How I got my job
It's a little silly to talk about how I got the
job I just retired from, but it's such a great story that I
can't resist.
In the spring of 1974, I had it made. I was in
graduate school at University of Illinois. I had a half time teaching
assistantship. I was going to get married in a matter of weeks, and married
student housing was all arranged. I was heading for a high paying career in
electrical engineering, but not just yet. I enjoyed life in Champaign-Urbana,
and I was going to enjoy it for another couple of semesters, or so I
thought.
When I met with my academic advisor, things changed. He asked me my plans, and I said I was planning to finish my course work in the summer, and my thesis in the fall. "No," he said. "You are finishing them both this summer. We need your slot for someone else."
Well, that was a surprise, but not too difficult to deal with. We got married and moved into married student housing and had a great summer. I got my course work and my thesis completed as my advisor had forecast. The only problem was that I hadn't known this new schedule until all the recruiters from business had come and gone in the spring. Suddenly, I had no prospects for a job and no easy way to get one. Of course I sent out resumés like crazy, but it is by far easier (or was at that time) to get a job through the college placement office.
The end of the summer came, and since I was no longer a student, we were asked to leave married student housing. We moved in with my wife's parents in Indianapolis. My last action before I left the school was to go to the placement office to sign up for any interviewers that were coming in. It turned out that Motorola was coming on October 16. Almost as an afterthought, simply because they were going to be there on that day as well, I signed up to interview an aerospace company that I had never heard of.
On the appointed day, I drove back from Indianapolis for the interviews. They went well. The interviewer from the aerospace company was an affable fellow who told me to call him in a month if I hadn't heard anything from them. In fairly short order I got what we used to call a plant trip from Motorola. That went well, too, and I got an offer from them.
After a month I still hadn't heard from the aerospace company, so I called the interviewer. He was sympathetic but said if I hadn't heard yet then there was probably no interest. He said he'd check into it, though. I hung up the phone and turned to tell my wife there was probably no interest, and almost immediately the pone rang. It was the interviewer. "Where are you?" he said. "They've been looking for you!"
There had been an error in transcription from my resumé. Before I knew it, I received a telegram and I was on my way to Los Angeles for a plant trip. Shortly thereafter I got an offer and the rest is history.
A pretty good story, but it gets better.
As I blogged in a recent post, I retired about a month ago. On the day of my retirement luncheon, my department manager asked me "Hey, is it true Valleni interviewed you?" That took me by surprise. I knew Bob Valleni, of course. I had met him when I had transferred about 10 years ago to the part of the company from which I just retired. I had helped him with his computer on many occasions. We got along well, and were always friendly, but nothing special connected us. I told my department manager that I was sure he hadn't interviewed me.
A couple of days later, late on Friday afternoon, I was cleaning out my last file cabinet, and to my surprise I discovered my original plant trip interview package. Sure enough, the sheet describing who I was to see did not include Bob Valleni. Inside the telegram envelope were three business cards. Two I recognized as people who had interviewed me on my plant trip. The third was Bob Valleni's!
How was this possible? I knew I had only interviewed with one organization, and Bob was not in that organization, and never had been. When I emailed him, he didn't remember either. Then it struck me. Maybe he was the one who interviewed me at U of I. I emailed him asking him if he had ever interviewed at U of I. He replied "Yes, but that was a long time ago." So it was, Bob, so it was.
I confirmed it on Monday, since the original interview record was still in my file.
It was with great pleasure that I attended Bob's retirement bash this week to thank him once again. As I sat listening to his accomplishments over the years, I realized that in his career his actions regarding me were a mere blip. BUt it made all the difference in the world to me. I cannot imagine that the things that matter the most to me would have turned out as well as they have had Bob not been gracious enough to ask me to call him, if he had not taken the time to check into what he surely thought was a hopeless cause, had he not called me back to ask where I was.
Thank you once again, Bob Valleni. I owe you big time.
When I met with my academic advisor, things changed. He asked me my plans, and I said I was planning to finish my course work in the summer, and my thesis in the fall. "No," he said. "You are finishing them both this summer. We need your slot for someone else."
Well, that was a surprise, but not too difficult to deal with. We got married and moved into married student housing and had a great summer. I got my course work and my thesis completed as my advisor had forecast. The only problem was that I hadn't known this new schedule until all the recruiters from business had come and gone in the spring. Suddenly, I had no prospects for a job and no easy way to get one. Of course I sent out resumés like crazy, but it is by far easier (or was at that time) to get a job through the college placement office.
The end of the summer came, and since I was no longer a student, we were asked to leave married student housing. We moved in with my wife's parents in Indianapolis. My last action before I left the school was to go to the placement office to sign up for any interviewers that were coming in. It turned out that Motorola was coming on October 16. Almost as an afterthought, simply because they were going to be there on that day as well, I signed up to interview an aerospace company that I had never heard of.
On the appointed day, I drove back from Indianapolis for the interviews. They went well. The interviewer from the aerospace company was an affable fellow who told me to call him in a month if I hadn't heard anything from them. In fairly short order I got what we used to call a plant trip from Motorola. That went well, too, and I got an offer from them.
After a month I still hadn't heard from the aerospace company, so I called the interviewer. He was sympathetic but said if I hadn't heard yet then there was probably no interest. He said he'd check into it, though. I hung up the phone and turned to tell my wife there was probably no interest, and almost immediately the pone rang. It was the interviewer. "Where are you?" he said. "They've been looking for you!"
There had been an error in transcription from my resumé. Before I knew it, I received a telegram and I was on my way to Los Angeles for a plant trip. Shortly thereafter I got an offer and the rest is history.
A pretty good story, but it gets better.
As I blogged in a recent post, I retired about a month ago. On the day of my retirement luncheon, my department manager asked me "Hey, is it true Valleni interviewed you?" That took me by surprise. I knew Bob Valleni, of course. I had met him when I had transferred about 10 years ago to the part of the company from which I just retired. I had helped him with his computer on many occasions. We got along well, and were always friendly, but nothing special connected us. I told my department manager that I was sure he hadn't interviewed me.
A couple of days later, late on Friday afternoon, I was cleaning out my last file cabinet, and to my surprise I discovered my original plant trip interview package. Sure enough, the sheet describing who I was to see did not include Bob Valleni. Inside the telegram envelope were three business cards. Two I recognized as people who had interviewed me on my plant trip. The third was Bob Valleni's!
How was this possible? I knew I had only interviewed with one organization, and Bob was not in that organization, and never had been. When I emailed him, he didn't remember either. Then it struck me. Maybe he was the one who interviewed me at U of I. I emailed him asking him if he had ever interviewed at U of I. He replied "Yes, but that was a long time ago." So it was, Bob, so it was.
I confirmed it on Monday, since the original interview record was still in my file.
It was with great pleasure that I attended Bob's retirement bash this week to thank him once again. As I sat listening to his accomplishments over the years, I realized that in his career his actions regarding me were a mere blip. BUt it made all the difference in the world to me. I cannot imagine that the things that matter the most to me would have turned out as well as they have had Bob not been gracious enough to ask me to call him, if he had not taken the time to check into what he surely thought was a hopeless cause, had he not called me back to ask where I was.
Thank you once again, Bob Valleni. I owe you big time.
Posted: Sat - February 10, 2007 at 06:33 PM
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Published On: Feb 10, 2007 06:33 PM
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Published On: Feb 10, 2007 06:33 PM