Sunday night I (Adam) submitted an application to JP Morgan Chase in San Antonio. Monday morning I got a call. Tuesday afternoon I booked a flight, and on Friday I interviewed. It was a crazy week that had me suddenly dropped right in the middle of the job-seeking-zombie world, and I was a total zombie—suit, resume, and all.
Because it was such late notice, flights were pretty expensive, so I took my first business trip alone. It was actually the first time in our nearly two years of marriage that CheyAnn and I spent a night apart. But I was excited for opportunity in a more promised land...
Fortunately, through some really helpful contacts, I also lined up a couple of interviews at two of the best firms in San Antonio, so I was feeling quite optimistic. I also arranged to look at some house and townhouses, since that was a pretty high priority as well.
The week before was spent tuning up resumes and preparing for the job interviews. I was a well-oiled, interview-acing, job-getting machine!
I arrived late Thursday night, and the next morning I prepped and got ready for my big day. The morning started off meeting some people at the SA office of one of the largest law firms in the country. They really liked me, but didn't have anything open, so they kindly referred me to their friends across the street at the biggest firm in San Antonio. Again, had a fantastic interview with a guarantee of "we'll definitely call you if anything opens up."
Then I was off to JP Morgan Chase, which was actually an incredible disappointment. As exciting as the job description down, when you boiled away all of its ambiguous jargon, the position was basically an "account freezer." As in, the guy who goes in and cuts off people's funds when they don't pay their bills. How could I sleep at night doing that?
Only if they paid me really well. Which they wouldn't. After a lot of research, I was pretty confident that I would be offered enough for us to have a pretty comfortable lifestyle. I was equally dismayed when they informed me that I would be paid half of what I had hoped. I sat there slightly outraged in my head, "Wait. I'm graduating with Honors, and I'm freaking published in my field, and you're offering me barely 11 bucks an hour?" After all my prep, I aced the interview, but it probably wasn't in my favor that I asked for twice what they were offering.
So, sweeping aside my disappointment, I enjoyed the rest of my trip. After a full day of searching, I found a great townhouse that I'd be ecstatic to live in. I just need a way to pay for it.
I had a great time with my family, relaxing in the perfect, warm weather and enjoying real Mexican food. I dropped off my resume a couple of places and had another interview—more positive feedback, but no open positions. But all in all, I'm still confident that something will turn out, and I'm still extremely confident that we will have a great time in San Antonio. It made me really excited to move back to my home with my wife. Now I just need a way to pay for everything.
Looking for a house... Decisions...
The Hill Country is beautiful in the spring. This is in front of my parents' house.
My mom sewed this dress for our little baby Namibia. Very cute and impressive.
My Dad was happy I was in town. Me too, Dad!
