Welcome back to the Frugalpreneur podcast! I am your host, Sarah St John.
So the reason why I’ve been absent for a few weeks is because I got a new job, and a lot has been going on with that transition! Now, before you say “wait…isn’t this podcast about being able to work for yourself and not for someone else”? Yes and no. This podcast is about how to launch an online business on a tight budget, but that can apply to someone who wants to become their own boss and work for themselves full time, or it can be for those who are just looking for extra income through a side hustle. And yes, someday I intend to work for myself, but that could be years from now. Currently, I maintain a handful of online businesses as side gigs to help supplement my full time income.
All that to say…I want to give a little back story about why this job change is a big deal and why I am discussing it on the podcast.
First of all, I was at my last job for a decade which is a record for me. But what I want to discuss in this episode is determination. You see, I had been familiar and a fan of this organization I now work at for several years. In fact, I even interviewed for a customer service position there 5 years ago. That interview went really well. It lasted two hours, and I felt confident I was going to get the position. But, a candidate came in afterwards that was a personal recommendation of someone else who works there, so I understand why that person was given the position. Most people would probably give up at that point, but not me. I continued to look on their website for job listings literally every day, but once you get hired on there, you normally stay there for decades or until retirement. Therefore, a new opening rarely ever popped up, and when it did, it was for a position I was nowhere near qualified for due to it being scientific.
But one day in June, I saw an opening for an accounting position. I’ve always been interested in accounting and numbers, and I met all the qualifications and experience required (mainly due to my decade of experience at my previous job), except the dreaded two words everyone with an associate’s degree hates to see: “bachelor’s degree”. So, I didn’t apply for the position because of those two words. Fast forward about two weeks. I looked on the website again, and the position was STILL open, and this time either they changed the wording to “bachelor’s preferred” or maybe that word “preferred” had always been there, and I either missed it or figured someone more qualified with a bachelor’s degree would come along. Well, I decided to go ahead and apply at that point since the position was still available. It couldn’t hurt. That was on a Monday evening. I was contacted Tuesday morning to see if I could come in for an interview the next day on Wednesday morning. I came in, and the interview went well, and then I was offered the position Thursday, and gave my 2-week-notice to my current employer (at the time) that Friday. It all happened so quickly, it was as if the job opening was holding out for me. It was meant for me, and it was meant to be.
My point in telling you all this is that just because a door seems to close (as it did for me 5 years ago), doesn’t necessarily mean it’s dead bolted. It may not mean “never”. I may just mean “not now” or “not yet”. Don’t give up. Be determined. Continue to try. Continue to fight. It may just be that the timing is off, or that something even better is up ahead.
Well, that’s all I have for you today. If you have a similar personal story that you’d like to share, feel free to tweet it to me at @thesarahstjohn. I’d love to hear it.
Until next time…
