...And that is how I landed THE Job

As you may know I have been debating between two job options.  One with the prestige but not the people and job opportunity that I wanted.  The other without the prestige but the job position that I wanted.  I have been talking to god-knows-how-many people in this process and collecting stacks of business cards and sending tons of thank you emails.  A manager in my department suggested I discuss my dilemma with a past colleague/friend, who was kind enough to meet with me and chat.  We eventually decided for me to meet with him near his work (a Big 4 that I did interview with in LA but was still waiting for an offer but I ruled them out merely because of location and because I could not specialize) and at 7:30am at a cafe.

11/22/11 7:00am @ Il Fornaio cafe . . .
Waiting for my fate to walk through the door...

Okay, so think about it- my time is spread thin from work and school.  Now I have to consider waking up at 5am to drive 1.5 hours to meet a stranger in Irvine who would give me "mere advice" and drive 2 hours to get to LA to make it into work on time.
Yes, I decided to make my life harder and go.  I was thinking of this as "networking."  After all he was an International Tax Senior Manager - you never know of the possibilities.
We met and talked and an hour later he decides to show me the office to meet with some people who could also give me "advice." Five hours and a stack of business cards later . . . I came back into an office and he tells me "Natalie, I pulled some strings and I'm going to extend you an offer right now to work with us."
WHAT?!  WOW!  I never felt such a surge of relief, such a sense of gratitude that with patience, perseverance and luck I would land the job that embodied everything on my list.  I did not have to choose between what my heart was telling me and what my mind was telling me.  I was able to have both!  The people were wonderful; the office was the nicest office I have seen and the location was prime; the pay was great; the prestige was there; the opportunity to be in International Tax was there.  It was all there waiting for me at 7:30am - I just had to show up and be myself and grab it.
This Thanksgiving I am so thankful for everything that has gone down lately.  I have grown so much merely going through this job search and meticulously asking questions every step of the way to make sure I would be making an informed decision.  After so much discomfort and uncertainty of each company that gave me an offer, I felt like I finally went to an oracle and told him my problems and exactly what I wanted in my career just to find he would resolve my problems and put me in the right path.  All I had to do was ask.  I have started the next chapter in my career, all to begin in October 2012.  Now, I need to refocus the next months on school and close this great chapter in my life.

Mind over Matter

I have so much I want to discuss because there has been so much going on in my head.  Of the 4 firms I have applied to, I have gotten 2 offers so far and no rejections!  That is great news because those were the 2 firms I really wanted for different reasons.  I have been pulled in different directions by the people of each firm who want me to be a part of their team and now I have to make the final decision of where I truly believe is the best place to launch my career.  Big decision.  

via weheartit.com

I have made a pros and cons list of both places and am gravitating more and more towards one firm.  I have chosen (1) firm prestige, (2) location, (3) a once-in-a-lifetime mentor and (4) money and competition over (1) nice people, (2) work/life balance, (3) the opportunity of working in international tax (the group I want), and (4) a senior title.  I'm going with what logically makes sense. . . not what emotionally feels right.  It was a hard decision, but an important decision to be made this point in my life.  I am taking a high risk and hoping for a high return, rather than a low risk for a low return.  

I have been extremely stressed because I have been talking to so many people in the industry, all at the expense of schoolwork.  I never knew I had it in me to have meetings, lunch, or dinner with high-powered partners and random professionals to discuss career advice with them.  I never knew I had it in me to be this poise and personable person that these professionals would praise and want to work with.  Once I stopped making excuses to get out of my comfort circle, I entered a whole new world that I thought I would be so intimidated by.  I feel all this networking and taking chances has paid off and now I need to refocus on my looming finals.     

Asides from all that, I have managed to squeeze my first Bikram Yoga class a couple of days ago and concluded I definitely need this in my life.  As fate would have it, I had stumbled across this great Groupon deal for 60 days of hot yoga for $25.  Although I did faint the first half hour of class, I came back into the hot war zone and finished like a soldier.  Everything in my life has been happening for a reason and although I have been feeling extremely down and tired lately each morning and night, I feel like I am in a great place and this can help change that.

To sum it all up. . .

Career-growth-wise, I have found:

• a well-paying job at a great firm with the perfect female mentor to start a long-term relationship with, to mold me into the career woman that she is and more.    
• the guts to network with strangers to open a myriad of opportunities I never knew were available (I literally have a stack of business cards) and 
• a great website (Forbes Women) to give me daily doses of inspirations

Personal-growth-wise, I have found:

• Bikram Yoga. . . the beginning of a journey through my mind and body to find balance through all this madness I'm experiencing and
• blogging. . . the continuation of, of course.

There really has been rhyme and reason through all this chaos and I am embracing it every step of the way.  Time for round 2 of yoga class.  This time I will not faint.

                  

Love,

Nat