Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I Think I Have A Mentor!

I arrived at the office before Ann Rains and was offered a cup of coffee by the young lady, who's title was  Coordinator,  but being as nervous as I was, I asked for water!  I hadn't called Ann the night before so I knew she would be surprised to see me sitting there.  A few minutes past and she bounced through the door with a surprised look on her face.  "Well, Tom, I wasn't expecting to see you today. Come back to my office."  Once she got settled and she got herself a cup of coffee, I began explaining the situation we were in.  I told her how interested I was in learning the business but after making a few calls to real estate agents in the Bay area we had come to the conclusion that we just couldn't afford to move there. She asked me if there were any other concerns and I said that even with the profit we had from our home in St. Louis, I couldn't support the family in an expensive area like that on the $25,000 salary that came with the job.  She looked at me and smiled, admitting it was an expensive are to live.  With that she picked up the phone and called her son-in-law who was in Dallas.  She said "Look, I've found a great candidate for the job in San Francisco but he's checked into the cost of living out there and can't take the job at the salary we are offering."  She listened for a minute or so and then said, "Let me check into that and I'll call you back."                                      

Ann looked at me and smiled, she said, "I just found out about another opening.  How would you feel about moving to San Antonio, Texas!"  She explained the cost of living was much lower and that it happened to be her favorite city and wanted to know if I had been there.  After explaining that I hadn't she took me on a verbal tour of the city listing all the reasons she loved it there.  I must have looked relieved because she smiled and told me to head on home and kick it around with my wife.  She asked if I could get back to her by the end of the day because she was only going to be in town for another day and if I accepted the job she wanted to spend some time with me.  I was so grateful, I wanted to hug her, but instead promised I would call later that day.

I couldn't get over the fact that I found such a warm, friendly person, who really wanted me to join her company.  I felt I had a mentor and wanted to take the job, although I had no idea what it would be like to live in Texas, and couldn't imagine what Jane would say.

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