Some time in May my husband suggested I had an informational interview at his company (hereinafter called “The Corporation”). I met with one of the members of the company’s Installations team, and I was invigorated by how much this person loved her job. She used to work at my company, and she likes The Corporation’s environment a billion times better. She suggested I speak with her boss, so I did. He also had defected from my company, and could not say enough good things about the working environment at The Corporation. I was impressed.
On June 11th I submitted my resume and cover letter to the HR department.
After just a few days I was provided the link to the first of three “admissions” tests. The first test was a personality assessment. There was no right or wrong answer, they just wanted to see where I fit in terms of personality traits and what makes me “tick.” The second test was a technical assessment: it asked increasingly harder questions about a programming language that nobody was likely to know or have used in the past. This test meant to assess my ability to learn new technologies quickly. After I passed (with flying colors, if I may add), I earned the right to take the the third test. This last one was a logical/analytical test: it had questions like the ones you would find in an SAT, mixed in with logic questions. This test meant to assess your ability to take in information and make decisions quickly.
I took the tests on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, respectively. After passing Friday’s test, I earned the chance at an interview with the Vice President of Customer Product Support and Product Installation Management. Although I felt the Installations job was best fit as a next step in my career, the VP insisted that he wanted only veterans in that team. Not having had any programming experience in the health care field, I did not fit the profile of desirable candidates. However, his Customer Product Support team might be a good fit. I decided to charge ahead and continue interviewing.
By the end of July I had met with the VP of Support and 3 current employees of that team. All I needed now was an offer.
By August, things had changed. The first VP asked me to interview with the VP of International Product Support. They were impressed with my test results (which they weighed most of their decisions on – note: this is probably the least reliable way to assess future success any company could EVER use to evaluate a candidate), and they felt they could use my skills (and my Spanish) in their international division. I thought it was interesting and continued to interview.
After talking to both the VP and COO of the International Product division, they decided to make me a verbal offer (September 3rd). I would start out with the Installations team (the team I was deemed unqualified for, but that I wanted in the first place), and after some time, when I have demonstrated expertise in the technology, I would be moved to a position of more leadership in charge of a global team that would assist the international branches located in South America, Europe and Australia. I would start in January.
The offer was nowhere near what I expected to make right out of MBA school, but they said that was they best they could do and they would send the offer to get signed and approved by the CEO before presenting it to me formally. The last time I heard from them was September 9th, when I had a call with the HR manager to discuss benefits.
So, at four months into the process, now knowing I would not be getting the pay I deserved, and that I would be starting in January (instead of right away), I must say I was a bit crestfallen. So, when a friend from the hospital job suggested I applied for a position there, I didn’t think it would hurt anything looking into it. I’ll leave the hospital corner for my next post. What I’d like to do here is talk about the pros and cons of this job and see if that will help me figure out whether to take it or not.
Pros
- I would get to learn a health care product inside out from the ground up, and get back to my programming roots (the reason I went to school for Computer Science in the first place)
- I would be working with a great boss (whom I’ve already met) and a great team (haven’t met, but I hear they are great)
- Money-wise, I’d make a little more than I make now, get a signing bonus (which covers most of my tuition for the summer, which I would owe to my company upon departure), and I get bonuses at the end of the year.
- I would have the flexibility to work from home (as much as I loathe to, I must admit it is necessary sometimes)
- Great opportunity for career growth, and for international travel
- The Corporation is growing and was making money even through the recession
- My husband works there, so we could commute home together and seeing each other during the day (albeit not very frequently) would be nice.
Cons
- Once I get that global team position I will be working remotely, like I do now. Only, my team won’t be in the midwest, they will be overseas. That’s very tough for me, not working with people directly. I’m afraid it would land me in the exact same unhappy spot I’m in right now.
- The Corporation is a private company known for its nepotism and lack of organizational structure. Policies don’t always make sense.
- No dental benefits
- My husband works there, which may lead to tension in the relationship.
The more I think about it, the more I don’t really see big issues with taking The Corporation job. It’s good, it’s a step up, it’s stable, and my husband keeps saying that he’s surrounded by people just like me all day long, and he thinks I would fit right in. He might be right.
abi