A couple weeks ago, I had a second interview with Tierra del Sol, a non-profit organization that is devoted to changing challenges to opportunities by helping adults with developmental disabilities gain the skills and experience necessary to find a job. I felt really good about the interview and was probably the least nervous out of any interview I have ever had. But I was still surprised when I was offered the position during the interview.
My mind raced as I tried to weigh the pros and cons of accepting the job. I never thought they would make an offer right then; I assumed that I would have a couple of days in between the interview and any possible offer to do a bit more research, determine any follow up questions I might have, and ultimately decide if I really wanted the job. When I was put on the spot, I said “yes.”
As moving into a full-time position became reality through pre-employment paperwork, physical, drug test, and fingerprinting, I began thinking about the other loose end possibility: a teaching job. I had already interviewed and taught a demonstration lesson. They had emailed me a week before to let me know that they were almost finished with the candidate process. I was hopeful that I might receive an offer, but having taken the position at Tierra del Sol, I found myself wondering if I had made the right decision. Would I have been happier waiting and accepting an offer from another organization?
I’ve found in my job search that there are many parameters that I use to weigh a possible position. The base is the amount of money that I will make; some positions are just not within my budget. Apart from that, I look at the distance the job is from my home, the number of hours and the time of day that I will be working, and the amount of challenge and personal satisfaction I will get from the job. Both of these “final two” jobs ranked high on all of these categories. Sure, it would be nice to have the summer off, but the Tierra job would give me a lot more responsibility and greater opportunity for professional growth.
I also had to take into consideration my career path. During my job search, I was able to present my skills very strongly in two different arenas: Education (specifically, Christian Education), and non-profit management. My education and work experience support each of these fields. However, I had a sense that whatever job I ended up with would cement my resume in one of these two fields. If I took the teaching position, it would have been hard to showcase consistency in management positions on future resumes. With my new position as Volunteer Services Coordinator for The Tierra del Sol Foundation, I am directing my career toward non-profit organization management. This is not a decision I made lightly, but ultimately I settled on the fact that my decision to accept the position at Tierra del Sol was the better of the two options.
As it turns out, I didn’t need to spend so much time weighing the possibilities; the decision was made for me. Two days after accepting my job with Tierra del Sol, I received a rejection letter for the teaching position. It was late enough time to give me satisfaction in my decision to take the job at Tierra del Sol, and early enough to ensure that I didn’t waffle in my commitment to Tierra. Perfect timing.
