After almost 21 years in the insurance biz, I finally packed it up and moved on. I haven't talked about it much but at the urging of my mom (THANK YOU, THANK YOU!) I took the Nassau County Civil Service exam almost two years ago. She went for bi-lingual clerk typist and I went for regular clerk typist. She scored very high on her exam and I was about average. A few letters came for me, but some of the salaries were way too low. I was unhappy in my situation, but I wasn't going to settle for such a low salary. If, on these letters you indicate you are available but not interested for a certain reason, they will not offer you anything in that salary range. So, for a while I didn't hear anything. All the while I was riding an emotional roller coaster at work. Some days were good, most were bad. I was under a lot of pressure. Whether this pressure was real, or imagined, I felt it. It was horrible. I felt as if I couldn't do anything right. I felt I was just screwing up all the time and in the insurance business that 'aint good! So, I prayed and asked God to please send me a job offer in a school within a reasonable salary. I promised him I wouldn't squander my chance and that I would do my best. Last December I received a call from a local Elementary school and went in to interview. I nearly had a nervous breakdown! It was right around Christmastime. Right after the interview, we received our Christmas bonuses and went to our holiday party, and my manager gave me a beautiful gift. I felt like crap at the thought of giving my two week notice. It was all for naught as that job fell through. I got back on the roller coaster and plodded through another six or seven months. I got a few more letters. Some I answered with a yes, some I did not. Then, I interviewed for a position in a Middle school. I got lost and arrived 15 minutes late. I actually think that worked in my favor. I was a little flustered but I interviewed really well. I remembered some of the questions asked of my at the Elementary school and felt better prepared to answer them. I also did a quick search on the schools within this particular school district and in the course of the interview, it came out that I had done that. It turned out that one of the women sitting in on the interview was the mother of a former high school classmate. She brought it up at the end of the interview and we chatted for a few moments. So as I was taking my little typing test, the secretary whose desk I was using came over and whispered excitedly to me.."THEY LOVE YOU!!" She implied that I was a shoo in, and I was excited, but afraid. I didn't want to take it too much to heart, but I left there very happy. I went on with my life, making plans, working, stressing and praying. A short time after that I received a call asking me if I was interested in the position and with barely a moments thought I said YES!!! I gave my two weeks notice on August 28th. My last day was September 11th (weird, who would've thought that day 8 years ago I would be starting a new life?), and I started a new chapter of my life on September 21st. Getting to work at 7:30am is a challenge, but I don't mind it. I love my new job. I haven't been this happy in years. Truth be told, I was pushed into that other job. Don't get me wrong. While I hate insurance, I love the people there. The company was good and fair, I just couldn't do it any more. I am so much happier now. I am still paranoid that I'm not doing a good job. I guess that's something left over from before, but everyone is so nice and I just got my 5 week review and it came out excellent, so, I guess I'm doing OK! Things are good. I'm happy. Really happy. It's a weird sensation, this relaxed feeling. I think I can get use to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment