Zeze
Lifer
[An Afterthought and Review] 1/10/2012
I thought I'd give an update as to how the job is going. I have been here for almost a month now. The company is doing growing fast. How fast? Well, the only PM they had 2 years ago is now a VP of our division. And my peer PM with 6 months of tenure just became a Director of Operations.
Our company is 500 strong, but our 'separated' division is brand new and growing fast. The 'think tanks' of our division is literally no more than 20 spanning across upper management, 4 PMs (only me and 1 other now), and IT team. I work hand-in-hand with our awesome IT Director who has 20+ yrs of experience.
I have 4 members reporting to me. And honestly, it is amazing to see upper management at work. The VP is already asking me for input on scalable growth, who to promote, creating a new role and its duties, upgrading servers, and its vendor research and so on. Tomorrow I hold my very first big client meeting with VPs and directors of both sides.
It's certainly more than a PM role, they truly expect a lot out of PMs and myself for process improvement, operation expansion, and authoring procedures . Like most of ATOT, I'm a critical bastard. Let me tell you, my boss and management staff are fucking smart, aggressive, and go-getters. She is a fiery one too (only a year older than me & cute).
She wasn't joking when she said she doesn't micromanage. There is NO management. Often I don't seen her for days and doesn't give a shit as long as my work is done. I had to quickly adjust to assert myself to ask ask ask & learn and absorb as much as possible.
I'm going to learn a lot here. I am glad I'm with this company.
***Bonus 12/1***
Got the official offer letter via email this morningggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasdfasdfsdf
***THE FINAL UPDATE 11/29 Tues***
The another VP called me at 2pm. She told me about the full compensation detail:
$80K base
$5K bonus twice a year depending on project delivery (Within budget, timeliness, client satisfaction, etc)
Another discretionary bonus applicable
---
Total $90K~$95K possible.
I accepted, gave my notice immediately. I start working on 12/12 (Mon)!
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
***Update 11/28 Mon***
I called the hiring manager at 11am and kindly told her that I'm very excited to work with the company, but salary is low and I don't want to have to pass on the offer. I disclosed my current salary (87K~ after bonus) and asked if that could be matched (from $75K + bonus). She said she'd discuss with other mgmt and will call me on same day.
At 4pm, she called me. It is clear they want me badly and seeing by how fast the interviews went, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only choice. She offered $80K + bonus structure that would end up $87K. She said she will work out the full detail of this bonus structure tomorrow morning and will call me to finalize deal.
No complaints here. I thanked her and will be waiting for the big decision tomorrow.
***Update 11/26 Sat***
I've been up with the folks in Mass celebrating Thanksgiving. I totally turned my mind off, expecting results in early December. The hiring manager called me at a random ass afternoon yesterday while I was driving.
She simply said "Our company and I would like to extend the offer to you as Project Manager." Wha? Apparently she was working on Friday or made a personal call? Anyway, I was ecstatic but had to keep poker face. The salary was lower than expected. I told her I'm very excited to work with her, but wanted to discuss the details on Monday. She said no problem.
It felt surreal. I immediately called my parents of good news and GF congratulated me too.
I'm not 100% there yet. I'm going to ask for $6-8K more and will settle for $5K. YES!
***Update 11/22 Tues***
Just got out of the interview with the Clinical Director. It was more casual than the previous two. I learned that the hiring decision is from the VPs I've already met, not this director. The interview was quick, she just wanted to see me in person. It looks like the VP sent me just so director can have a look.
She did say, "Sarah (2nd interview VP) told me a lot about you." The interview went well and it looks like it's not delusional to say I may get the offer- soon.
Jesus Christ 3 interviews and still zero mention of salary. I wonder how much they pay. It'd be a big bummer if they offered a crap salary... but then it can't be bad when you get your own office... THEN AGAIN they're located in a ghetto spot of Long Island City- plenty of ample office space.
***Update 11/21 Mon***
An assistant just called me few minutes ago. I'm up for a third freakin' interview tomorrow. This time meeting with the director of clinical trials. So I met with 2 VPs and they report to the director? What's up with inflation of titles? A company should have 1 VP per department if not 1 for whole company. Jeez.
4:30pm tomorrow. This is it. I guess I wasn't close as I thought... I was under the impression I'd get the good news or rejection. Wish me luck, I'll nail this bitch.
With the director, I assume the interview wouldn't be as 'hard' or technical. She probably just wants to see me.
Wish me luck!
-------
Inspired by VivitheMage's Google interview thread.
I really want this job. It's a pharma PM position in Queens.
11/10/11 Thu: I am working, but I've been dying for a new job. In the last 2 months, I've had nothing but hundreds of recruiter calls which you never hear from again. I applied to this one position in the morning, and surprisingly got a call an hour later. The quickest turn around of my life.
11/11/11 Fri: Had an interview with the hiring manager (the VP). We hit it off very well. At the end, she said I'm definitely ready for the second round. She also gave me her biz card and told me to call her if I had any questions without hesitation. Based on that interaction, I did well. I also sent her a Thank-you letter few hours later.
11/14/11 Mon: An assistant called me for interview with another VP on the SAME DAY at 5pm. I told her it was a short notice. But it was either today or Thursday. I wanted to get it all done without losing momentum.
11/14/11 Mon Interview: I was 5 mins late, but she was understanding. With this VP, I learned more about the specifics of the projects. I think I did well here too, thank god. I hate messing up on second interviews. She told me the hiring manager was fond of me and I was the only one making it to the second round.
She also told me her office would be mine. It's an awesome spacious office with a window wall. Fucking awesome. They're looking to make their decision by end of this month. Because of Thanksgiving on 24th, I hope it's before it instead of agonizing through the holidays.
I REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLY want this job... will I get it? Sometimes we all have our wrong perceptions of self, but I think they really liked me.
Thanksgiving is already just a week away soon.
TL;DR version:
-I applied, interviewed, and got the offer.
I thought I'd give an update as to how the job is going. I have been here for almost a month now. The company is doing growing fast. How fast? Well, the only PM they had 2 years ago is now a VP of our division. And my peer PM with 6 months of tenure just became a Director of Operations.
Our company is 500 strong, but our 'separated' division is brand new and growing fast. The 'think tanks' of our division is literally no more than 20 spanning across upper management, 4 PMs (only me and 1 other now), and IT team. I work hand-in-hand with our awesome IT Director who has 20+ yrs of experience.
I have 4 members reporting to me. And honestly, it is amazing to see upper management at work. The VP is already asking me for input on scalable growth, who to promote, creating a new role and its duties, upgrading servers, and its vendor research and so on. Tomorrow I hold my very first big client meeting with VPs and directors of both sides.
It's certainly more than a PM role, they truly expect a lot out of PMs and myself for process improvement, operation expansion, and authoring procedures . Like most of ATOT, I'm a critical bastard. Let me tell you, my boss and management staff are fucking smart, aggressive, and go-getters. She is a fiery one too (only a year older than me & cute).
She wasn't joking when she said she doesn't micromanage. There is NO management. Often I don't seen her for days and doesn't give a shit as long as my work is done. I had to quickly adjust to assert myself to ask ask ask & learn and absorb as much as possible.
I'm going to learn a lot here. I am glad I'm with this company.
***Bonus 12/1***
Got the official offer letter via email this morningggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasdfasdfsdf
***THE FINAL UPDATE 11/29 Tues***
The another VP called me at 2pm. She told me about the full compensation detail:
$80K base
$5K bonus twice a year depending on project delivery (Within budget, timeliness, client satisfaction, etc)
Another discretionary bonus applicable
---
Total $90K~$95K possible.
I accepted, gave my notice immediately. I start working on 12/12 (Mon)!
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
***Update 11/28 Mon***
I called the hiring manager at 11am and kindly told her that I'm very excited to work with the company, but salary is low and I don't want to have to pass on the offer. I disclosed my current salary (87K~ after bonus) and asked if that could be matched (from $75K + bonus). She said she'd discuss with other mgmt and will call me on same day.
At 4pm, she called me. It is clear they want me badly and seeing by how fast the interviews went, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only choice. She offered $80K + bonus structure that would end up $87K. She said she will work out the full detail of this bonus structure tomorrow morning and will call me to finalize deal.
No complaints here. I thanked her and will be waiting for the big decision tomorrow.
***Update 11/26 Sat***
I've been up with the folks in Mass celebrating Thanksgiving. I totally turned my mind off, expecting results in early December. The hiring manager called me at a random ass afternoon yesterday while I was driving.
She simply said "Our company and I would like to extend the offer to you as Project Manager." Wha? Apparently she was working on Friday or made a personal call? Anyway, I was ecstatic but had to keep poker face. The salary was lower than expected. I told her I'm very excited to work with her, but wanted to discuss the details on Monday. She said no problem.
It felt surreal. I immediately called my parents of good news and GF congratulated me too.
I'm not 100% there yet. I'm going to ask for $6-8K more and will settle for $5K. YES!
***Update 11/22 Tues***
Just got out of the interview with the Clinical Director. It was more casual than the previous two. I learned that the hiring decision is from the VPs I've already met, not this director. The interview was quick, she just wanted to see me in person. It looks like the VP sent me just so director can have a look.
She did say, "Sarah (2nd interview VP) told me a lot about you." The interview went well and it looks like it's not delusional to say I may get the offer- soon.
Jesus Christ 3 interviews and still zero mention of salary. I wonder how much they pay. It'd be a big bummer if they offered a crap salary... but then it can't be bad when you get your own office... THEN AGAIN they're located in a ghetto spot of Long Island City- plenty of ample office space.
***Update 11/21 Mon***
An assistant just called me few minutes ago. I'm up for a third freakin' interview tomorrow. This time meeting with the director of clinical trials. So I met with 2 VPs and they report to the director? What's up with inflation of titles? A company should have 1 VP per department if not 1 for whole company. Jeez.
4:30pm tomorrow. This is it. I guess I wasn't close as I thought... I was under the impression I'd get the good news or rejection. Wish me luck, I'll nail this bitch.
With the director, I assume the interview wouldn't be as 'hard' or technical. She probably just wants to see me.
Wish me luck!
-------
Inspired by VivitheMage's Google interview thread.
I really want this job. It's a pharma PM position in Queens.
11/10/11 Thu: I am working, but I've been dying for a new job. In the last 2 months, I've had nothing but hundreds of recruiter calls which you never hear from again. I applied to this one position in the morning, and surprisingly got a call an hour later. The quickest turn around of my life.
11/11/11 Fri: Had an interview with the hiring manager (the VP). We hit it off very well. At the end, she said I'm definitely ready for the second round. She also gave me her biz card and told me to call her if I had any questions without hesitation. Based on that interaction, I did well. I also sent her a Thank-you letter few hours later.
11/14/11 Mon: An assistant called me for interview with another VP on the SAME DAY at 5pm. I told her it was a short notice. But it was either today or Thursday. I wanted to get it all done without losing momentum.
11/14/11 Mon Interview: I was 5 mins late, but she was understanding. With this VP, I learned more about the specifics of the projects. I think I did well here too, thank god. I hate messing up on second interviews. She told me the hiring manager was fond of me and I was the only one making it to the second round.
She also told me her office would be mine. It's an awesome spacious office with a window wall. Fucking awesome. They're looking to make their decision by end of this month. Because of Thanksgiving on 24th, I hope it's before it instead of agonizing through the holidays.
I REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLY want this job... will I get it? Sometimes we all have our wrong perceptions of self, but I think they really liked me.
Thanksgiving is already just a week away soon.
TL;DR version:
-I applied, interviewed, and got the offer.
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