My New Job

   Shortly before my last week of work at my old job, C  told me he had someone he wanted me to meet. A new pharmacy had opened about six months ago in a nearby town. He had spoken to the pharmacist there to see if there was a job opening. He was so impressed with her that even though she did not say they needed any help, he wanted me to meet her. After Toastmasters we drove to the pharmacy. The moment I walked into the store I liked it. It was small and quiet. Obviously there was not much business going on. For some reason that didn't bother me. I could see a lot of potential there.
  The pharmacist, Nora, came out to greet us. We introduced ourselves and talked for a little bit. From the little I heard I could tell that I would like Nora. Although she is younger than I am, she is very mature. She'd worked in some tough areas and had been a manager. It was a pleasant conversation. She was going on vacation for a week. She said we could set up an interview when she returned.
  That worked out well for me because I still had one more week of work left. I knew it was going to be a tough week. I also needed to get a resume and this would give me some time.
  When she returned I called in for a interview. We decided that a Thursday afternoon would work. the day of the interview I dressed in a knit shirt and plain navy blue skirt. Wearing a dress would be a little much, I wanted to be professional, but not overdressed. We went into her office. I asked her about her vacation. She told me that she had got engaged while on the trip. I couldn't help myself. I congratulated her. I told her that I was very happy for her. I'm always happy when I hear about people getting married. On that pleasant note, we started the overview.
  The longer I talked to her, the more I liked and respected her. She had done her homework. She had a plan. She had information about an independent  pharmacy in the town that had gone out of business and she had looked at what happened and thought of ways to keep it from happening to her store. Her financial backing seemed pretty solid. When I asked her about her plans in five to ten years she was able to answer without hesitation.
  By the end of the interview I knew I wanted to work with her. I felt my experience and knowledge of the area would be valuable to her. We both are similar in how we feel customers should be treated. Our skills matched well in my eyes. Unfortunately, I didn't think I would have an opportunity to find out if I would be right.
  She did tell me that she would like to hire me as an on call float. She told me to think it over and call her the next day.
  C and I talked about it. We decided I should accept. I would still be able to look for another jobs. This would keep me busy and maybe lead to other opportunities. I called her and accepted.
  I started training the next week. Learning a new computer system can be a little tricky, but for some reason I picked this one up fairly fast. By the end of my three days of training I felt fairly confident. I wasn't going to be able to do things really fast,but I would be able to run things.
   A week later Nora called. She wanted to know if I could work Thursday evening and Friday all day. Of course I could. I was happy to get a chance to work. I also wanted to get more practice on the new system. I arranged to come in a couple hours early on Thursday for a little extra practice. It went well. I spent the last hours of the shift getting to know the tech better. I really liked her too.
   Friday came. I was ready to work. I got the door open and my new alarm code worked. I took this as a good sign. I had one small bump in the road where I needed to call Nora, but after that I felt competent enough. The tech and I could handle anything that came along. It was a good shift. Some of the customers were people I had known before. I hoped they would be happy to see me again.
   Not everyone can work at a new store. There's a lot of down time. Fortunately for me I had worked at new stores before and I knew what to do. I brought along some continuing education to work on, I also brought a book. When I wasn't working, I had plenty to do.
  The bad part about working those shifts is that I realized that I wanted to work there on a more permanent basis. I don't think it was because I felt desperate to be working anywhere. It was more like I had found my dream job. I was a little afraid that any other jobs I looked at would not be as good. Everything just fit together so well.
   A week later I got a call from Nora. She wanted to see me. She sounded cheerful. What ever it was it was going to be good. Maybe this was the opportunity I was hoping for.
  I went to the pharmacy and walked to where Nora was sitting. She came right to the point. She wanted to hire me to work one day a week. It was clear that she felt my familiarity with the area could be helpful. I accepted without hesitation.
  We talked a little bit about marketing and some other projects that I could help with. I told her that I was interested in being a partner with her to help the pharmacy grow. I think that she was happy about that. It's hard to be a one person show. I left feeling very positive about the future.
  This situation is as good as it gets for me. I can look for something part time for more hours. I can afford to wait and find the right job. In the meantime I can do what I can to help my new pharmacy grow.  I know that this could be a little risky, it's certainly not something I would have done even two or three years ago. However,this is a chance for me to be the kind of pharmacist I want to be in an environment that supports that. It's worth it.