We have a new job!

Yipeee!!! So very happy that job hunting this go around was short lived. Chris has accepted a job with a company named Sycara as a developer. He was looking at either developing or automation testing positions to find as many options as possible. In one weekend, he had 2 offers and had to choose one. Happy day! Choosing was hard, but ultimately it came down to staying in developing and not going back to testing. Sycara is a very small start-up company with the backing of a big company. Small companies make me nervous, but we feel good about this opportunity. As far as my limited understanding of the computer world goes, the company develops tools for other companies to optimize their websites so that they come up first when someone searches for their services on the internet. The new word to me is "search engine optimization." I think that's as much as I'll understand. Just so happy to have work!

On to a new Adventure....

Here we are on a new adventure in our home. For the past year and a half, Chris has worked for a company called JAWA. Well, he started the job when they were called Cylon Corp. then a name change later brought them to JAWA. The company has been hit with a lawsuit by Verizon Wireless. So, this is a small company hit by a super power big company. Finally there was a decision from the courts on the injunction that didn't really rule against JAWA, but it didn't help us either, so the company had to start with layoffs. We unfortunately were hit. So, once again, we find ourselves jobless. Hopefully this won't last too long!

Got Work?

I do! I do!  It hasn't been as long a search as some have had these days, but I'm VERY thankful to say that I have officially accepted an offer of employment.  The company is called Cylon Corporation up in Scottsdale and I don't really have much idea what they do yet.  But, I'll be working on the development team, doing automation and qa stuff in PHP.

It was really kind of a fluke the way this happened.  I posted a resume on their site back in November for an Automation QA position.  A week ago Sunday I was going back through places I had already posted and updating resumes.  While there, I saw a PHP developer position available.  I remembered it was available when I applied before, so I decided to give it a go.  Lo and behold I got a call last week, an interview last Friday, an informal verbal offer last Friday afternoon, and an official everything-in-writing offer this morning!  I'll start February 1, so I have a few days to work on the house here without working on finding a job at the same time.  A funny coincident, the HR guy who contacted me is the same guy I worked with when I applied at GoDaddy almost exactly two years ago.  Crazy!  I guess he likes this place better too!

There are a lot of cool "perks," like they bring in lunch everyday, keep a fridge/snack shelf stocked with food and drink so you can almost eat all three meals there (I better not though, or I'll gain back all the weight I've lost so far - about 20 pounds).  Another exciting note is that I'm getting a raise with this new job.  I'm on a bonus plan (I guess some people are on a straight salary plan), which means that if bonuses are paid out every quarter, I could end up getting a 22% raise from Novell.  This is such a huge blessing and sigh of relief that I almost can't believe it.  Thank you so much to everyone who helped in every way, even supporting words encouraged me and helped me stay positive during this trial.  I'm nervous and excited to start this new chapter in my career.  It's going to be a lot longer commute up to Scottsdale than down the hallway to my den, but I'm happy for the opportunity.

Hunting...

Here are 5 things I've learned so far on this job search:

1. Neal was smart to frequently tell us to keep our resume's updated - glad I listened.
2. Employers hiring a developer position often see "tester" as a bad word.
3. I don't like going to outplacement services and talking to people, but I don't think I'll get a job without it.
4. My professional "network" is GREAT up in Utah, but really small here (so far).
5. I know at least one reason for my calling as Elder's Quorum secretary was to get to know the presidency and be near them during this transition period. They are a wealth of knowledge and comfort to me, as well as great network contacts.

I've had a few interviews over the past few weeks. One was with a company Brett worked for part-time/remote for a few months last year before deciding to stay in Utah with Drew Major's company. I'll say it was a good interview in that it gave me some good experience at going through interviews. I haven't had a real job interview since I hired on as an intern, so it's a whole new ballgame for me. I thought it was a tough interview, very academic-focused rather than practical or experience focused. They had a hard time seeing passed the "tester" role on my resume. I had another interview with a CEO of a small company in Phoenix. It was a job right in line with my experience, but they went with someone else. I've worked with a couple recruiters for different companies and pursued leads I got from friends or via LinkedIn connections. All good work, but so far no offers. Although I'm not the "support-group" kind of person, I've actually enjoyed going to the weekly meetings at Lee Hecht Harrison (outplacement service, part of my severance). It's uplifting and depressing at the same time, since some people have been on the hunt for 7-8 months. The techniques and tips I've learned through them have been great though, and I know it's made me a better job seeker.

We've taken a hit, but we keep on going

Chris has survived many (and I mean many) layoffs at Novell. It seems that our time is up and it is now our turn to join the large crowd of those who formerly have worked for Novell. It was hard news to swallow at first. So many unknowns, but we know we will be OK. We have amazing family to support us, a great severance package from the company to keep us afloat, and we will find something bigger and better. We'll keep you posted on the job hunt and please keep us in your prayers!

6 years, 9 months, and 24 days later...

(Cassi and I were going to just put up one post on this, but I read hers and didn't want to change anything, but still add my account.)

On January 6, 2003, I started my internship with Novell, under Neal Beckstrand (who Ryan also worked for during some of his intern days).  After almost a year, he offered me to transition to a full-time employee, and I've been there ever since...until today.

Tuesday morning I got a call from Neal, who emotionally told me that there was a layoff happening today and my last day would be October 30.  Neal has been an amazing manager to work for, and also a good friend, who always looked out for his employees.  During my almost-7 years, I've survived way too many layoffs, and I can't help but wonder if I'd still have a job if we were still up in Utah.  However, I know that we're where we are supposed to be.  I've felt good about every part of moving to/living in Mesa, for me and especially for my kids.  Now we just have to figure out the next step.

At first I was just in shock and didn't really have anything to respond with.  I took a couple minutes to ponder it in my office alone and start a job search before heading downstairs to break the news to Cassi.  That was one of the hardest things to do...not that I could hide it, but when the provider isn't going to be providing anymore, it's very depressing.  Not to mention that timing was possibly as bad as it could be, with things already tight, the job market pretty saggy and Cassi's birthday and Christmas coming up...the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint her or add any stress to our lives.

So, I took a deep breath and told her the news, then started calling my family to let them know, and then went back to work, since I still had about 4 more days.  I spent that time tying up loose ends and transferring stuff to the "lucky" survivors.  Luck is certainly a double-edged sword in that respect.  Thankfully, we have so much family so close and a great severance package that will keep us alive for as short a job search as we can possibly arrange.

Anyway, after the best first job out of college I could have hoped for, I have officially joined the Novell Alumni Group in LinkedIn, and am on to the Great Big Job Hunt of 2009.  Wish me luck (a prayer wouldn't hurt either)!

Life update (work, house, etc.)

Sorry it has taken me so long to post again. After my trip to Arizona, I emailed both VCommerce and CareFX to follow up, but have not heard back from anyone. It seems that is the new way companies like to tell someone they're not pursuing you anymore...silence. So, we have decided to accept Novell's offer to work remotely, and thus are now just focused on selling the house and looking for the right one down in Arizona. Our last chat with the realtor told us that the market in Utah is as it is elsewhere, slow. People are apparently more worried about the economy than about buying our house. Cassi thinks it's rude, so I guess we'll just have to be patient. We have had 3 people come through, but the last of them was about 3 weeks ago. However, the weather is just starting to get nice, so we're hoping that will get people in a more buying mood. Plus, the green grass will look better for selling than the snow-topped roof will.

On the family front, we had Megan's 2nd birthday last Sunday (Cassi will post pictures of that later), and we're all gearing up for Easter this Sunday. So far, I'm just doing OK in my March Madness brackets, but I've been so out of really following sports for so long, that I'm always surprised to get any points.

Novell

Well, the layoffs at Novell are quickly approaching, now that Open Enterprise Server 2 has shipped. It looks like I may retain my job, although I have a lot of friends who won't. My team is definitely the best I've ever worked with. I'm sad to see them go, and disappointed with Novell's decision to cut so deeply into already under-resourced groups. Anyway, I'm glad to keep my job and hope for some better job security in the future.