Man, July 2020. What a weird, wild time for everyone, right? I remember just feeling stuck, like the whole world was on pause. My old job, well, it was just… fine. Not bad, not great, just fine. And “fine” felt like a slow death, you know? I was just going through the motions, collecting a paycheck, clocking in and out. No real fire, no spark.
Then I saw this little snippet, something about Pisces and big career opportunities coming in July. I’m a Pisces, so I usually just roll my eyes at that stuff, but for some reason, that line just kinda stuck with me. “Big opportunities.” I scoffed, I mean, come on, 2020 was hardly a year for “big opportunities,” right? More like “big staying home” opportunities.
But then, a couple of days later, the phone rang. It was an old buddy, someone I used to work with years ago, totally out of the blue. We chatted for a bit, caught up on life, and then he dropped it. His company was seriously looking for someone with my exact, kinda niche, skill set. Someone who could jump in and help them build out this whole new thing they were cooking up. I almost dropped my coffee. I mean, come on, talk about timing. It felt almost… cosmic.
I didn’t jump on it right away, though. My brain was still telling me, “Nah, stay safe, stay put.” We talked for a few more days, he walked me through what they were trying to do. And the more he talked, the more I got this crazy feeling in my gut. This wasn’t just “another job.” This was a chance to actually build something from the ground up, to be part of something exciting. My old job was just maintaining old code, like being a caretaker for a dusty museum. This new thing felt like blazing a trail in a fresh forest.
So, I thought, what the heck? What’s the worst that can happen? I decided to just go for it, just to see. The first thing I did was dig out my old resume. Man, that thing needed an overhaul. I spent a whole evening just tearing it apart, putting it back together, trying to make my experience sound halfway decent and relevant to this new role. Then I had to gather up some of my old project examples, stuff I hadn’t looked at in years. It was like an archaeological dig of my own past work.
Then came the interviews. And this was mid-2020, remember? So it was all video calls. All of them. Lemme tell you, interviewing over video is a whole different beast. You’re just staring at a screen, trying to read signals, making sure you don’t look like a goofball. It felt kinda impersonal, sometimes. I had three rounds of those. Each one felt like a marathon. I’d sit there, prepped, coffee in hand, trying to sound smart, then hang up feeling completely drained. My head would just be swimming with all the questions and answers. I’d research their tech, try to understand their challenges, and picture myself solving them. It was exhausting.
The waiting between interviews, that was the real killer. Every time my phone buzzed, I swear my heart would jump out of my chest. I kept checking my email every five minutes, refreshing the page, driving my wife nuts. “Any news?” she’d ask, and I’d just shake my head, feeling like I was in limbo.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, the call came. It was the offer. And it was good. Not just good, but really, truly good. A significant bump in pay, a much bigger role, and a real chance to actually impact something. It felt like a monumental decision. Leaving the stable, if boring, ground I was on for something completely new, especially with the world being so uncertain. It was terrifying, exciting, all at once.
But I took it. I made the call, said yes. Then I had to give notice at my old place, which was its own awkward conversation. The feeling of relief that washed over me after that was huge, but mixed with this huge wave of “oh crap, what have I done?” It felt like jumping off a cliff, but the parachute felt pretty solid.
I started that new gig a few weeks later. The onboarding was all virtual, of course. Meeting new teammates through a screen, trying to learn new systems and processes from my home office. It was a steep learning curve, a real challenge. But I pushed through it, powered by that initial spark of excitement.
Looking back, that silly horoscope, that “big opportunities” line, it wasn’t some magic prediction. It was more like a little nudge, a tiny whisper in the chaos of 2020 that made me open my eyes and actually see the opportunity when it presented itself. It made me consider taking a risk I might have otherwise ignored. That July completely flipped my career upside down, in the best possible way. I’m still with that company now, building cool stuff, and honestly, it was the best decision I ever made. Sometimes, you just gotta trust that gut feeling and take the leap.
