Sunday, February 27, 2011

Portland: Update

After a phone interview and some emails back and forth, it looks like I may actually become a financial recruiter. Accountants International is flying me back to Portland on Friday for an in person interview!

Unfortunately its just a quick trip, barely a few hours, but it feels pretty awesome. Every way I look at it, this seems like a great opportunity. I get to learn about the companies in the Portland area, learn some sales and negotiating skills, and have a job right when I get to Portland. Worse case senario, I can leave after a few months. But there's a very real possibility that I will like it (from everything I've heard it sounds like something that would really suit me) so I could very well stay for quite some time. And if that happens, I could work on my MBA much easier at this type of job than in a controller type of position.

The only thing that really scares me is this sense that at this point in my life, I should be specializing rather than switching careers. But the skills will be so invaluable, that doesn't bother me very much. Anyway, the interview is on Friday, so I will know more once that is complete.

Yay! Big adventures!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Portland Trip: Download

Wow, what a whirlwind trip I had. Six days in beautiful Portland (hardly any rain while I was there - really gorgeous).

First let me just say to everyone one I met and everyone who reached out a hand in friendship, thank you. You cemented my love for Portland.

I'm just going to list highlights, to try keep all the amazingness straight. (No promises)

When I arrived Monday afternoon, my first meeting was with a recruiter at Boly:Welch, a smallish firm in downtown Portland. I missed my exit, freaked out, finally found my way and parking, and walked six blocks in pouring rain (which is only did for the 10 minutes I was walking those six blocks). It felt like an awful start, and then I got to office. A fabulous office. With smiling people, free tea and coffee, and a dog at the receptionist desk. Sigh. I love you Portland.

The meeting with Juanita, the recruiter, went great. She said I should have no trouble getting a position, but that I may need to move up to Portland before she can place me. No big, I mostly wanted to get the inside perspective on hiring in my field. And it is good.

The next day I met with Amy, a friend of my boss Eric, at Water Ave Coffee. BTW, best cappuccino ever, even if it is served with a side of attitude. (my guy was very nice, but Amy's not so much) She gave me the low down on child care, schools, neighborhoods, and few companies to check for work as well. And she sent me over to PSU to check our their PBAC (Post-Baccalaureate Accounting Certificate). As a student I can put Joshua on the waitlist for PSU's awesome version of day care, the Helen Gordon Child Development Center. I went, I saw, and I'm in love. Josh is on their waitlist now, assuming that in a year (about how long the waitlist is) Jeremy may want to re-join the working class. And I'm applying for PSU as well, so we'll both be in school!

Wed was all about fun in Portland. Met some friends of my stepdad, Greg, had myself a VooDoo Doll, from VooDoo Dounuts, complete with pretzel stick 'pin' stuck in its heart, and just enjoyed downtown. Love this city.

The rest is a bit of a blur. Met with two controllers at Intel, who had great advice as far as career choices go (they also said PSU was the place to go). Had dinner with my uncle Tony and his wife Lynn (so so so good!) Had the best meeting of all with Kirk, another friend of the boss, who had so much advice and help offered, I was almost overwhelmed by all of it.

AND in the midst of this, I went to a bunch of networking events, meeting even MORE people who wanted to help me, and are still sending me listing and links and whatnot. I also met Randi, a recruiter at Accountants Int'l, who said she wanted me to interview for an open position they have as a finance and accounting recruiter. I had the phone interview on Tuesday, and I think it went really good. So who knows? There are so many opportunities and openings, I almost wonder what I'm still doing in LA!