Offer

"Next Friday will be my last day here."
"What?  You kidding!"

In America, it is usually the case that a company requires two weeks in advance when you tender resignation, which is called "two week's notice."

Since I tenered resignation two Fridays ago on the 13th, this coming Friday will be my last day.
I began telling friends and co-workers at the workplace last week about my resignation.
They would usually ask me why.

"Well, I'm getting married to a wealthy man, and I don't have to work for the rest of my life."

And their response is "No, really?  That's great!!"

It's funny how they all believe it.

When I continue "...is just my wishful thinking.  Actually, I found a new job.", their response to that is something like, "Oh, OK.  I thought you were telling the truth for a minute."
Sorry everyone!  I just wanted to tease you a little.  Ha, ha.

I had been assisting the chairman and the president of the company, but as of April 1, the deputy president of the company was promoted to the president's position and brought his assistant over with him, so she became the president's assistant.
Due to these changes, what would become of my position was uncertain until mid-April.


Since the deputy president's assistant then, had worked a lot longer than me, there was a big possibility that she would become assistant to both chairman and president and I would be let go.


At the end of March, when I was first notified of the change of the president, I contacted my employment agency right away as a precautious step, in case I was let go.

Although an idealistic post was first introduced to me by the agency in mid-April, the interview and background check process took for nearly two months and I was finally offered formally on June 12.

At the time when I was first introduced to this possible position, the direction of my post at my current company has just been decided, and I was to be assisting the chairman and the next deputy president as well as the people of the department I was assigned under.  My supervisor of the department and the deputy president who was newly assigned as of May 1 were both quite strange.  It was not just one or two person(s) who resigned their positions because of working under the man who were just assigned of the deputy president's position.  My supervisor had a bad reputation among many assistants who had worked with him.


I wanted to avoid resigning for the reason of them.  Unless I challenged and solved a problem of working with difficult people, I believe that it will always come back to me in the future no matter where I go.

At the time when the new position came up, I had not yet overcome such problem.  My gut feeling told me that I will be offered the new position only after I overcome the problem.  So I did a lot of self-reflection and tackled the problem to my best ability.

Also, at about the same timing, the private problem with "D" at workplace resolved.  That's when I felt that formal offer will be made soon.


The contingent offer was made when both problems at work and private were resolved.  I was told that the formal offer cannot be made since the background check was going to take a little more time.


It was only a matter of time until the formal offer was to be made.  Because it has not been even a year since I joined the current company, and there was not really a good enough reason for me to resign, there was a conflict within my mind.  I had many good friends at the current workplace.  I did solve the problems with the way I must deal with my supervisor and the deputy president, but I wanted to take more time in making such resolution a more firm one.


In spite of all that, I was done with going through the change of the boss who I am to assist every 2 or 3 years, and comparing all the aspects of the current and the new positions, the new position is better.  The human relations with my superiors have been resolved to my satisfaction, and that there is no need to put up with such situation any longer.  It's sad to leave my good friends at the workplace, but the new office is very close by, so I can easily meet them again.  I can even make new friends.


After thinking many thoughts, I made up my mind.  I decided, I want to change job.  I whole heartedly wanted to assume the new post.  And the very next day of my such decision, the formal offer was made.


It's hard to believe that the timing of the contingent offer as well as the formal offer are both just coincidence with what I was going through and how I felt at that time.

オファー

「来週の金曜日で、辞めるの。」
「えぇ！ほんとに？」

アメリカでは、辞表は辞める2週間前に出すのが規則となっているケースが多い。Two week's notice（またはTwo-week notice）と言う。

私は2週間前の金曜日（13日）に辞表を出したので、今週の金曜日が最後の日となる。
先週から職場の親しい人やお世話になった方に辞めることを告げた。
そして何故か理由を聞かれる。

「うん、実は裕福な男性と結婚が決まったので、もう一生働かなくて済むようになったの。」

そして、それに対する反応は「えぇ、本当？それは素晴らしいじゃない！」

皆信じるところがおかしい。

「というのは私の夢で、本当は新しい職が見つかったの。」と続けると、「あぁ、びっくりした、本当かと思っちゃった！」と返ってくる。　　おかしい。
皆さん、ごめんなさい。ちょっとしたいたずら心です。くすくす。



私は今まで会長、社長の秘書を務めてきたが、このたび、と言っても4月1日付けで社長が交代になり、元副社長が社長に昇進したことにより、元副社長秘書もそのまま一緒に連れてきて社長秘書となった。
このことによって、私のポストがどうなるかは、4月中旬くらいまでは未定の状態だった。


当時の副社長秘書の方が私より勤続年数がずっと長いし、あるいは彼女が会長及び社長秘書になり、私がリストラになることも大いに有り得た。


3月下旬に当時の社長から社長交代の件の連絡を受けた際、最悪のシナリオも考えて、いつリストラされても大丈夫なように、即、転職活動を開始した。

4月中旬には理想的なポストが見つかったが、面接や身元調査のプロセスに、実に2ヶ月近くかかり、6月12日になってやっと正式なオファーが出たのだ。



このポストが見つかった頃に、現在の職場での私の方向性も決まり、会長と次期副社長の秘書、その他所属部署のアシスタント業務を担当することになった。所属部署の上司も、5月から就いた副社長も大層な変わり者で、その副社長の過去の部下で（その副社長と合わなくて）辞めた人は何人もいるとのこと。上司も、仕事で関わりができるアシスタントレベルの人たちからは悪評高い。


私としてはそれが理由で辞めることだけはしたくなかった。どんな問題でも、きちんと向き合って自分なりにきちんと克服しない限り、必ずまた似たような問題に悩まされると思う。

新しいポストが見つかった当時は上司や副社長との問題は、完全に克服できていなかった。そして、その問題を克服して初めて新しいポストのオファーが来るような気がした。
それもあったので、内観も続けて私なりに努力して克服した。

また、それと同じようなタイミングで、職場のDくんとのプライベートの問題も解決した。新しい仕事のオファーが出る予感がした。

公私共にひと段落ついたと思えた瞬間、仮のオファーが出た。身元調査にもう少し時間がかかるので、正式なオファーはまだ出せないと言われた。

正式なオファーが出るのは時間の問題だった。現在の会社に就職して1年も満たないし、辞める決定的な理由はなかったので、葛藤が続いた。楽しい仕事仲間も沢山いる。自分なりに上司や副社長との対人関係の問題は克服したつもりだけれど、もっと時間をかけてそれを確かなものにしたかった。


でも、秘書として仕える上司が3年ペースで交代になるのは、もうたくさんだし、今度の職は今の職と天秤にかけると、様々な面で条件が良い。対人関係の問題も、自分の納得の行く解決法を見出したし克服したのでもうこれ以上そのような場所に自分を置く必要はない。楽しい職場の仲間とも別れるのは辛いけれど、今度の場所は遠くないしいつでも会える。また新しい友達も作れる。


色々と悩んだ末、決心がついた。転職の道を選んだ。心から新しいポストに就きたいと思った。そしてその決心がついた翌日、正式なオファーが出た。


仮のオファーのタイミングと言い、正式なオファーのタイミングと言い、偶然とは思えない。