The Great Fishbowl Quest #16

Well, I’ve been waiting to post with secrecy in regards to where I was at in the process. Only very few people know that I’m blogging, but my family was included in the few. Because my wife and I were doing essentially two separate regional searches, our parents have been holding their breath.

This past week the best/worst thing happened in our opinion. We received a fantastic offer from an institution in the Far-From-Home Region and another fantastic offer in the Close-To-Home Region. If it was that simple, the choice would be Close-To-Home, right?

Comparing these two offers felt as if we were comparing apples to...radios. The communities, the job opportunities, the institutions, etc. were completely different. However, with regards to the “totality of circumstances” (thanks, “Law and Ethics” course) it became a clear decision.

My wife and I committed to making a decision before either offered. If this is your first job search, I believe it is critical to trust your original impression of an institution. Offers make opportunities look so much more amazing. That is why it is important to journal your thoughts as you go through the process.

Knowing all of this, we made our decision prior to any offers this week. We had privately chosen Close-To-Home with no intention of sharing this decision until it was official. The first to call was Far-From-Home on Thursday. I asked to have until this coming Monday to provide a response. I spent (what felt like) all day Friday trying to get in touch with Close-To-Home to find out where I was in their process. It had been made clear to me multiple times that I ranked rather high on their list, but I had no intentions of banking on that.

With two conflicting schedules, I was never able to speak with my contact at Close-To-Home, but received an e-mail that has rather clearly laid out where I am in their process. For legal reasons, though, they cannot officially offer me a position. This means that in communicating, I have to pick up enough signals to know that I’m secure.

With that said, I have a hard phone call to make Monday morning to Far-From-Home. It also means that I’m bungee-jumping without a cord and hoping that Close-To-Home follows through with an offer, because legally they don’t have to. If some type of snag happens, there is no Plan B. I’ve turned down all other campus offers except one or two that have me listed as a Plan B candidate. Close-To-Home won’t finish interviewing until this coming Friday, meaning I’m holding no hope of knowing anything until next Monday at the earliest.

My wife and I feel good enough to share it with family, but let’s just say we haven’t gone out to dinner to celebrate the new job yet.

In the meantime, my job search is complete (we’ll keep praying) and I passed my comprehensive exam. All I have to do now is buckle down for a few more course projects, meet my own expectations in class, and prepare this office well enough that somebody new can step in and take over.

I can’t wait to truly share my excitement with my peers, but some of there are still early in their process and with me finishing my process, new stress is added to them.