How God Guided Me to My Next Job

A strange phenomena started taking place in the fall of 2018. Members of my professional network began reaching out about job opportunities.

Mind you, I wasn’t actively looking for a new job. Sure, it wasn’t a perfect scenario. However, my employer was pivotal as I started my family. From taking maternity leave to being the main parent to stay home with sick kids, I had a great deal of flexibility to navigate my “new norm” as a working mother. But little did I know…

God had a new plan.

He was beginning to set a ripple of events into motion to guide me. This is my journey.

I had begun exploring these opportunities falling into my lap, but nothing really felt right. Over the Christmas holiday, a dear friend reached out about another position at her employer. “We’re hiring for this position and you were the first person I thought of,” she exclaimed. This was something worth investigating.

As I was navigating that interview process, I had an epiphany on the drive into work.

The back story is I had been asking for a promotion for five or six years. I was ready for more. I was ready for change. Combine that with seeing some inefficiencies as well as some holes in our marketing group … I had the brilliant, God-given idea to devise a plan that would not only benefit ME … but the entire marketing department. Let me tell you, I was stoked. I had presented the written plan to the other two affected, gaining their buy in for adjusted responsibilities, interests, and strengths. All of us were excited. If that other job opportunity through my friend didn’t work out (and it didn’t), I was going to be more proactive with my present career.

Then came the day to present that plan to my boss. I had butterflies. How can I sell this idea? How can I gain his support? How will he respond? The only way to know was to present the proposed plan. I spent 10-15 minutes providing the backstory: why there was a need, and how I could help solve it. I had done it. I felt accomplished and empowered. It was time to take a deep breath and relish in his excited response.

But then I heard the words, “This will never happen. You are not director material. And if we ever needed a director, we would go to market.”

My heart was crushed. I did everything in my power to maintain my composure, which only lasted a few minutes as we dug into the reasons why I seemingly didn’t measure up.

I left the office that morning to process … to reflect … to cry (out of sheer anger) … to determine what this meant for me. I prayed a lot that day. I reached out to every single trusted person in my professional network, not to mention all of my close friends who knew what I was presenting that morning. I was overwhelmed by the words of encouragement. Though through it all, I couldn’t figure out how … If I was “this” good of a marketer according to everyone else, why wasn’t I good enough to take my marketing to the next level at my company.

At some point that day, it became clear to me that I was at a crossroads. I had given my company nearly nine years of my life. I had given them everything I had … literally blood, sweat, and tears. I had helped them build something amazing. But I eventually realized, there was no future for me there.

It was time to leave. But to where?

Thanks to my amazing network, I received half a dozen job leads. I applied for them all, as well as a few others I found online.

I returned to work the next morning with a sense of empowerment. As Poppy from the movie Trolls sings, “And if you knock knock me over, I will get back up again.” (Remember? I have toddlers. I can get away with watching kid movies … and applying them to my real life!)

Other powerful songs that played a role in this transition were “Control” by for King & Country and “Defender” by Francesca Battistelli. Both were about giving up control … simply praising, worshiping, bowing down, and standing still. Letting God do his work. Letting Him open the next door. Letting Him forge ahead of me and blaze the path of where I am to go.

Then, I got an email from one of the companies to which I applied … the day before. I had applied for the same position three years prior, but never got a response. So when I heard from them less than 24 hours after submitting my application, I was stunned. I was excited. Someone thinks I’m worthy. Someone thinks I have skills. For the next four weeks, I had four phone interviews and was flown to headquarters for an all-day, in-person interview with several executives. Was this going to be my next chapter?

The night I returned home from the in-person interview at headquarters, I got the email. “I am happy to inform you we will be extending an offer to you.” I had to read that message a thousand times for it to set in. Really? This was it?

I spent the next several weeks relishing in the excitement of a new opportunity.

First, I was excited at the ability to work from home—full time. I was at the peak of my frustration with always having someone need me (the mother life, I know). Be it at the office, or even more so at home, someone needed my attention. Someone needed constant attention and lots of snuggles. (Clarification: no one at work needed snuggles from me!) I rarely got any space to myself.

Second, I’ve always wanted to explore marketing outside of the industry in which I spent my entire career. But do you know what? That industry experience is what made my resume stand apart, as I’m now marketing a software product that supports the industry. How cool is that?

Third, I wanted the opportunity to be challenged again. I wanted to grow professionally—and personally for that matter. This new job was going to help provide just that.

Lastly, I’m excited to see what the ‘purpose’ of this new job will hold in my personal life. I had noticed how each of my jobs had served a greater purpose in each life chapter. I met my (now) husband at my first job, at which time he was not available. At my second job, a mutual acquaintance reconnected us. My third job is where I married that special man and we started a family. What part will this fourth job play in my life? Only time will tell.

I firmly believe that all of these events leading to this day (both the good and the painfully bad) were critical to guide me in the right direction.