This is a story I’ve been longing to tell on the blog for over a year: How I landed my dream job. Why wait so long? Well, in April 2020, as some people were being furloughed, others being laid off, and others having their salaries and hours reduced, it felt like an entirely inappropriate time to talk about my good fortune. But now that we’re beginning to see some light beckoning us through this endless dark tunnel, I’d like to share my joy with you.
In November 2019, I came home from work and began complaining to my husband (again) how frustrated I was with my job. I thought I was just in a rough patch that I had to work through. I was convinced that my current job was the only job out there for me. I’ll be the first to admit that I have a really random set of skills (college math major, seminary degree, public speaker, online educator, writer) and this was a job that not only used most of them, but had helped me grow and learn so much. Yet I also realized I had reached my ceiling; there wasn’t much space to grow within my role or within the company.
Everything changed when my husband asked, “Why don’t you just look and see if there’s something else out there? You don’t have to get another job or even apply for anything, but I do think you need to look.” That small step honestly hadn’t crossed my mind. But once I started, I found the looking process incredibly freeing. I got to mentally try on jobs I’d never really considered before, like fundraising, content writing for an education company, and more. The process of looking helped me to reassess my skills and realize my current job wasn’t the only fit; in fact, there might be something out there that was even better.
By late December, I was networking, exploring, and hopeful despite not getting any takers from the resumes I’d sent out. Then I received an out-of-the-blue email from one of my former seminary professors. He mentioned the seminary department where I used to work was hiring. Did I have suggestions for someone who might be a good fit for the Director position? Now, I had been passed over for this job five years previously and figured there was no way I would ever be qualified, but I was happy to help out a friend.
When I started reading the job description, I was surprised to see that it was a completely different job from the one I applied for five years ago. The director would have the opportunity to teach students, run the seminary’s financial wellness program, work with congregation leaders and focus on solving a critical problem: creating more sustainable economic models for ministry. That’s an issue I had seen in action over the last few years of working at my current company and was eager to help solve.
Not only was the job different, the workplace was too. When I had last worked there it was during a time of economic turmoil, when morale had been low. But through conversations with friends and mentors at the seminary I realized things had changed quite a bit and the culture was much healthier. I was definitely intrigued.
Once I applied, the process moved fairly quickly, with a phone interview in mid-January, an in-person interview (remember those?) in late January, and a public presentation on Valentine’s Day. At the end of that afternoon, I was offered the position, pending faculty and board approval. I was overjoyed. The interview process had only made me more excited for the position. All that was left to do was negotiate the salary and benefits.
I had been quite nervous before I applied for the position because I didn’t have any idea what the salary range would be. But though the salary offer they made was less than what I was currently making, it wasn’t by much. I tried to negotiate the salary, but it was clear that this was the maximum they could offer.
My next step was to unpack the benefit package on the table. I noticed I would be responsible for contributing a small amount toward my husband’s and my health care — something I didn’t have to do with any of my other jobs. Their vacation schedule offered fewer flexible days than I was used to, but did include extended time off around Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, which was a nice perk. I also would have flexibility to work from home and manage my own schedule. I decided to ask for an additional vacation day to make up for the salary and health benefit loss. Once the negotiation was settled, the offer was finalized by HR and approved by the faculty and the board. And all of a sudden, the dream job I even didn’t know existed was mine.
Honestly, I couldn’t be more grateful that my husband encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and look for other jobs that might fit my skills. My new role offers me freedom and flexibility while also challenging me every day. I get to help my students increase their financial confidence and encourage them as they imagine new, more sustainable models for ministry that will help us live into this new post-pandemic reality. I know the stuckness I felt previously has made me appreciate where I am now that much more.
If you feel like your current position has run its course but you’re not sure there could be anything else out there for you, do yourself a favor and research your options. You’ll either come out the other side with a new opportunity, or you might feel more grateful for the job you currently have.