it’s your Friday good news

by Alison Green on June 19, 2020

It’s your Friday good news, with more accounts of success even in this weird time.

1. Prior to the pandemic, my husband and I were planning a move abroad in the fall of 2020. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to move to a country we really love, but it was complicated before bringing COVID into the mix. While my husband had the offer and visa sponsorship through his work, we really needed my employment to make the decision make sense financially. But as you have noted, getting a job from a different country can be so much more difficult. This coupled with the fact that we were relocating to a town a 1.5 hour commute to the nearest city made my job search seem daunting. And I really wanted to work from home at least part-time.

I had resigned myself to doing some contract work while I looked once we had moved and then COVID hit, and we pretty much lost all hope of our crazy plan working out. I had one interview canceled 3 minutes after we were supposed to meet because of a last-minute hiring freeze.

However, I kept reading Ask a Manager and tweaking my resume and networking, and today a job I applied for in March made me an offer, better than I could have imagined. It’s a permanent remote position with a title bump in exactly my very niche field. This means no commute and we can move whenever we feel safe. Thank you for all your advice and good news Fridays, which kept me believing.

2. Last month the nonprofit I work for decided to shut down, which was both a loss and a relief. It was a tiny one with more than its share of missing steps and issues but it was doing something no other nonprofit was and it allowed me to use my creativity to help people. With it shuttering, I wasn’t sure what I could possibly do next that wouldn’t be a step backwards because my skills at this point are a mix of too general and too specific.

Today I got a call from someone who heads the local branch of an international nonprofit and she wants me to come on board and do the very niche thing I was doing, but this time under her nonprofit’s umbrella with crazy things like a budget and someone else to prepare the taxes and working office equipment. I’ll even get a raise.

I’m in shock, honestly. I never expected this and was prepared to start looking for entry-level positions but instead I’ll be able to use my skills and experience to build something that is, hopefully, a better version of what was.

Thank you for all your advice over the years – I used much of it over the years in helping make the previous workplace more professional and I hope it’s helped me prepare for my upcoming job in (what I hope is) a much more traditional workplace. Honestly, without this site that second part would terrify me – I’d be worried I’d be a feral worker hissing at office norms. Thanks to you and the commentators, I think I’ll be able to enter that office with some good ideas of how to be a good teammate. Thank you!

3. I graduated from college in May 2019 and have been in a full-time position since August. I was furloughed right at the end of March and immediately started applying for new positions. I made it to final interviews for 3 roles.

The first one told me I was their top candidate but they had a hiring freeze until May … and never contacted me again.

I didn’t end up getting the second one.

But I was offered the third job, which had ended up being the one I was most interested in! So I contacted my current employer, who actually offered me my job back permanently, but my heart was set on the new job; it’s more aligned with my interests and goals, and is in an industry I hope to be in for a long time. It was weird timing, and I am sad to leave the old role, but SUPER excited for the new one! You never know what can come out of what starts as a bad situation.

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{ 36 comments }

{ 36 comments… read them below }

    1. Diahann Carroll*

      Right? To know that great things are still happening to people – even in the middle of all this mess – is inspiring and encouraging.

  2. Princess of Power*

    I am delighted at the imagery of a feral worker hissing at office norms!

    Congrats to all for the happy news, and thanks to Alison for helping us end each week in a good note.

    7. KuklaRed*

      I think The Feral Workers will be the name of my next heavy metal band. It’s awesome.

      1. Jaydee*

        And your first single can be Hissing at Workplace Norms. I predict it will be high on the charts.

  3. Caroline Bowman*

    I love these posts and look forward to them each Friday. It’s very striking how so often, the really hard work and actual disappointment and worry precedes a truly amazing piece of good fortune. I’m not religious or spiritual and do feel that persistence and hard work pays off more than anything, so kudos to the people who keep plugging away, even when it feels like pushing water uphill!

  4. Jules the 3rd*

    Sweet!

    LW1: Please confirm that your company can manage you working remotely in a different country. I live in the US, had the opportunity to spend a summer in France. I had to work remotely, but had evenings / weekends / a glorious week in Paris. Because I was there under 90 days, I didn’t have to change anything with work, but if I’d been there longer, I would have needed a transfer within my company to the French branch, so that they could pay French taxes. I know it also works the same way going from the EU to the US or Canada.

    If there’s a branch in your target country, it’s not a big deal, but if there’s not a branch, it can be a huge problem.

    1. Can’t Believe it Worked*

      LW #1 here! Yes we have cleared the move with all the right channels. The company is primarily remote and actually encourages relocating, so they were super on top of things.

  5. Elizabeth West*

    Yay for the good news people!
    **\0/**

    (the asterixes are confetti, lol)
    Hoping I can be in this post….soon….

  6. reelist1*

    I got my good news today as well! Leaving a toxic situation for a 15% raise, better commute, better title and for an agency that provides care to the most vulnerable in our society. And since it is for the same government, I keep my excellent benefits, which include almost 5 weeks off, cheapest healthcare of anyone I know and an incredible retirement system (where they 100% match my contribution). All of this in a 40 hour max work week!
    I’m over the moon. Hardest part is not screaming at the top of my lungs about it- with the state of the nation right now, full on gloating would be a bad look. I am celebrating with those I love, and telling y’all!

  7. Random Photo of the Day*

    Hooray! Congrats to everyone!

    And to LW#1: I am SO happy for you! I feel your (previous) pain. My partner received an overseas offer, complete with visa sponsorship and moving allowance, to Italy on March 9. The next day, travel to/from (?) Europe shut down. The State Department stopped processing official government passports, and without those, we couldn’t apply for an Italian visa. I am happy to report that we now have our government passports and just today applied for the Italian vias (hopefully we’ll have those in four weeks). Once we have the visas, we’ll have an actual travel date, and my partner will go ahead. I actually won’t be traveling with him, but will follow and move over after Christmas. Because we will fall under a SOFA agreement, it will be difficult, but not impossible for me to find work, but I hope to do some volunteer work to keep me busy. Anyway, I hope you have a successful move and a good transition! Congratulations on your job!

    1. Can’t Believe it Worked*

      Oh my, Congratulations to you as well! The visa piece was such a mess I am so glad that worked out for you. So stressful. I was interviewing for jobs that wanted to know when I could start and I just had to say, I don’t know, whenever the US starts processing visas again. Not an ideal selling point. I hope your time apart isn’t too hard, you find exactly what you are looking for work wise and get to celebrate a wonderful Christmas in Italy! Congratulations again.

  9. CM*

    I love how both #1 and #2 are from people who found a place that highly valued their very specific skill set. Gives me hope!

  10. Drew*

    I hope that good news Friday will be a permanent feature of the site. I suspect that many of us will start our weekends on a better note after reading these posts.

    This week has been particularly crappy for several reasons I shouldn’t go into, so I especially appreciated the post. Thank you.

  12. Sebastian*

    I really appreciate the good news posts. Thank you so much for arranging them! Enjoy your weekend, folks.

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