The last week or so has been filled with another whirlwind of preparing for an unexpected interview. Like I had mentioned in my recent postings, I was contacted by the marketing manager to apply for a 5 week temporary assignment in the marketing department at HQ.
I worked feverishly to prepare the proposal that was asked of me. It was a solid 10 pages with appendices, bound and all that I brought with me the morning of the interview. The manager and the associate director indicated they would take about 15-20 minutes of the allotted hour to review my proposal with me. Fourty minutes passed and we were just finishing the discussion of my proposal. I found it interesting to note the questions they asked me about the proposal and my "next level" ideas.
I got a call today from the marketing manager and he indicated to me that they selected another candidate, saying that I did an outstanding job, they were highly impressed by the effort I put forth but I was not the right fit for the position. I was disappointed and frustrated because it felt like those phrases have been on repeat for the last 4 months without any clear direction as to what I can do to make myself "THE" candidate.
About an hour later, I get a call from an unknown Chicago number. Anticipating it being a customer escalation I did not want to deal with on my day off, I was about to ignore the call but akin to when my district manager called me at 8am four months ago, I found myself reluctantly answering the call.
Turns out, it was the Associate Director of Marketing calling me. I was perplexed because the marketing manager just called and told me I did not get the position. Again, she leads with the same phrases the manager gave me and follows it with information about another position that is opening up. I was intrigued because it is a 3 month temporary position that will be supporting the business channel at HQ. I asked her about the start date, to which she stated that it was last Monday. I was scratching my head so I asked her about the timeline/interview process. She said that there was none. I was even more perplexed so I rephrased my question and she responded with a similar answer. This went on for another few rounds of question & answer before she laughed at me (kindly) and flat out stated "J, we are not posting this job. I am not calling you because I am informing you of a potential opportunity. I am calling you because I am offering you the job." THEN it clicked. She was OFFERING ME THE JOB!
I will be taking on the normal responsibilities of the marketing consultant, plus spending the majority of the 3 months preparing and executing down to the most minute detail for a business expo of sorts. I am told it will be akin to the level of planning a "5 star wedding." I am excited for the challenge!! I will be starting as soon as we can get it processed through HR.
At the end of the 3 months, I will either apply for a permanent position (if one is available) or go back to my Floating Supervisor position in the leadership program I am in. If I do end up going back to my current position, my employment in the same position is guaranteed but there is no guarantee I will be in the same district I am currently apart of. My district manager said that he would make sure I am taken care of and get placed in a district close by and not shipped off to northern WI or central IL. He and my retail director have gone out of there way to support me and give me every opportunity to prove myself. I am thankful and grateful for that.
My DM says that he highly doubts I will be coming back to retail if I put forth the same effort in HQ that I have for him. On the off chance that there are no HQ positions avaiable for me to transition into, I will go back to retail but he thinks that it would be for minimal time. I hope so! I am going to do everything in my power to work my butt off to ensure a permanent position at HQ at the end of 3 months.
This explains why my DM has been really dragging his feet to approve my Easter vacation. I will be discussing my time off with the AD of Marketing so hopefully I can get that time solidified. I will let you all know as soon as I do.
Until next time!
