A Return to the Corporate World

How do you make the hard decisions? When to take a job? When to stay? When to go? When to end a relationship? When to jump in with everything you've got? Lately it seems that these are the questions I've struggled with the most.

When I returned to the United States several years ago, I decided that I would focus on my career. I would "climb the corporate ladder" but in order to do that I needed to come up with a list of what I wanted in a company. I interviewed at various places, I networked, I kept my eyes and ears open and I turned down jobs. Wait, what? That's right, I turned a couple down, to the utter shock and dismay of at least one of my parents. Few understood why I said "no" to good companies and good positions in a down economy, but I knew what I wanted. I kept looking and I had confidence in my ability to find it.

I started doing contract work and it picked up significantly, before I knew it I was running my own schedule and working with a start-up company to build its marketing program. This wasn't my plan at all, yet there were a number of great qualities about the position. In September, the company experienced some financial trouble and my contract wasn't extended. We parted ways; I returned to the hunt.

After a bit more contract work and some job searching, it all paid off when I was offered the ideal position at the end of November. During the interview I loved the people I was meeting, the opportunities the job offered, the location and the size of the company. It hit all the main points. Following Thanksgiving I started the new role, excited and wide-eyed. I'm about six weeks in and I'm still enjoying its ups and downs. I just wish I could apply the same successful approach to dating and relationships.