Lucky Boxers

I haven't discussed my job hunting over the last several weeks here at all somewhat intentionally, mainly because it would likely sound repetitive. Bottom line, it's been a lot like this:

"Monday: Ate breakfast. Watched Frasier reruns. Showered. Applied to three jobs. Went food shopping. Watched MLB Network. Read part of The Blind Side."

"Tuesday: Showered. Ate breakfast. Watched Quick Pitch. Applied to two more jobs. Did laundry and dishes. Talked to recruiter from staffing agency for 15 minutes about job hunt. Watched more MLB Network."

"Wednesday: Watched Frasier reruns. Showered. Ate breakfast. Applied to four jobs. Watched Maury. Vacuumed the apartment. Talked to Mom and vented about frustration stemming from job hunting for a bit before lunch."

Lather, rinse, repeat.

In the last two weeks, however, things have changed quite a bit. The week after I was let go from my job, one of my buddies in Baltimore text me about openings in his office at the DHHS. They were adding 10 contract specialists to the team ASAP and wanted people with finance and/or business backgrounds, preferably with master's degrees. That description fit me to a T, so I immediately went to work on revising my resume to suit the position's needs. He forwarded my resume to his boss, who took a look at it and loved it. I then had to get my college transcripts together and send them over which took a little time, but I got them in.

Then the waiting started.

Of course, I kept up with applying for other jobs in the meantime, wondering how long it would take them to call me. About two weeks ago a recruiter from the DHHS office called me about my application and scheduled an interview with me. We set it up for this past Friday, so I decided to get to Baltimore that morning and spend the weekend since Sunday was Mother's Day (you know, so I could be a good son and all).

I went to my interview and met with two managers. We spoke for about an hour about my background and assorted qualifications, and I have to say I left there with a decent vibe about my chances. My buddy happened to text me about my interview shortly after I left and he checked with the managers about their thoughts on me. He said their exact words were I "kicked ass." He also said while he couldn't guarantee anything, he'd be shocked if I didn't get a phone call with an offer within the next week

No wait - it gets better.

One of the other jobs I had applied to prior to my interview at DHHS was for a job in Virginia. I had applied for it on Thursday, and Monday morning their recruiter called me asking to schedule an interview. I couldn't remember any response that moved so quickly after first applying for a position, so we had scheduled it for Tuesday afternoon. I got to the interview and met with the manager for about an hour there as well.

I don't normally like to make quick judgments based off a single interview with a manager, but I gotta say I ACED that interview. It didn't even feel like such a formal setting; it was more of a regular conversation. We spent the first ten minutes or so making regular chit chat about the company and other small talk which really built a good vibe that carried over through the rest of the interview. We wrapped up the interview talking about baseball for a couple minutes as well, so things definitely went extremely well overall. I left there feeling really good about my chances to get a second interview at the very least, if not potentially an offer.

No wait - it gets better.

I got a follow up email from DHHS yesterday asking about one of my references. The manager was contacting my references and wanted to confirm one of the email addresses. I have to believe this is good news and that they're preparing to make an offer later this week after they're talked to all my references.

I have a theory about why both inteviews went so well, and I'm sure it'll sound at least a little crazy: I made sure to wear a pair of lucky boxers to each interview.

I challenge anyone reading this post to dispute having at least one or two sets of lucky underwear. Whenever I'm out and wearing a pair of my favorite boxers, I feel more confident for some reason. I made a point to wear them to each interview, and you can be damn sure if I get a callback for a second interview I will be wearing another pair of lucky boxers to it. Sure, it's superstitious, but if it gets the job done I won't complain at all.

The question now becomes if I'm offered both positions, which one do I take? Granted, it's far too premature to ask such a question, but the pros and cons would definitely need to be weighed. Obviously if I took the job in Virginia, I wouldn't have to move anywhere. It also will pay quite a bit more up front than the DHHS job. However, the DHHS job will probably offer better benefits, more stability long term, and I'd be closer to my friends and family.

This could end up being the kind of problem most people would love to have.

See? I owe it all to my boxers.