I Got the Job!

Last week I told you that I was talking with an engineering company about a full-time writer position they are looking to fill. Shortly after I posted that, I had an in-person interview with the man who would be my supervisor, which went really well, and all signs were pointing toward it being a really good fit.

Then we scheduled a phone call with me, the President of the company, and their HR lady. I knew this would be the brass tacks call, so to speak. That wonderfully fun conversation where all parties dance around the topic of compensation, because really, really, man oh man, nobody likes to talk money.

So I knew I needed to decide on what I wanted to ask for in terms of compensation. I called my mother-in-law, who was a pretty fancy CEO up until she retired, and who is still active with a lot of start-ups in the silicon valley. She gave me some pointers. The main thing it came down to for me was that I wanted to work less. Given the choice between more time and more money, I wanted the time.

The next day, on the call, I framed the discussion in terms of working 80% full time. That was what I wanted more than anything so it just made sense to frame the discussion starting there. I was pleasantly surprised when that suited them just fine. We worked out the details, and came to an agreement. The next day they sent me a letter highlighting the basics of what we had agreed to. I signed it and sent back and ka-zam – I got the job.

I am so excited about this, that for days I’ve been waiting for them to call up and say they made a mistake of some kind. I get to be a full-time writer, working four days a week, with super cool science nerds. I won’t be making any more money than at my current job, in fact, I’m taking a small cut, but if you break it down to an hourly rate, I actually am getting a pretty good bump in pay. And anyways – who cares! Full-time science writing. No more project management (which has always stressed me out). I get to just go to work, do a great job, and go home at the end of the day.

Daniel took me out to celebrate on Thursday, and I gave notice on Friday. My boss wasn’t thrilled, but he’s been very understanding. He knows this is a great opportunity for me, and it’s not like he’s loosing the client. My last day will be February 20th. After that, I’ll have two weeks before I start at the new job. I’m going to take the time to wrap up some projects, not the least of which is my novel. I don’t know that I can get it across the finish line in two weeks, especially considering some of the other things I need to get done (take the car into the shop, help my sister plan her wedding, run the kids to soccer practices), but I can make some good progress, I’m sure.

2015 is off to a great start.