New Beginnings
Posted under: Posted by: Dan
Taking steps forward in life can be a challenge. I’ve been stuck mid-stride professionally for about a year now. I had lifted my foot off the ground, ready to take the next step. But I didn’t know where my foot was going to land. When my old boss, Eric, moved back to California I thought my next challenge may be the director of technology position at Heritage. I quickly discovered that wasn’t the right opportunity when I wasn’t even granted an interview… YIKES! I was too young, they were too political and bureaucratic. I was left feeling dejected and not sure where to go next. I felt something big was in store for me. The feeling wasn’t going away.
“Go big or go home,” so goes the saying. So I thought, “What the hell, why not be a special agent with the FBI, specializing in technology?” I know what many of you are thinking, “Dan jokes around a lot, he can’t be serious.” Ask my poor wife who puts up with my crazy antics, this really happened! I put in my application and was lucky enough to get a call back (I guess hundreds of thousands apply and only a handful get call backs). I went to the downtown Indy FBI field office and took a four hour long series of tests. About a week later I received word that I passed (the passing percentage is under 50%). The next step in the process would have involved a physical performance test, panel interview and polygraph test in Chicago. I found soon after passing the test that they were looking for individuals with computer networking skills (not me). Strike two. Now I’m really scratching my head wondering, “What’s next?”
I decided to focus on my commitment with Heritage and found distractions with creating a new athletics website and doing Friday night film for the varsity football team. The kids are always a great distraction, too! However, I knew that feeling was not going away. I could continue to ignore it, or do something about it. I felt God leading me to look into new opportunities outside of Heritage. One evening, I stumbled across a company here in Indianapolis called Rare Bird, Inc. They looked intriguing and were hiring for a few open positions. After reading the job descriptions and learning more about the company, I immediately knew this was my opportunity. I had Erin read the job descriptions and the first thing out of her mouth was, “This is you, babe!”
To wrap things up, I had two interviews with Rare Bird over the course of a few weeks. These meetings were very challenging as I wasn’t a perfect fit for either of the two open positions. However, I think we were both left with this strange, predetermined feeling of knowing the pairing was meant to be. I’m confident this is where God has directed me. I’m happy I took that first step and that my foot has finally landed at Rare Bird. As my second foot will lift off the ground next Friday, November 13th, I’ll take one last look at my years with Heritage and the people I’m leaving behind (especially the kids). Then, on Monday, November 16th, I will firmly place both feet on the ground at 8555 Cedar Place Drive, Suite 114 and finally branch out for some much needed growth!
Congratulations Dan!
Sounds great, man. Glad you are searching for happiness and growth. I am sure you will find it…FBI, really!?