Thursday, October 04, 2012

Don't Pick The Bad Thing

This AM I met with the Mayor of Edina to discuss getting involved.  I did this as part of my overall grand plan in case my bid for City Council falls short.  I really want to be involved in the future of the city so it's important to have a plan and our conversation was quite enjoyable.  I really was energized by how I believe I can help. I am putting my all into the election but this is a long term play for me. All in all I am excited by this next phase of my life. It will not be my career (and I do not want it to be) but will be a fun and interesting adventure.

The balance of the day I was able to meet with a potential new co-worker and an old friend from graduate school.  The potential co-worker was a great gal and I would enjoy working with her.  I was impressed with her knowledge and she seems to be a lot of fun.

The old friend from grad school is doing well and it was great to catch up with him. We ended up discussing what it's like to be guys like us at this point in our careers and he too is thinking about what his next move might be. He is doing fine in his gig but starting to wonder what could be next.  I was glad we connected again.  It was a great discussion.

Then at 630 I received a call from a recruiter who was attempting to place me for a gig.  I had interviewed over 5 weeks ago and along the way they were telling me that I was "on a short list" of people and they were "impressed by me." I felt confident it would break my way but as the days turned to weeks my belief waned. Tonight they told me that they chose another candidate.

Rejection is a part of this process and the reality is your best shot at getting the right job is by putting yourself out there and taking chances.  When you do that you will get rejections and some of them will not be easy to take.  I have found it is harder hearing how great a candidate you are and how liked you are and then they still do not hire you.  It is far easier to hear you are just not the right fit.

A learning from the latest one is something we can all consider.  Do not keep people hanging.  Yes these processes take time but the candidates are people not robots and the time spent waiting and not knowing can be difficult to manage.  I certainly have no hard feelings as I got my shot and was treated well.  I hope the person they hired succeeds.

So, of course, I find myself dwelling on this moment and letting it affect my otherwise positive day.  Easy to see how that can happen but that does not mean it is the right way to go.  You have to put these things in proper perspective.  It is really hard to do but if you are going to make it through this kind of thing it is on you to make that happen.

So I roll on.  I have 2 second round interviews coming up in the next two weeks and am excited about both of them.  Hopefully I can land one of them as they would both be fun and I would learn a lot.  If I strike out I will soldier on.  I always do.


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