A Bump in the Road

A few years ago I was recruited for a job at the granddaddy of all investment banks. I was very psyched because of the prestige (and the money) that would go along with this job. I also thought that it was a perfect job for me. There was only one problem; my would-be boss was known to be an extremely negative person who was difficult to work for.

Nevertheless, I convinced myself that I could manage her and went after the job.

Things seemed to be going well. I met with a number of people and then was asked to come back and meet some more. Finally, I was asked to meet the big boss, the General Counsel of the whole firm.

It was well known at this institution that meeting the general counsel was considered a formality and, unless you drooled all over yourself or made a huge mistake, you were in. So, despite my misgivings about my new boss, I was very excited. The meeting with the GC went well.

The following friday I received a call from the headhunter. I was expecting the call to be a formal offer or, at a minimum, a discusion of price. You can imagine my shock when she told me that the job had been offered to another candidate.

It was as low a moment as I've had in my professional career. I was devastated for weeks.

Ironically, the person who got the job was a former colleague of mine. In fact, she worked for me at a previous job and I considered her a good friend. She, too, was well qualified (although not as qualified as me, IMHO).

It is difficult to describe how miserable my friend was at this job over the next few years. The boss made her life borderline unbearable. She finally quit, leaving behind very good pay and benefits for a much lower paying job.

In retrospect, not getting that job was the best thing that happened to me. Although I made less money during those years, I worked in a much more pleasant environment and, two years ago, was able to land my current, fabulous, job, which is an ideal shidduch.

It is clear that, although at the time I thought my world had caved in, being left at the alter by the fancy investment bank was merely a bump in the road.