I Left My Heart in Aurora

I got "the call" about the perfect job on Friday. I can almost recite it by heart. The words vary little; the tone varies not at all. There's some small talk, during which time my heart is sinking because I know the drill, then it goes something like this: "We were so impressed by your qualifications, and you were a close second, but we chose someone who was a closer match."

Though I am a bit hardened to the whole process, I have to admit that I cried about this one. It was the right environment, a match for core values, and in perfect alignment with my skill set. I sent three excellent letters of reference, unsolicited, that said I'd be great in the job. I explained how I would fit in and do excellent work. I showed my genuine enthusiasm for the job, the boss, and the company over and over. And still it wasn't enough.

There are hundreds of applicants for most jobs, and dozens of them are a really good fit--this I know from talking to colleagues who consult in the hiring process and from the many times I've been told same by the hiring manager/committee. But I think what was so disillusioning about this particular "no" was that the person who did the hiring explained that the process took so long because they got so many good candidates due to unemployment being so high and the economy being so bad.

Whoa, whoa, whoa--wait a minute! What about the people who genuinely WANT to work there? Who think they'd make an amazing difference? Who would be thrilled to come to work every day because it's such a great fit for skills and values? Who would spend the commute time to Aurora plotting ways to make the organization even more fantastic? Surely I wasn't the only one. I hope the one who got the job is in the latter camp.

In Honor of Valentine's Day

"By day the blue will pale down into white where it touches the white of the land, after sunset it has a new circumference--orange, melting upwards into tenderest purple."
-E.M. Forster, A Passage to India

My heart beats faster when I read that sentence. But it wasn't always so. My personality style is ESTJ, which means my natural tendency is to think first and feel later, and to think about facts first and people second. But the stars aligned a few years ago and brought two women into my life who changed me forever: Elizabeth, who shared her art and her big heart with me, and Linda, who was forever asking me crazy-making questions like, "Do you think that will get you what you want?"

I dedicate this quote to you, because I don't know if I could have recognized the beauty in it without you. Though we don't work together anymore and see each other not nearly as often as I would like, you are in my thoughts and in my heart. Love to you and every one of my dear valentines...