It really is 'who you know'

During the years 2000-2003 I was teaching the first part of an adult retraining program designed to prepare those looking for a career change (or start) into entry level IT support. During those 3 years, I met and made friends with a lot of people, almost all of whom did indeed enter the IT world with varying degrees of success. I remarked at that time and since, that not only was that job one of the most fun I've ever done, but that I would relish the fact that I suddenly knew many contacts in the industry that would hopefully be a benefit in years to come. Little did I know.

As most of you know, I was laid off from my last job back in April, and scrambled to get myself out there as part of my job search process. During that process, I heard through the grapevine that 2 former students had in fact evolved from being IT support people to IT recruiters. I contacted one of these friends and arranged a meeting. I made it clear that more than anything, I was looking for a training role for my next job. My friend warned that training jobs didn't come across their desks very often, but I was not discouraged. During the interview, my friend insisted that I register on their web site so that I would be notified if the kind of work I was seeking would pop up.

A couple of months later, I received an email from one of my recruiter friends' colleagues about a possible job match and it was just the kind of opportunity I was looking for. I'm talking exactly what I wanted. I notified Ben that I was definitely interested in this job and I entered the selection process. You probably have already guessed the outcome. I got the job.

So, to my wife Darlene, thanks for convincing me to take that course in 2000, which immediately led to the teaching job. To my friends Kostja and Allison, thanks for coming to school and becoming a friend. Because you did, I was able to make important connections in the IT industry which inadvertently led to my landing a great job in 2009.

See how synchronicity works?