Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am in God's world and not mine. If I need a little help remembering that, He is always there to give me a loving shove back into reality. I know it is a struggle that we all face and it isn't easy.
If you've been reading this blog, you know that I am changing careers to financial planning. I am really excited about helping people realize their dreams and financial goals.
In May, I put in an application with Edward Jones Investments. My dad was confident (if not completely convinced) that they would hire me because he was an employee. He even had his regional leader flag my application to keep an eye on it. I went through the entire interview process (about 4 weeks of jumping through hoops). The only part left of the process was to get the job offer. The HR person I was working with told me I would be getting phone call on Friday (5/23). Unfortunately, it didn't happen. Which was OK because it was Memorial Day weekend and people leave early.....blah, blah, blah. On Tuesday I sent her an email just to get an update. Her response was straight and to the point. They decided not to offer me the job and good luck with my future endeavours.
What!?!?!?! This was a sure thing. I have the drive and ambition with a successful track record to boot. I just had to show up and get the job. What in the world happened? To say the least, I was bummed out. My dad was disappointed with the news as well because he (and everyone else) knew I was perfect for the job. His regional leader did some checking around to see what happened. He found out that I wasn't offered the job because I lacked sales experience and didn't have the "entrepreneurial spirit" that Edward Jones was looking for. That felt like a slap in the face because I was a co-founder of a non-profit corporation and ran it for 7 years, rebuilt 2 Austin choir programs into award winning groups, and started an award winning choir program from scratch. In a nutshell, I am a successful entrepreneur and they didn't recognize it.
I remembered all the prayers I had made about being hired at Edward Jones. My last prayer before the bad news was something along the lines of "God, if this isn't where you want me to go, then let your will be done." I can't say that my initial reaction was heavenly motivated when I got the "We regret to inform you" email. I was feeling let down.
My wonderful wife comforted me about the news and suggested that I look for jobs that would give me sales experience. I was reluctant, but took her suggestion to get on monster.com. I filled all the info out, posted my resume, and did a job search.
A company popped up called Waddell and Reed. I'd never heard of them before, but I checked them out. It looked like they had a format similar to Edward Jones. They were looking for financial advisors with no experience necessary. I sent them an email and my resume. The next day I got a call from the district manager and he wanted to interview me on Wednesday. The interview lasted almost two hours and I felt it went really well. He told me that the next step was to fill out a career assessment online. If it looked good, he would call to set up another interview. After a slight pause, he said that he knew I would do fine and scheduled the next interview anyway. I went home and read all the materials on the company he gave me and realized that it is a better fit for me than Edward Jones.
Although I may not get this job, I feel that God is reminding me that He is in control and will bless me with the right position.
Please pray for us. We are so anxious about where my career is taking me. If you have any words of encouragement or advice, I'd love to hear from you.
Have a great week!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
God's Will....not mine.
