After nearly 7 months unemployed, I have finally gotten a couple of places to show interest. I have 2 phone interviews this week, and I'm nervous. It has been ages since I did any interviews, aside from the 2 AI interviews I had last month. The butterflies are churning.
I am nervous for a couple of reasons. First, I realize that they will be evaluating me as a potential fit for their position. While I have complete confidence in my abilities and my knowledge, I am not so confident in my ability to sell myself. I never have been.
I'm also apprehensive about getting myself into the same situation as before. Finding myself working somewhere that values me only as much as I am willing to give endlessly is not something I want to sign up for. I went above and beyond in my last role, and all it ever got me was more work and a higher bar. Meaning that the above and beyond became the new expected normal.
Not to mention being typecast into a specific role. I became that guy who did my job so well that other opportunities never seemed to come my way. Granted, I could have been more proactive, but that boxed-in feeling still stung.
Finally, I am still not sure I want to be a part of "the machine" anymore. I want to work for myself. That is a scary premise, too, but it's a different kind of scary. However, I need to make sure I can pay the bills and keep the lights on so I can work on my own business opportunities.
In reality, I have a choice between my plans and God's plans. I have to have faith that God will continue to move me in the direction He wants me to go. If He wants me working for someone else for now, then that is what I'll do. If He wants me to press forward with what I am doing here, I'll do that too. Maybe it will be a combination of both. Only time will tell.
God has already carried me this far. After 7 months of unemployment, I am still financially stable. I have even been able to pay off my truck, and the house is next. I pray He'll keep carrying me through this season. If you are a praying person, please pray for me. That God's will be easily discernible and that He opens and closes the right doors. Also, pray that I am open and wise enough to see the right path.
What's one way God's carried you through a waiting season?
—Daniel