make a wish….. did it come true?

tell a friend about something you’ve been sleeping on – did they open a door, make an introduction, or just mention your wish to the right person?

we don’t always know where our next blessing will come from, or who will be the connector in our lives to make it happen. we might think we have a plan, know what we think we want, but we have no idea! life happens, be open, be ready, and be confident in your own abilities to succeed.

in October I spent 4 days being entranced by this city. I learned the streetcar routes and rode like a local. the bart was my friend, the hills, the views, the restaurants and neighborhoods were all drawing me in.

my return to Seattle started with a conversation with the mister, to see what his thoughts were on returning to the place he called home. the place where all of his friends live, and where his professional network rages. his reaction was complete and total exuberance. no real thinking about it for him, he was in!

next came my research mode…which consisted of the build out of a detailed spreadsheet of all companies in the Bay that fit my work history, skillet, personal development interests, and would be a great next entry on my resume. this was a project, a research project only. no contacting companies, no applying for open positions – just reading, researching, and really trying to narrow what would be the best next move.

dinner with friends right before halloween changed all of that. the love affair with San Fran and the excitement that I was finally open to moving (sometime in 2011) was a big topic at dinner. my spreadsheet and it’s details were discussed, and by the end of the night I was in agreement to just send our dear dear hostess my resume. she knew people, and would just pass it along and we’d see what would happen. sounds innocent and easy enough. nothing to fear here, just a casual dinner time request fulfilled.

we’d see what happens, right? well by November 4th, this was the email I received:

Hi Natalie –
I work in recruiting at Apple and wanted to connect on an opening within our internal creative/ad agency. Job spec below. [global customer database manager]
Is there a time you can connect today by phone?
Pls note the position is located in Cupertino, CA.

how does one answer an email like this (from out of the blue) from a company like this (number one on the “spreadsheet”) for a job that I couldn’t have written to be more perfect if I had tried??? ver carefully, very cool, calm and collected!

here’s the timeline from that initial email. talked to the recruiter on 11/5, hiring manager on 11/8, hiring mgr’s mgr on 11/15 and had a plane ticket for a full day of interviews onsite by 11/17 for December 1st. On 12/2 I received a phone call that their search was over if I was interested, and of course I said I needed to think about it – knowing in my heart this opportunity was too good to pass up!

so in just a little over 30 days, what I wished for was presented in a way so much bigger than I had imagined.

careful what you wish for….it could be granted to you right before your eyes!