I started a new job, finally.  I was getting super bored with my old position and was looking for change, and more responsibility.  I wanted to be in a leadership position (who doesn’t?), and there was no way up in my old team, so I asked to transfer out.  That never happened…

Eventually, though, shit hit the fan. Director level shit…  The whole team got transferred (unwillingly, no less).  But, since my boss knew of my request to try something new, I didn’t get pawned off.  Instead of taking the easy road into one position where I probably would have fallen into anonymity (again), I decided to gamble with unemployment, and in the meantime, interview my ass off with as many people as possible.

I interviewed with one guy, the head of new technologies for hardware engineering.  He handed me my ass in about the first question.  It actually kind of sucked, because I’ve always wanted to do hardware engineering.  He showed me a 5 page resume of a Ph. D. candidate, then said “I walked this guy out in the first 10 minutes.”  I really appreciated him giving it to me straight: “do you think, if I handed you a project, and said ‘Go’ that you could deliver a working prototype in 3 weeks time?”

“uuuuhm, no. I’m not your guy. I have no experience, and would be getting into this to learn as much as possible. I’d probably fit better in a Junior level position.”

That’s right, I was honest.  I owned the fact that I could not survive in that group (even though it’s a dream job).  The rest of the interview was actually really chill.  He basically asked my interests, my background, and what I was looking or hoping for.  I spilled my guts, and put it in this way: “Obviously, I’m not the guy for your team, but do you know anyone in any other teams that might be looking for a guy like me?”

That lead to other names, and those names lead to other names.

I interviewed with as many people as possible.  Some of them said “no,” some of them gave me quizes, and others said nothing.  All of this was expected, and actually not too much of a bother.

Finally, I tapped my last resource: my lovely fiance.  She knows more people in recruiting than I could ever dream.

She put me in touch with another person. I followed up.  I talked to a manager from a different team, and he sounded stoked about my experience, my interests, and my skills.

We setup an interview.  Actually, two full days of interviews: 8 hours or so each.  Apparently, I aced them all.  I didn’t know all the answers (who could possibly?), but I was personable, and able to talk it all through.

Before I got back to my office, I had landed the new job. I was SO stoked, I could barely contain myself.

To top it all off, my best man, the other “Ryan” of The Ryans, would be sharing an office with me. And, even on top of that, my best friend from grade school would be starting 2 offices down within the week.

Holy shit, it’s all coming together!

Nowadays, you can find me working for iPod, learning more than I’ve ever learned, travelling to China, staying up late, and loving it.  This new job is more of a time commitment than I’ve ever had, but it’s also more fun, more rewarding, more interesting, and I’m working with way better people than ever before — that’s really all that matters!

The Moral: When looking for a new job, above all: make sure the people fit you.