June 10, 2011

The week of big decisions

So, in my last post I referred to another big decision that we were making this week, but didn't include any details. Finally I can talk about the craziness that's been going on for the past month! Woohoo!

About a month ago, Chris got a call from a headhunter who had gotten his contact info from a guy that Chris met at a networking luncheon over a year ago. This headhunter was looking for someone to fill an IT project manager position for a small IT firm downtown. Let me be sure to preface this by saying that Chris was in no way looking for another job; he is very happy where he is, has great relationships with everyone that he works with and for, and genuinely likes his job. Plus, he's only been there a year and got a great annual review and impressive increase already. That said, the headhunter proposed an informational phone interview - nothing too serious - and he figured it couldn't hurt just to find out about the job and company to see if it was something he'd be interested in. Well, that informational interview turned into three more interviews over the span of three weeks, each making the position sound more and more like not only something that Chris would be great at and enjoy, but also making the company and the people he would be working with and for look more and more like they would be a great fit as well. In the midst of these three weeks, the company that Chris currently works for posted two internal lead positions in his department, one of which he also applied and interviewed for. And all of this less than a month before Callen's due. Talk about crazy timing.

Long story short, Chris got an amazing offer from the company downtown. The type of offer that you simply can't turn down because it is that good. The type of offer that surprised both of us because while we had talked about the possibility that it could be that much, we never expected it to actually be that much. So Chris told his boss about it, and that we couldn't turn it down, especially with a second child on the way. Chris' boss told him that Chris had gotten the lead position he applied for internally and that he would do everything in his power to provide a counter-offer that would convince him to stay. Now, I've always known that my hubby is an amazing, wonderful, talented, dependable human being, but to have that reiterated by two companies pulling out all the stops to get him makes my heart sing because I really don't think that he realizes how amazing, wonderful, talented, and dependable he is.
His current employer provided a counter offer that, while not quite as amazing as the offer from the company downtown, is certainly enough to get him to stay. We spent forever going over numbers and then trying to put a price on things that can't be bought, such as the stability and relationships and rapport that he already has at his current company. The icing on the cake is how gracious the other company was in hearing that he was turning down their offer. Certainly no burned bridges, and if anything some great people in the industry to keep in touch with. And to think that just over a year ago, Chris had been out of work and searching for a year!

1 comments:

Holmbody

Way to go Chris!! I always knew he was an 'amazing, wonderful, talented, dependable human being!!!"