October 27, 2003

October 27, 2003, was my first day at a new job. I was thrilled to be
starting in such a great company. However years prior, I was constantly
applying to this company, and all I received were thank-you letters telling
me they’d received my résumé and would keep it on file, blah, blah, blah.
(Perhaps you know that letter). I received so many of those letters that I
honestly felt I had no chance of ever working there. My sister was out of
work, and she had an opportunity to interview for a job in this company.
She suggested that I apply too, as she felt it was perfect for me. I had
written the company off my list, as I felt they did not want me. They
had rejected me so much already, and it would hurt even more if they
rejected me when I knew there was a job opportunity. Well, my sister
told me, “Eileen, you can do this. The worst that can happen is that you
don’t get the job, but you won’t know unless you try.”

Shortly after, I decided to send in my resume once more; however, this
time I sent an e-mail to the person who would be interviewing my
sister. I did not just send a resume; I sent him a cover letter in which
I essentially said, “You want to meet me.” I told him why I believed I
would be great for the position, and I topped it off by telling him that if
given the opportunity, he would agree that he would be making a great
decision to hire me. Honestly, what drove me to write that letter was the
frustration of being rejected so many times.

To my surprise, they called me in for an interview, and to my further
surprise, that interview went great. I interviewed with three managers,
and they seemed to like me. I was selling a product, “me,” and they were
buying in. After the interview, they asked me if I had any questions for
them, to which I responded, “When do I start?” They thanked me for
my time and told me they were still interviewing candidates. They said
they would let me know later. I went home feeling confident, but days
passed with no word from them. I followed up with a thank-you note
and again reassured them I was the right candidate. More days continued
to pass, and I had no news on the job. Again, I felt rejected, I knew I had
done everything I could to get the job and I also knew in my heart this
job was right for me. Exactly a month later, I received a FedEx package
with an offer from the company. I could not believe it. I was so happy.
I had to fill out forms, submit to a drug test . . . and pick a start date.
My start date was October 27, 2003.

I am thankful to my sister for encouraging me to keep trying.