A few weeks ago I was invited for an in person interview. I
didn’t know at the time how hard these are to win. I accepted but was not
interested, honestly, based on what I’ve heard about Amazon’s culture, pay, and
commute. But I felt like it is always good to practice interviewing even though
in my heart I was not interested. In fact the day before the interview I was
tempted to cancel the interview. Why spend the time going to Seattle for a day
of interviews? But not wanted to burn bridges I went forward assuming that I
would either not be the right candidate or the offer would be easy to turn
down.
I normally have a pre-interview process that I go through,
but since I didn’t care if I took it or not I did a little studying in the
morning before the interview and then headed out. I was not worried either way.
It was a tough, full day of interviews. If I’m honest I
would give myself a very poor grade. It was a constant peppering of questions
with little time for discussion – just them asking and me talking for 5 hours.
Plus although they bought me a salad for lunch there was no time to eat it so
by the end I was tired, hungry, and had low blood sugar. All in all, it was not
a great performance on my part.
I called Melanie on the way home and said, “That sucked.
There’s no way I would ever take that job. I didn’t like the people and blew it.”
Good experience, but not the next big thing.
To my astonishment the recruiter called two days later and
offered me the job. I was surprised that they were serious about moving forward
with me, but it is always good to hear the offer details. She shared what it
was but also asked about my current compensation. Fortunately, I had two very
good years at MS and so was able to state a fairly high number. Without even
asking she offered to go to the compensation board and push for more. The next
day she brought a very compelling offer that exceeded my expectations. Now I
was really interested and began thinking and pondering.
As I did so one night I decided to read the Book of Mormon
and opened up immediately to the part in 1 Nephi when Nephi had returned from
his glorious vision and found his brothers bickering over an interpretation of
a dream. Nephi, hearing this, asked them if they had “inquired of the Lord?”
This question brought to mind that I needed to sincerely ask God for help in
deciding. So I did, in more earnest and sincerity. I continued to study,
discuss, and look at the pros and cons…but also asked God to help me know and
to make it clear to me how I should proceed.
The recruiter was heading out on vacation and so I had extra
time to decide. During her absence rumors started to circulate about a reorg
and layoff. Although I was unhappy in the role, I did not think I would be
touched as my role was still a significant amount of work. I pushed the
recruiter off till Thursday with the hope of seeing where I would land as part
of the reorg. Maybe I would land on a better team where I’d have a good
manager, or have a new opportunity that was better?
The Thursday morning came and I was invited to meet with my
VP. At first I figured he wanted to explain the reorg and discuss what would
happen to me as I would now be in a different org. But as I thought about it, I
quickly realized there was a good chance of being laid off. I was nervous when
I went in and received the bad news. When I showed up it was the VP and some HR
wonk. I said, “this doesn’t bode well.” In fact I had been riffed as part of the
reorg. Six years of Microsoft experience, including several years of strong
reviews (1, 1, 2) were over. It was discouraging and humiliating. I felt hurt
and betrayed.
But I also knew something they didn’t know. I had the Amazon
offer. I went from being 85% leaning towards Amazon to 100% in an instant. I
was a bit on pins and needles while I waited to chat with the recruiter, but
when we spoke that evening and told her I was committed we were both excited.
We’ve often felt like there was a purpose in coming to
Seattle. The Microsoft job was a miracle initially, and this was another
example of God watching out for us. Had I been laid off without a job we would
have put this house on the market and headed to Utah for a simpler life. But
now I have a great job at Amazon, have a month off to get ready, and have a nice
severance. Plus the great Amazon pay and compensation on top. All of these are
great blessings.
And that’s what I learned for myself – that God has a plan
for us. He had one for me. I have no idea why he took such care to orchestrate
this blessing and miracle but he did. He started working on this months before
I needed it. He kept it going when I didn’t see the opportunity. Those who
interviewed me saw something in me that I didn’t think was there which helped
me land the job. And the timing was simply without question a miracle. I was
never really even unemployed. It all fit together like a puzzle. It is humbling
to think of this blessing.
A friend shared a scripture I had never heard before when I
told him of of my decision making process around Amazon (and I hadn’t told him
of Microsoft) that is found in Psalms 37: 23 which reads “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in
his way.” I don’t consider myself a particularly good man or more deserving
of blessings than the next person. But I do believe that if we put our lives in
his hands, make covenants, and do our best to serve he will help order our
steps.
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