Let the games begin (and please let me win)!!

Hope? Anticipation? Apprehension? Jitters? Nerves?

I don’t know if matters what you call it. The fact is, when you are applying for a new position, all of these feelings come into play.

Here is how the process goes: Usually a few weeks before any official announcement begins the rumor mill. This, in and of itself, is an intricate process that goes on in such detail and tenacity it could have its own written policy. The questions start flying, “When is the position opening up?” As a suspected time gets narrowed down, then begins the possible candidate pool. “Is he going to try for it? Is she?” Suddenly people, who rarely ever talk to each other, for whatever reason, find a common reason to suddenly make idle conversation. And trying to be as smooth as possible, people begin probing others about their intentions. And for whatever reason, it seems there is a protocol that says I can not illicit a direct response from the person I am questioning. It needs to be the person’s free admittance of intentions, or I will be left to speculate.

As time slowly wears on, the official announcement is made. In our office, this comes from the upper echelon of management. The memos usually include the following information: the position, the length of time the position is, the required qualifications for the position, and the application requirements. In this case, the application process was announced as a memo of interest and a one page, word document in essay format that details my understanding of the position and any ideas I have for improvements or change.

Once the official announcement is made, it’s on, baby! All gloves are off. No punches are pulled. It’s a dog eat dog world and we are in it to the end!

Ok, perhaps that was a bit extreme. In fact, there was actually very little of that. I, in the spirit of friendly competition, even sent a copy of the memo to a co-competitor who was out of town and would miss a week of prep-time. There were three of us who were open and honest, and yes, even friendly about this competition. It is on baby (but in a good way).

It’s now Sunday. The deadline for the applications is tomorrow at 1600 hours. I have taken this whole process quite seriously. I spent a good week working on the memo alone. The memo is pretty much a bragging sheet. I start with a work history. I then move to my qualifications, then to an “I’m the best guy for the job” closer. It was written, revised, revised again, and again, and again. I gave it to many people, close friends with experience and some general know-how, to read a advise. Then I revised again and again. The end product is what I believe to be a pretty polished and good looking document.

The essay portion was handled in a very similar manner. So much effort and thought was put into the project I left myself brain-dead. And again, I feel the end result is a polished work of art.

I printed my works on linen resume paper, a blue that is almost gray, and then put it into a complimentary linen envelope. I hand delivered the package to the Head Boss on Friday. Sure, I could have reread and reread over the weekend. But I wanted to show I understood a deadline, and was able to manage my time appropriately and complete a task ahead of schedule. Something I know plays a part in the decision process.

Now it’s simply a waiting game. Deadline is tomorrow afternoon. And how long it will take for them to announce the chosen candidate is a complete mystery. I would expect by the end of the week. But you never know. It may take longer. I hope not. I don’t know if I will be chosen, however, I obviously hope that whoever it is, its me! I can handle the fact that it may not be, I ‘m adult enough to admit that. However, I am also hopeful enough to say of any of the candidates out there, I hope they choose me over anyone else (don’t expect me to say something silly like, “Whom ever is chosen, I’m sure it will be in the best interests of this Office.”). I want to win. Oh yes, I want to win.

So, even though the deadline is tomorrow, I have already begun the waiting game. There is nothing more I can do. I’ll keep you posted.