Mindy was already home when I dragged myself through the door at seven. The minute she saw me, her face dropped and then brightened back up a little.
"So how did it go today? You don't look like things went very well."
"I don't know Mindy; the world out here just doesn't seem to be working like it should. My first interview was good. I thought I made a good impression and the discussion was solid. Then it came out that they were really looking for an entry level person rather than one with five years of experience. The next two wanted a miracle worker to save dying companies. Then this last one kind of put the icing on the cake. They wanted everything I had to offer in terms of experience and training and they offered me the job...but at half the pay I was getting before. So we need to talk about it. It might be a decent long term opportunity except that their industry is a flat one. All of these people who talk about all of the jobs available out there have been looking at raw numbers and haven't been out on the streets looking for a real job, that's for damn sure."
She put a glass of wine in front of me and let me drink half of it before she responded. "I'm sorry, honey; I didn't think that you would be having this much of a problem. You have a great work personality and resume. I guess that you were right; you have too much experience to be an entry level guy and not enough to be a senior level." She paused and then looked down at her own wine glass as she continued. "You have another interview at noon tomorrow. This is somewhat different than what you are looking for but it might prove to be worthwhile."
I looked at her closely before I asked, "Min, what are you saying? You are being a little mysterious and also seem to be a little shy about this. Tell me what is going on."
She took another drink of wine and then began again, "Helen in HR called several of us together a couple of days ago and told us that we would be getting a new area manager to cover all of the offices in Texas. The person coming down from the corporate office wants a personal assistant who has strong analytical skills, who knows the area, and who can work to develop new business in the area. She asked us if we knew anyone who fit that description because they didn't want to go through reams of resumes to find someone. I immediately thought about you; so I told her to put you on the list for an interview. I didn't say anything because of the ones you had today. If they worked out, then I was going to take you off the list."
"Ok, I hear what you are saying but I also see that you are holding something back. Could it be the company policy against spouses and siblings working in the same region?"
"I told her that you were my cousin. Look; no one there has met you and I talk about my husband as being Robby. I don't think that I have even mentioned you by the name Robert. If we are cousins, the same last name won't raise any eyebrows. I know that you want a good solid place to work and we are growing and stable. I just felt that if we can keep our personal lives separate at the office, we can pull this off. What do you think?"
"You are probably right. What do you know about this new manager? What is he looking for?"
"That is the big question; we don't know anything about him. All the HR person knows is that he is totally new to this area, has ten years with the company, and is a supposed to be a strong leader. Like I said, he wants someone who can show him around the area and help to get acclimated and who can analyze a variety of information to help him understand our area and the people working here. His name is Vick Sanders and he is staying at the Marriott downtown. You are to meet him there at noon for lunch and the interview. As far as I can tell, there is only one other guy on the list. Monica recommended a guy who is a year out of college who is a friend of her husband."
"Did she say anything about the salary?"
"Sort of. She said that the base would be $40,000 but that it could be higher depending on your experience and other qualifications."
"That is better than the $30,000 the company offered me today. Ok, then I will look forward to meeting Vick Sanders and seeing what I can do for him."
Mindy looked relieved and said, "I was worried that you might not want to because of the spousal rule but I think that we can work around that. I've got dinner ready and you need to get a good night's sleep. I have a good feeling about this."
"I'll let you know after my interview." Actually, I was concerned. Mindy's company was a medium-sized investment company working with individuals and small businesses to develop and manage retirement plans. Mindy had started working for them while she was in college as a back office person processing orders and generating reports. When she graduated with her degree in marketing, she transitioned into the sales side as an account manager and had been successful for a couple of reasons. The first was that a number of account managers had left the company during the one of the market downturns and she was able to pick up a dozen existing accounts to manage. The second reason was that she had been able to bring in new accounts fairly quickly because of her contacts with her sorority sisters and their husbands. Because of the company compensation program, she was making a nice living after only three years as an account manager.
I, on the other hand, was very much a back office person. My degree was in business analysis. We had gotten married when I graduated five years ago while she was still in school. I had held two market analysis jobs during the last five years with medium-sized manufacturing companies and had cut my teeth doing solid analysis work. Unfortunately, both companies were successful and became buyout targets by bigger companies who trusted their home analysts over a local one. I had good recommendations and a quality resume but little direct experience in investments. I felt that I could analyze a business for potential investment but probably couldn't offer much if it was just about a stock market investment. That might hurt me for this kind of company. However, it was the most promising opportunity that I had heard of recently and I was prepared to give Vick Sanders the best interview I could give.
The next morning, I cleaned up and dressed to impress before I adapted my resume to say that I was single and printed out a fresh one along with copies of my recommendation letters. Not knowing much more than the most basic requirements, I left home at eleven for the thirty minute drive downtown. As I was leaving the house, Mindy called. "Hi, Helen told me to tell you that you are to go to the top floor of the Marriott rather than the downstairs restaurant. They have some private dining rooms up there for these kinds of meetings. Tell the receptionist that you are there for the Williams-Adams meeting."
"Is there going to be more people there than me?" I asked in surprise.
"No. Helen said that she reserved the room before she knew the name of the person coming. The other guy went for breakfast this morning and you are there for lunch. She didn't know anything else over what I already told you. Have a good interview."
"I'm already on my way. I don't want to be late."
"I will be in client meetings all afternoon and maybe for dinner. I'll text you my schedule later. OK?"
"Fine."
I hung up as I entered the traffic mess that was a twenty-four hour a day experience around here. In spite of that, I was parked in the Marriott lot at 11:45 largely because I knew the back streets and short cuts to avoid the traffic. Having grown up here did have some advantages. At noon, I was standing in front of the top floor receptionist. She smiled and led me down the hall to one of the dozen private dining rooms available. She knocked and then opened the door for me. "Have a good meeting, Mr. Calvert."
