Looks like Monster has thrown iteration four or five of the perfect job into my email box. The most recent past one had to do with UCPress in Berkeley, Calif. -- close enough to the perfect location that the difference doesn't matter. They wanted a web person for hands-on coding who also had a background in scholarly publishing. That's not the most common combination, but it's a damn good one-sentence summary of my resume. The phone interview went great! They were worried about my need to relocate, and I did my best to allay those fears. The fact is, I would've made it work. For sure.
It was a little wonky in the funked out version of content management they'd cobbled together. And the marketing guy had ambitions way beyond what his capabilities could support. But that's not unusual or particularly bothersome. The whole thing hinged on the relocation, and that's why it didn't work -- so I tell myself. They found someone local, but at least they had the courtesy to to call & tell me.
I'm recounting that story to forestall disappointment this time. I really had my hopes up then, and I could again. A leading local hospital, nationally recognized for respiratory care and research, wants someone to lead the web effort. I have background in their topic area layers deep, including my mom's emphysema, my brother's asthma, etc. I know directly and personally what their user community have to manage. Here's my paragraph from the cover letter:
I am particularly interested in the opportunity due to my deeply personal stake in your vital mission. I lost my mother to emphysema in 1995, before her 58th birthday, after a long and agonizing struggle. I understand the frustration of your patients, who live in fear of simple problems like a kinked hose that disrupts their O2 supplies or exposure to an otherwise benign fragrance that triggers a crippling reaction. My brother struggled with debilitating asthma throughout our childhood, and I myself manage some of the dermatological symptoms associated with that hereditary condition. The mission-driven culture at AWWA has been an important part of my involvement here, and I highly value the opportunity to improve people's lives through my work.
And the site is focused on the content, right where it needs to be. None of this transaction technology just because "we have to" do whatever. It would be a meaningful role in a good location -- not the Bay Area, but in a good part of my home city., much better than where I am now. The money would probably be at least adequate -- to be determined, I guess. The rest is negotiable.
My application went in at about 11am, and by 4 that afternoon, I had an invitation to a phone interview. I waited until this morning to accept so as not to seem overly eager. And I think in part, it was to manage my own expectations. I've had a couple of really positive-sounding opportunities over the last several months, and nothing got quite to the finish line. I'm hoping this one works out. If not, I swear I'm just packing up and going to look for bartending jobs in The City.