Seven and a half years ago I came to Charlotte to attend the College of Architecture at UNC Charlotte. On more than one occasion, I would notice a building and wonder who the architect was. It was often this one particular firm. One of my favorite buildings in Charlotte is a mixed-use condominium building that overlooks a small park, under which is a parking garage, in Uptown Charlotte. The building is an elegant composition and due to the park, is very visible from many angles. I have always loved this building. I took a studio with a professor who had worked at this firm and five years ago, interviewed with them for my first internship ever. I had zero experience working in a firm but had some CAD skills. They were not hiring a summer intern. I was frustrated at first, but appreciated it as the opportunity for a mock-interview that it was and ended up landing a job with an engineering firm designing water and wastewater treatment plants, then an architecture firm designing jails and courthouses. A few years later, I requested plans and elevations for that mixed-use building I loved so much in Uptown. I used the project as a precedent for my studio project that year - an urban design studio master plan for a transit-oriented-development. The pieces of my career lined up perfectly, even the year that I was laid off after graduation. I always knew I would end up back at the firm doing judicial work - even if it wasn't where I would be long term. I wasn't ready to move on. So a year of creative employment and I was back where I was supposed to be. In April 2011 I was hired on full time and worked on several projects - one of which I even called "mine" even though it was certainly a team effort. Work was plentiful for a while, but one by one we lost projects we were interviewing for. Other projects halted, and we were stuck. Work was drying up, but I was busy studying for my exams, so it seemed to work well for the time being.
March 12, 2012:
I was on the train on my way home from taking my first exam for architectural licensure, a day which was supposed to be a paid day off but due to the fact my hours had to be cut by 25%, that day ended up being my unpaid day off. Things were slowing down at the firm, but I could tell that they weren't going to pick up any time soon. The test had gone reasonably well - I felt confident about the vignette, but knew I had really screwed up on a few lateral forces questions. As I was decompressing on the train, I checked my email. At the bottom of the AIA newsletter there was a posting: one of my most highly regarded firms in Charlotte was hiring an architectural intern. And the credentials? Could not have been more perfectly suited to me.
Some way, some how, that week I found the energy I had been trying to muster since graduation to put together the rest of my portfolio and write a killer cover letter, making some changes to my résumé as well. I had read the post on Monday and felt a little uneasy submitting my résumé on Friday that week, but had put my heart into it and felt confident.
The following Wednesday, I got an email - I was one of three or four people that they had chosen to speak with further about the position. I nearly leapt out of my chair and had to contain the huge smile on my face as I sat at my desk. One co-worker knew that I had responded to the job posting, so I forwarded the email to him, and walked calmly out of the building so I could enjoy the moment away from everyone else. Later that day, I scheduled the interview for that Friday. It was a risky move - I was certain that I would be the first of the four to interview. Lucky for me, I learned they were hiring two positions, so my odds were pretty good.
The interview went well - an hour and a half of discussion that was free-flowing and I felt incredibly confident in my ability to fill the position. I was a little nervous showing them the project for which I had used their building as a precedent, but I framed the discussion well and, I may be mistaken, but were they impressed? Everything felt so natural, like it was meant to be. I left the interview and was beaming the whole weekend. Seeing that I had interviewed on Friday, I waited until Monday to send my thank-you email so that the weekend would not cover up my interview (normally I would write a hand-written thank-you but all correspondence thus far had been through email and I didn't want to "over-do" it). I felt incredibly confident about the job - partly because I was nervous about it. It would be difficult to leave the firm I had grown to love, to start fresh with a new firm that didn't know what I was capable of, and to prove myself all over again. It would be hard to look my bosses in the eyes and tell them I was leaving. This uncertainty made me all the more confident that I would get the job.
Then the wait... They said a week to a week and a half. But if I've learned anything, it's not to rush people. So I waited. Anxiously. Every day I would come home to check the mail - I had no idea how the news would come. Plus, I was also waiting for news about my structures exam. Every day, I would come home to either credit card offers, bills, or an empty mailbox. A couple of times I would psych myself out - certain that was the day something would come. One day, the mail man was at the building next to mine. I waited on the steps for him to come over. It was one of those days I was certain something would come... I wanted to call out to him "Don't even come up those stairs unless there is something from an architecture firm or the NC Board of Architecture!" I didn't. And into my hands, he delivered another lousy credit card offer.
April 4, 2012:
I found out that because of the paid holiday for Good Friday, my unpaid day off that week would be Thursday. My family was at the beach, so I sent my mother a text message "How big is that place you all are staying?" We agreed that after I worked a couple hours Thursday, I would head down to Ocean Isle to join them. I had just completed a large work assignment, so it was the perfect time to get away without having to stress about work assignments.
That evening, I was so excited about getting away to the beach for a few days that I forgot I was waiting for something... I knew I needed to ask a neighbor to check the mail while I was gone, but before doing so, ran up to check what the day had brought. There it was: a letter from the NC Board of Architecture. I fumbled with opening the envelope and trying to read the unfamiliar format, but soon found the words I was looking for: PASS. I jumped up and down - I don't know what got into me, because I never do that, no matter how excited I am... I called my mother first - and spread the word quickly among my friends. It was such a relief to pass my first exam, one that many people have claimed is the hardest of all.
The beach weekend was wonderful - so nice to get away and spend time with my stepsister and her two boys, then stayed with my aunt and her husband in Wilmington Saturday and Sunday. Terry's family has been so welcoming to me and was happy to have me join them for their Easter brunch.
On Monday after Easter I could tell something was up as soon as I got to the office. There had been a closed door meeting on Thursday with the firm owners and I just felt certain that something was about to happen - a furlough, or worse. Another closed door meeting and my concerns were confirmed. Tim and I were called into the office and informed that the firm had no work for us and had to let us go. After they explained that we needed to clear our things out of the office immediately I thanked them for working so hard to keep us and wished them luck. At that point I asked for a favor. I let them know I had interviewed for a position with another firm three weeks prior. My boss had worked with the person that interviewed me and so I asked if he would make a call on my behalf. He agreed and although surprised that I had already seen this coming, was relieved that I had the prospect of somewhere to go. He made the call immediately and left a message.
I cleared my things out of the office, and ran across the street to get a USB drive so I could get my files off the computer. When I returned, Paul was on the phone with someone catching up on news about his kids. I knew who he was talking to. The conversation shifted to a glowing reference about my work with their firm, and further defense that even though I worked with engineers, and on some less than thrilling building types (from a design standpoint), that I was not an engineer-type and had design potential as well. His referral brought tears to my eyes because it was one of only a few reviews I had received in my three and a half years there.
It had been three weeks since the interview and I had planned to call that day, but since Paul already did, I did not want to bother them. I took the week to get things in order at the house, to clean up, file my taxes, read, relax, and meet with people from the church and mixed-income housing coalition. I didn't worry - I knew in my heart that everything was going to work out perfectly. On Friday, I still had not heard, so I called the Architecture Firm. One of the men that interviewed me fielded my call, saying he had been meaning to call me, because they wanted for me to come in and meet the other firm principal that I had not met at my first interview. We scheduled it for Monday afternoon and I went about my weekend.
Monday's interview came along - I felt like it was more of a formality than anything - very much how I had felt when I interviewed for my previous position. This one was brief and salary and benefits were discussed. They would finalize their decision the next day.
April 17, 2012:
I was checking my email all morning. I had a doctors appointment at 11:30, but had said I would be available all day if they were to call. My phone was dying but I kept checking. As the nurse was checking me in, I said I would turn off my phone. Oh, I already had. I was expecting a job offer. At that very moment, my phone lit up. I only noticed because I was holding the phone in my hand. It was off, so it would not have rung. I said "oh, there it is" The nurse insisted that I take the call, and, when she heard that they were offering me to job, she smiled, gave me a thumbs up, and walked out the door so I could finish my conversation. It was brief - they didn't want me to wait any longer than the morning to hear back from them but would be emailing the offer letter that afternoon. She came back in and shared in my excitement, and I made it through the rather painful exam with a smile on my face.
I had never negotiated a salary in my life. The number they gave was lower than I had expected, but after a round of negotiations, I was presented a number I could really get excited about. Then it was official. I'm not changing my facebook or linkedin until after my first day, but it's official.
Today I got up for bootcamp at 6:00am, came home, and got dressed as if I were going to work. It was my dry-run. After a cup of coffee, a shower and fixing my hair, I was ready to walk out the door at 8:15. Work will start at 8:30. At 10:55 I left the house for my 11:00 appointment. I jokingly told the office manager that the five minute commute was going to take some getting used to. I went in and picked up the paperwork I need to fill out for my employment and thanked my new bosses for the opportunity to work with them. I was showed where I would be sitting, and I met another co-worker. Everything is just falling right into place.
The timing could not be more perfect. Right as work was slowing down, right as I started to get other aspects of my life in order, right as I had begun to sit for my exams, this job posting showed up. Right after getting laid off, the offer came through. Right before my insurance coverage wears out with the former firm, the new insurance will kick in, and now, my morning commutes will be five minutes (by car) or I could walk, or ride a bike. It's only a mile away. I vowed to purchase a bike with the money I would save on gasoline in just the first couple of months. It won't be every day, but certainly many times I will be able to enjoy this luxury.
I'm a lucky girl, and I cannot help but recognize God's fingerprints all over this. I'm incredibly thankful for everything that has been provided in my life.
