the next day to see if she got the email. No, she didn’t. I have to resend it but can’t until that evening. She finally gets it, forwards it on to her client who is impressed and asks for an interview.
On Friday I go in for the interview - nervous, of course, but also confident. It’s just me and the company boss. He begins by telling me about where they are at as a company and my head is so full of questions that I have a hard time not interrupting him. The interview turns into a 2 hour conversation and by the end of it I can tell that this is going somewhere. And indeed, it does. The head hunter calls me that evening when I get home and says that the company wants me in for another interview, this time with the chief cartographer from the U. S. parent. That will be next week and it will be more of a technical interview. But the boss likes me and that’s good.
As is usual following these events in my life, I have trouble sleeping. I think, “I can’t do this job. What am I doing? I’m getting in way over my head. What if I turn out to be a dud of a manager and get fired?” It is, of course, fear of the unknown. But then I wake up this morning and am already thinking about how I’m going to deal with the problem (i.e. the big problem facing the cartography shop that I will be expected to deal with) and think “I can do this and I’ll do it in my own way - quietly, gently but with a firm idea of what has to be done.” And I feel good about it.
It’s not a done deal yet, of course. But a world of opportunity is opening up. It’s scary and exciting and I think in the end I will enjoy it.
About 7 weeks ago my wife goes to a trade show and learns that a respected map company is looking for a manager of their cartography / GIS shop. She gets the card of the sales manager and I send her an email, asking her about it. No response. That’s okay. Perhaps the opportunity had already passed.
A few weeks later I am at a conference and I talk to someone about a teaching opportunity but it turns out that I don’t have the qualifications. No surprise.
A week or so later, this same person who I spoke to about the teaching position sends me an email and asks if I'd be interested in a job as manager of a cartography / GIS shop. Of course, I say, thinking that it is the same job my wife had heard about. Then . . . nothing.
I go camping. I return to work and get a call from a young sounding woman. She works for a head hunting agency. Would I be interested in a job as manager of a cartography / GIS shop? Of course, I say. Send me your resumé, she says. So I send the evening cleaning it up and send it off five minutes before a storm hits and the power goes out - for 44 hours. I call her the next day to see if she got the email. No, she didn’t. I have to resend it but can’t until that evening. She finally gets it, forwards it on to her client who is impressed and asks for an interview.
On Friday I go in for the interview - nervous, of course, but also confident. It’s just me and the company boss. He begins by telling me about where they are at as a company and my head is so full of questions that I have a hard time not interrupting him. The interview turns into a 2 hour conversation and by the end of it I can tell that this is going somewhere. And indeed, it does. The head hunter calls me that evening when I get home and says that the company wants me in for another interview, this time with the chief cartographer from the U. S. parent. That will be next week and it will be more of a technical interview. But the boss likes me and that’s good.
As is usual following these events in my life, I have trouble sleeping. I think, “I can’t do this job. What am I doing? I’m getting in way over my head. What if I turn out to be a dud of a manager and get fired?” It is, of course, fear of the unknown. But then I wake up this morning and am already thinking about how I’m going to deal with the problem (i.e. the big problem facing the cartography shop that I will be expected to deal with) and think “I can do this and I’ll do it in my own way - quietly, gently but with a firm idea of what has to be done.” And I feel good about it.
It’s not a done deal yet, of course. But a world of opportunity is opening up. It’s scary and exciting and I think in the end I will enjoy it.
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