During the first week of January, my employee insurance claim ran out. I was not prepared for it as I thought it would be there till the end of the month. Don’t take me wrong. I am very obliged to the government of Ontario for having paid me employee insurance (EI) for 45 weeks on a bimonthly basis. It is a great benefit from the government for laid off employees. Both N and me happily survived on it for most of 2008 too. However, our backup plan of leaving to India was supposed to happen in the end of February. Once EI would exhaust in Jan end, having already paid our last month’s rent in 2007, it seemed like the right plan. Towards the end of the first week I got another reject letter from a company I was really hopeful of getting into. So, I was getting nervous all of a sudden. After all I even did a presentation there as a final step. The reason elucidated was that I was over qualified.
Somehow, I wanted to believe that reason and called the interviewer (B) and spoke with her. I asked if there was any other opportunity in the company she could refer me to. It was worth trying. If it worked it did, nothing to lose anyway. She asked me to speak with the HR about that. I did speak with the HR and got to know they had two suitable opportunities and so I simply pursued them. Eventually, B put in a word for me to the hiring manager and I got an interview call in the 3rd week of January. I just hoped for the best and did well. Another call and I was set for doing a second presentation, this time something more difficult on the consumer electronics retailing industry. The presentation went really well and I was beginning to be hopeful about it working out. N kept on telling me to start disposing our things so that we can leave sooner to India. It is not that I did not want to go to India, after all there were so many job opportunities there. I was just worried about N’s educational loans and thought the best way to finish it soon was to have a job here.
Fourth week of January came, and I received the good news from the HR that I finally have the offer. :) I was elated and could not believe it. Finally I got a job. After completing one year since I got laid off! The profile sounded great and my manager is the best. Market research and strategy support. I would work onsite for one of the biggest retailers ever. I could not have asked for anything better.
When everything was turning topsy turvy, I really believed that something would come up. After 12 companies interviewing me and going through endless job applications for one whole year, I got it finally! Entire credit for landing every single one of those interviews goes to N because he is the one who applied for me. As my expertise was confined to aerospace and defense research, my options were limited but nothing is impossible because at present, I analyze the fashion industry. That too, after not being a fashionable person at all. :)
I joined on feb 2 and it is going to be one month since I started now. What more can I say? I am loving every moment of it.
Thank you to all my readers for the kind support you offered me since I lost my job. All’s well that ends well. :)
