A Toast!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

I've returned!

Well, I have not been messing with any emails, posting on forums, nor even thought about this blog for the better part of 2-3 weeks.. probably longer on the posting and blogging. Don't get me wrong- I've really wanted to take the time to get into all the issues that are going on in our state, the country and the world. It's a good mental escape at the least and helping others - even helping those helping others- are great end results.

However, all that had to stop for a bit as I was looking for work and holy shit, it is a pain in the ass. I actually found a couple jobs that would have been acceptable early on during the search- if I was single- and 23. But a little patience and diligence paid off.

I was contacted by a headhunter/temp agency who did not initially explain their intent, and I blew it off. The following day I got a call from an email from a company who does both sales and installation of drop ceilings of various applications, and a few other specialty construction items. We emailed back and forth to arrive at an interview point and I went that afternoon. All went well and felt they were very interested.

The headhunters were not done. They called the next day asking once more if I was interested and gave a better explanation. I decided it was worth checking out.

The hiring company was based in England, with several small satellite offices worldwide (South Africa, Philippines, Australia and the good ol' USA.) They locate, buy and sell various items worldwide to continuous heavy duty industry.

Now, the place I interviewed with had called earlier in the day and offered a position, and even though the pay was a little light, the overall package was not bad and I accepted. So, when the second company asked me for salary requirements, I reached a tad. Not crazy, but pretty high.

Whew.. lost yet? So, the next day is Friday and I am scheduled to start the construction sales job on Monday and the UK company called and stated their interest, and made an offer. It was less than I had asked, and told them no. I made them another salary request and they said they would call Monday.

Hehe..

Yep. They called. And offered the money I asked for. I should have said 'tentatively', but I only said 'I accept', and said so while at work, of course. They wanted me to get my passport together to fly me over to the motherland for tea and training for about 2 weeks. So, before I did anything further, I sat down with one of the owners of the company informing him of my situation. Well, would ya believe he wanted to set down and talk about it? Well, he did, and we did. He ended up making the numbers work (close enough, anyway) to keep me abroad.

Now, the company from UK has since sent me an offer sheet for me to sign and return- which I have not- yet. I intend to send them an email Thursday night informing them of the developments. I'm curious if they will try and make a counter-counter offer or are just going to cut their losses and move on.. guess I'll know tomorrow.

Story over? Stay tuned!