The Job That Wasn't

It was close. So close. But it didn't happen. Moving back home just wasn't meant to be.

About three weeks ago, after sending an untold number of resumes over the last few years, my husband Kurt finally got the call. Roanoke County wanted to interview him for the Director of Social Services position they had available. I couldn't believe how great the job fit Kurt's experience. We both believed he had a great shot at the job.

After "the call" we went into big time prep mode. We looked up everything we could about the County, researched our butts off about everything and everyone and went over and over possible interview questions. After an intense phone interview and a series of written questions from the County in the first week, it was time for the face to face panel interview in Roanoke. By the time he left for the interview last Monday, Kurt was prepared. My stomach was in knots, not over how well I thought he would do (because I know him- he was prepared!) but how much of a shot he had at the job.

After the interview, Kurt called me on the way home. He was very happy with how it went, mostly because everyone seemed to love his answers during the interview and afterwards, the director of human resources told him he did a fantastic job. I couldn't believe it. Finally, a shot at going home. Raising my kids where I grew up. Man, I was on cloud nine.

Although the administration let us know there were more interviews and the competition was tough, they still gave us encouraging signs. Kurt heard a lot of "good answers", "thanks for being so quick with your response", "you did a great job with that problem" kinds of things. The immediate director seemed to really take to Kurt too. It all seemed to fall into place.

I started getting excited. It was really hard to not start planning our move. We got a little ahead of ourselves, but we also felt we wanted to be prepared in case he got the job. We looked up schools, apartments (for Kurt to stay in while we sold our house here), homes for sale, stores, gyms, and all the general information about Roanoke we could find. We loved everything we saw. Even the kids got into it when they saw the new Green Ridge Rec Center. What a cool place! I couldn't wait to take them.

Then last week, Kurt got a call saying they had more questions. After an hour and a half panel interview, we were perplexed at what more they could ask! But ok, it was a big decision they had to make. They asked a lot of questions that didn't make any sense. Then they started calling Kurt's references, asking odd questions about his faults. Things started looking bad. The final decision on the candidates was going to be this past Friday or Monday. They said would let Kurt know by then. As the days passed and no one called, we knew it was over. Not even a call to say, sorry we decided on someone else. Just nothing.

I got a little down in the dumps about the whole thing for the past few days. But I realized that in all the bad things that can happen to people, this one doesn't even register. So no hiding in bed with covers over my head. It's back to square one. Maybe someday I'll get back home, maybe not. Either way, it won't be the end of the world and it won't be for lack of trying. It was worth it just to know someone paid attention to one of the resumes my husband spends a good portion of his time every week filling out! Maybe someday someone will pay attention. All it takes is one time.