queenoftheskies | Sh-h-h-h-h-h...

Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting jobs.

And, it's been a most interesting hunt, let me tell you.

I told you folks about my experiences the week before I was transferred to Santa Ana with the crazy job that would have been an "out of the frying pan and into the fire" job. I was, thankfully spared a bad experience there.

This newest hunt has been rather interesting, to say the least.

The hard part is getting time off to interview. Since my commute drive is so long, it hampers my efforts to find a new position. I either have to go in late, which is more difficult and takes more time, or get off early, which feels like it looks even more suspicious.

However, I have managed three interviews within the last two weeks.

Now, the interesting thing is that all three interviews were with the SAME company.

The first time, I went in to see the Controller, who was actually an interim Controller because his predeccesor had left suddenly. He came in through an agency and I think he's now permanent. Not sure.

I was also supposed to talk to the Assistant Controller, who had to go out to take his car to the shop. He's been there a long time, which was why they wanted me to talk to him, too.

The interview seemed to go okay, but I wasn't thrilled because I was interviewing for a temp to perm and was concerned about lack of insurance and such in the interim.

The company was supposed to have two positions available. One perm and one temp to perm. For the perm, they wanted someone who had been doing costing currently, for 3-5 years, I think. And, while I have more experience in costing than that, my current experience is mixed with general accounting and Controllership.

And, of course, there were the inevitable questions about why I wasn't seeking a Contoller's job. They did accept the answer that I wanted to do a job without the responsibilities that come along with being Controller, and actually understood it given what had happened with the previous company and now the current.

Considering that current experience seemed a priority, I didn't expect to hear from them again and thought it was all over. This was two weeks ago.

However, last Monday, I got an e-mail asking if I could go speak with the Cost Accounting Manager that evening. It was too short of notice, so I asked if I could go on Tuesday. They said yes.

I went on Tuesday and liked the Cost Accounting Manager lots. It was funny because the HR receptionist recognized that I had been there once already and was quite friendly as was the HR Manager.

I thought the interview with the Cost Accounting Manager went okay, but, once again, I thought they needed someone with more immediate experience.

The agency told me I should hear the next day, but...no word. So, once again, I wrote it off, even though I was starting to be interested. I clocked it home and discovered it was less than 5 miles from home and took 10 minutes on surface streets in rush hour. Plus, the people were starting to seem pretty nice.

No word, but the possibility of another position, this one between home and where my youngest goes to high school arose. This one was an Accounting Manager position paying $5,000 more/year than I make now, and sounds promising.

No interview there yet.

Lo and behold, I get home at 10:00 Thursday night, from my youngest son's ROTC award ceremony, and have both a voice mail and an e-mail from the agency.

The nearby company wanted to see me again on Friday and it was urgent. They wanted me to talk to the assistant controller this time. He was going to be on vacation the following week (this coming week) and HAD to talk to me on Friday.

It seems that the person they had interviewed with more immediate experience had backed out because she found out they had Kaiser medical insurance and she wanted to keep her current doctor.

So, they wanted me to interview for the PERM position.

The agency lady had said the HR Manager had mentioned wanting me to fill out an application and that she didn't want to waste my time, so the agency lady felt like it was a good sign.

It was difficult to get off early, but I worked it out.

And, when I got there, the Assistant Controller had left for some kind of emergency. (Probably leaving early on his vacation.)

This time, the HR receptionist remembered me by name. The HR Manager was lovely. I passed the Controller in the hall and he shook hands and thanked me for coming back in and was quite friendly.

I talked to the Cost Accounting Manager again. He had more questions and he apologized profusely that the Assistant Controller had cut out early. He also told me they HAD to interview one more person and that he didn't see why they had to do it, but they did, and that the interview would take place on Monday (tomorrow).

I was there an hour and my time was split pretty evenly between him, filling out the application and paperwork, and time with the HR Manager.

She went over benefits with me and gave me some paperwork to look at. They have exceptional benefits and I really like the way their benefits work. The company gives you an "allowance" based on your age (more for older folks since their insurance is more expensive) and then they give you options and you "shop" for what you want.

If the "allowance" covers it, the insurance is at no cost to you. If you want more, that part comes out of your check.

Either way, the cost for an entire month probably wouldn't be as much as I currently pay for ONE WEEK.

So, now, I wait. Tomorrow, they interview another person and then they'll decide. If that person has more immediate experience, they'll probably get it.

If they don't, then I still have a chance.

Either way, I should find out by Tuesday. So...

Fingers crossed. It seems like a great opportunity.