Some of you know, and some of you don't, that I've been looking for a job.

I sent almost 15 resumes into the void in the past month and waited over 3 weeks for a nibble. All told, I got 3 interviews: one from the first job I applied for, one for the last job I applied for, and one for a freelance job I applied for the same day as the first.

The freelance talk went well on Thursday. They need a proofreader for a Bible research book, the second in a series, and also someone to write a study companion guide to the first one they published last year. I enjoyed talking with the author, a successful businessman by trade, who is writing these books as a lay theologian because he believes God asked him to do it and to give all the proceeds away. Wow. I felt inspired when I left that meeting -- inspired enough to reduce my fee for the job when I sent them my bid.

The Friday interview was flawless and spirited and fun. I hadn't expected to interview with more than one person, but I ended up interviewing with three -- all at the same time. I liked all of them immensely and immediately, and I especially loved the work I was being considered to do: copyeditor for an imprint group at a book publishing house. It's just along the lines of what I was aiming to do when I left college, but didn't see much chance for finding without going straight to New York!

Mind you, copyeditor positions are the "lower end" of the editorial food chain, and I have tons more experience in higher-level editing. However, the group is growing, the chance for promotion is high, and the doors of opportunity are open. They were very accommodating, in fact, when I expressed concern that I might want to offer more input on the books than copyeditors usually provide. Great!

Besides liking them a lot, they spoke openly of their very keen interest in me. This was aided in great measure, it seems, before I even arrived by my performance on the 10-page editor's test I took and sent in before the interview -- a test I had great fun completing, though it was rigorous, and which they said was one of the best tests they've ever graded since they'd been grading them. They also seemed to get a kick out of the self-deprecating humor I exhibited about my professional foibles, as well as greatly respecting the personal strengths and accomplishments I could bring to the job.

The Monday interview, in contrast, went less well. I wasn't keen on what the job turned out to be -- copyediting (in the truest sense of the word, meaning little to no editorial heft with the authors) techical manuals about film and music production. The samples I saw were replete with illustrations of amplifiers, wires, and machinery. Blech.

Plus, the whole interview carried a negative tone. Most of the questions were directed toward professional failures, conflicts, and weaknesses, with a few positives thrown in here and there, and the department itself is young and underdeveloped. The turnover rate is high; even the supervisor has only been on hand for a mere 3 months. And the workspace is too open and interactive for my liking. I left that meeting with great relief that it was over and in hopes that they would not call me back.

But this left me in a vulnerable spot. The only full-time option on my hands -- and the one I wanted very much -- was the one from Friday. And even though they liked me, and were open about my being the strongest candidate, what if they didn't call me back?

Well, they did. They liked me so much, they even gave me a promotion before I started the job! (Instead of copyeditor, they offered me associate editor.) This is great timing, in my opinion, given a comment I just made to Kirk yesterday, which was, "If I get this job, I wonder how long it will take me to get promoted." Because I have a knack for expediting the promotion process wherever I go, and I always have promotional hopes in mind.

God is so funny. I especially think he's funny because of the way he took care of what I was "losing" from not wanting the full-time job with the other company: higher pay and a closer commute. It cracks me up that God made accommodations for me in these things anyway. Not close to my house or paying quite as high? Here, Christianne, take a promotion and pay raise before you even get started! Ha ha ha. That's freaking hilarious.

So now we're in salary negotiations for the new position, and I should have a job in hand by tomorrow evening. Here's hoping, anyway. I hate these money talks, and just hope I don't blow it in some way along the way!