Well it's over (finally) and some strange events have sorta crashed together at once.
For about a year and a half I've been a bit bored in my current position and although a couple things came up, school made it more complicated. I never hated my job, but I was to the point where I didn't want to learn a new system and run the same old project.
So, for almost a year and a half, I have been job hunting and keeping an eye on internal job postings. It gets exhausting, I can only imagine how annoying the process is if you're unemployed.
Little over a month ago, I put forward a push to get a transfer to another area of my company - just for something different. My boss started going through the process. About a week later, I got a call from a recruiter to apply for a position at a competitor that would be a significant step up.
Long story short - both processes churned for 3-4 weeks. But then, literally on the same day, I was told neither one was happening. The competitor dropped me after 2 interviews and my boss said despite interest in the other department, they couldn't get head count.
That was a crappy day, heh.
BUT... there was actually a different job posting that had came up that I didn't pursue because I already had too many irons in the fire. So, I submitted for that and just this week, I found out I got it - which is huge. Instead of an internal, lateral move or going to a competitor (which would have ultimately been a pay wash and a drive downtown), I get to take a step up in my current company.
Anyhoo... no point other than a little self-congratulations and to make the point that things work out. When everything fell flat a couple weeks ago, I was incredibly bummed. But, had either of those worked out, this opportunity wouldn't have been possible. Over the last 18 months, I have probably applied for over 100 jobs.
All it takes is 1 person to give you a chance