Just had a great job interview

Cool we can add you to the hypothetical GRM meet we keep talking about.

There a tiny little technology distribution company there called Tech Data that uses a lot of services related people. Even if she doesn't do coding, they do coordinate a lot of services packages and need people to work up those SOW's. We are a multi-billion dollar partner of theirs. Just another way to spread her wings if she wants to get out of the coding but understands the overall services engagement.

Beer Baron wrote: Brewery in western Florida sought me out for a truly excellent position. I just had an hour long phone interview where I appear to have wowed the chief of Operations for the company. I am in the final 4 for this position. It would be a great opportunity in a part of the country I would enjoy living in. It also just feels really good to have someone so impressed by my philosophies, skills, and experience. Now, this is where things get complicated... The baroness is my #1 priority. She also makes the majority of money in our relationship, although this job may well pay about the same as her current position as a programmer. I need to talk to her about this possibility and what she would like to do. I know she likes the area because we vacationed around there. She would likely have to find a new position if we move. She is not happy at work right now though. Her programming skills are also minimally transferrable. She really only knows COBOL, and is in the process of learning Java, but hasn't completed the course work or become certified yet. She does not like moving. We just moved across country to Ohio 3 years ago. Overall, she is very risk averse. I am not going to have an easy time getting her to accept the idea of making another leap again. There are also some good possibilities for me here that I can't speak to at the moment, but could well come to fruition soon. But a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I'm now going to have to figure out how to talk to her about this opportunity and what we would like to do about it. Really not sure what angle to discuss this from.

Tell her I could come and drink beer and visit. I'm awesome. (Also, what brewery? Please tell me cigar city. That place rules)

dculberson wrote: If I was either of you I'd be nervous about moving somewhere depending upon just your job. It's no slight against you but your last few positions haven't lasted very long. My questions would be - how is this one different and how likely is it to last? Maybe the brewing industry has too high of a turnover to move around chasing jobs in it. Or at least without her already finding a position to transition into.

I fully understand this position. The brewing industry has a mixed bag of turnover rate. A big part of that is that most craft breweries are not founded and run by business people who understand the foundations of successful business and how to take care of employees.

A couple thoughts on that. I left the last position not primarily because of failings of my own, but due to an owner who really had no clue what he was doing or how to manage. (I'm not blameless. I made mistakes. But I was not the principal issue.)

I think this would be different because it is a very high level position that they are looking to hire someone to stay with for the life of the company. It would be more management and varied duties, rather than the repetitive shift work that drove me nuts. This is an employer who understands that brewing is a business and plans to treat it that way.

I also would plan in a follow up conversation to basically come clean with an honest assessment of my faults and weaknesses, not just my strengths. Maybe that's not what you're supposed to do in interviews, but I think a possible employer would appreciate the honesty of pure transparency to ascertain ahead of time that this is something that would indeed be a healthy relationship.

This is not Cigar City. This is a relatively newer brewery that is undergoing major expansion to become a real regional/statewide player. The position is to be the person in charge of all brewing production. I would not be the hands-dirty schlep (although I'm sure I would jump in and get my hands dirty on occasion) and I would not be responsible for multiple departments in the organization. I would be the head person in charge of just brewing and cellaring (possibly packaging, but probably not).

Damn. Now you got me intrigued.

Talked to Baroness. She said she's "just not ready to move yet."

I would stay put. Wives know stuff the men don't. My wife makes a lot of decisions and it has gotten us through almost 30 years of marriage.

I suggest going forward with your interview process. If it leads to real job offer, then have Baroness talk to her employers about working remotely. Computer programing is one of the professions that can be done from anywhere from the world with reasonable internet connection. It has been for more than a decade. If the company she working for isn't willing or able to accommodate this, she needs to find a new employer anyway. They are going to be going out business eventually. She might as well get off that sinking ship while brewery life boat is available.

DO NOT LIMIT your brewing career to accommodate a significant-other's employer whose technology and work methods are stuck in the 1970's and 80's. You are both too young. That is kind of stuff you do when you are near retirement and are looking to work a couple of more years.

Type Q wrote: I suggest going forward with your interview process. If it leads to real job offer, then have Baroness talk to her employers about working remotely. Computer programing is one of the professions that can be done from anywhere from the world with reasonable internet connection. It has been for more than a decade. If the company she working for isn't willing or able to accommodate this, she needs to find a new employer anyway. They are going to be going out business eventually. She might as well get off that sinking ship while brewery life boat is available. DO NOT LIMIT your brewing career to accommodate a significant-other's employer whose technology and work methods are stuck in the 1970's and 80's. You are both too young. That is kind of stuff you do when you are near retirement and are looking to work a couple of more years.

Umm... no they aren't. She works for Nationwide Insurance. They're in the process of implementing the program that will change over the old COBOL systems so they can work with modern languages. That's why she's learning Java.

This isn't about whether or not she can work remotely. She just doesn't want to move.

Ask her again when the snow is knee deep.

Stay with the interview process even if you are unlikely to take the position. There's only a 25% chance they will offer you the job so it might not be you turning it down. Even if it is you turning it down, take the opportunity to get "known" by the other company as well as know them.
Think of it as industry networking and industry research. Who knows, a few years from now some of those people may be somewhere else and you could then have a connection with them that might lead to good/better things.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Stay with the interview process even if you are unlikely to take the position. There's only a 25% chance they will offer you the job so it might not be you turning it down. Even if it is you turning it down, take the opportunity to get "known" by the other company as well as know them. Think of it as industry networking and industry research. Who knows, a few years from now some of those people may be somewhere else and you could then have a connection with them that might lead to good/better things.

I have to agree with John. He makes very good points.

In reply to Beer Baron:

Cameron, I apologize. I read too much into your description. I was picturing her working for some small company doing little development for a ever declining group of customers. I am glad to hear I was wrong.

One of the best pieces of advice I got when I was starting out in my work life was for the first 5 year or so of my career to go where I was to take jobs where I was going to learn the most. Don't worry about money (as long as you can cover your bills). Don't worry about location. Learn as much as you can as fast as you can. I worked in Japan, St. Louis, Cleveland, Boston, and Shawnee Oklahoma before setting in Northern California. It was not easy for my wife or me, but I gained hugely from and so did she.

I still think your are little young in your career to be settling into one geographic area. You have shared with all of you passion for brewing in the time we have both been on this board. I have seen travel the world already to learn your craft. I encourage you keep going. Since the Baroness has highly portable job skills, it just seems all the more natural that you should be looking beyond Ohio.

You will have my respect no matter what you do.

In reply to Type Q:

My issue is that it is not just me. I am young in my career and would jump for the opportunity this job would provide. The problem is that the Baroness is not young in her career. She is established with the company and we live in a city where they have a major headquarters that would provide her decent opportunities for advancement.

I think she has skills that would transfer well. I know she is not happy with the work situation she is in, and is looking at probably being stuck with this situation for another year. I know moving isn't pleasant and can be stressful, but that doesn't explain a wholesale refusal to move.

There is an additional factor that there are people I am in communication with who are trying to get something going and would like to put me in a very similar position to what is being offered that would not require me to move. That would be my ideal scenario, but I'm not going to let a possibility get in the way of someone offering me a sure thing.