Monte

My friend Burin sent me a text message two weeks ago about a job opening at Match.com for a User Interface Engineer. I thought, “Oh, what the hell. It wouldn’t hurt to try.” So I sent the recruiter a copy of my resume that same day, and she responded by asking if I’d be available for a phone interview.

That same week I spoke to a woman from human resources at Match.com and answered all the typical interview questions like, “Why are you looking for a new job?” and “What do you like about web design?” and “Are you able to legally work in the US?”

The phone interview went well, and a day later I heard back from Match again, this time requesting that I come in for an in-person interview. I was ecstatic; however, I wasn’t looking froward to telling my current boss of six years that I was job hunting. That Friday after the office closed and everyone had left, I sat down with my boss and explained to him that a job opportunity had come up. He looked as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He asked, “What can we do to keep you?” and I sheepishly responded, “Oh, it’s not about the money or anything… I’m just looking to move on and advance my career…” all of which is true. Of course, I’m not going to tell him the other reasons I’m leaving: no benefits, delayed paychecks, below average pay, no growth, and so on.

Things seemed fine when we wrapped up our little meeting. He told me he understood that everyone’s time eventually comes. Later I found out that as soon as I left the office, he called one of my coworkers and freaked out on him.

My interview was on the Monday of the following week. I drove up to the nine-story office building 30 minutes early, parked in the garage, and sat there in the car sweating and going over the possible questions they’d ask. 15 minutes till 10, I rode the elevator up to the eighth floor, the doors opened, and I stepped into a chic lobby with a neon-lit, glass, receptionist’s desk. On the far side of the room, a spiral staircase surrounded by a rock garden led to the top floor. To the left, a glass wall looked out over the Dallas skyline.

I introduced myself to the receptionist, a young girl around my age, who had me take a seat in the posh waiting area where alternative rock music played. 15 minutes later, I was greeted by a guy from human resources who led me to the lounge area to get some water.

The lounge was huge and covered almost half of the eighth floor and featured a full-sized kitchen with free waters, sodas, and Starbucks coffee, a dining area, and clusters of sofas and chairs with ottomans. The whole lounge was surrounded with windows with a phenomenal view.

Soon after, I was led through a maze of desks and computers to a conference room on the ninth floor. The two of us sat down, and he asked me some general questions. Next up, a User Interface Engineer came in and asked some technical questions and left me with a little test.

The test was pretty basic, but my nervousness and the fact that I’ve never written HTML or CSS with pen and paper threw me off, and I realized later that I made some pretty stupid mistakes. It was this test that made me very uneasy about the interview, and after three days of not hearing back from them, I was beginning to lose hope.

And then last Thursday I got a phone call and it was Match. My heart was pounding, and as soon as she said that the team was impressed with me, my cell phone died. I ran out to my car, plugged my phone into the charger, and called back. I got the job!

I have an awesome starting salary with health benefits, paid vacations, a 401k, car and property insurance, and bonuses based on performance. I had to try hard not to scream “yes” when they asked on the phone if I’d be interested in the position.

Finally, after six years of working at the same company, I’m moving on to bigger and better things and actually feel excited about my career again.

I’ll be starting my new job the Tuesday after Labor Day.