Casting Call

I've mentioned it in passing a few times here, but Mike's work life has been pretty stressful since mid-August. And by default, our home life too. Anchor Bank was acquired by Old National Bank (ONB) in August. Since Mike works in a functional area (IT), we assumed that his position would be eliminated. ONB already has an IT staff, and they don't need two. The alternative was that they would have a spot for him, but it would be a step backwards for him. It was all guesswork, and we held on to a glimmer of hope that there would be a good career opportunity there. But we just didn't know.

The not knowing went on until late November. That's a long time to not know. So Mike started selectively applying for jobs. It wasn't a hardcore job search - but if there was a change to be made, he wanted to be driving it. During that search, he found a really interesting posting for a Network Administrator at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. We typically go to their shows and really love the place. He threw his hat in the ring and heard back almost immediately from them. It was a really good match, but (even though they came up from what they were originally hoping to pay), their offer was just too low and Mike turned down the job. He had a really good conversation with the hiring manager and told them how interested he was in the job - and if they could meet his minimum, to call him back.

The next week, we finally found out that his position would be eliminated in May. So at least we knew and he decided to increase the intensity of his search. There were a couple new IT positions at ONB that he could apply for, but didn't find either of them particularly interesting. Within about 24 hours, ONB started recruiting him big time for one of the positions because they didn't want to lose him. If you are wondering why on earth they laid him off then, so were we.

The CIO of ONB basically told Mike that he was the guy for that position and a few days later, he got the formal offer. About that same time, Chanhassen called back with a offer that matched the bank. And he had a third potentially interesting job in the mix. The third job didn't pan out (who knows if they'll come back to him in a few months), and he ended up taking the job at Chanhassen. The job at ONB was just not one that excited him. It's not that he didn't want to work for them, but he didn't want that job.

He started at the theatre on Wednesday. And three days in, he's very happy with his choice. I'm very happy about free play tickets. If only he would have negotiated for a mini Newsies costume for Dec. That was on my list of demands. :) ... (the next play there is Newsies and the girls and I can.not.wait!)

You are probably exhausted by this story, and I can tell you that it was 50x more exhausting and dramatic than I presented it. It was changing daily. Drastically. But we are grateful that it was exhausting and dramatic because he had a lot of different options and avenues to explore.We are also grateful for an end to the madness! And for gainful employment. And for free play tickets.