What a difference a week makes!

Networking.

That's how you find a job these days. You network. You talk to everyone you know and let them know that you're looking and what you're looking for. Then you work on your own and look at job search sites and put out resumes. But you make sure that your personal network of friends, family, and colleagues are working for you as well.

On Monday of last week, I updated my resume. I had to track some people down from old jobs so I would have reference for potential employers to check.

That same day, I applied for a couple of positions at Altiris. My brother works there and he told me of the jobs that they had open. I also emailed a copy of my resume to my dad. Dad gave the resume to someone in his neighborhood. This guy's company called me at around 9:00 the next morning.

By Wednesday, I had interviews at both companies. On Thursday and Friday, I had the interviews, and now I have a verbal offer from Altiris and I fully expect to get an offer from the other company.

So now I'm waiting to hear back officially from the nice lady in Human Resources at Altiris. She called me back, and since Altiris and Symantec compete in a couple of areas, she had to ask me questions about competition and other such things. She'll run everything by legal, and by the end of the day, I should be able to stop by Altiris and pick up my official offer letter. Honestly, I don't see any reason not to sign it. Between the two, Altiris is the better opportunity.

That was FAST. Did I mention that the job market is really good for senior-level software engineers right now?

A week ago, I had a rather constant gnawing in the pit of my stomach. I was stressed out. There was SO much unknown that I had to deal with.

So I went to my network, and through my own family I found work. By DOING something about the unknown, I made the unknown less fear-inducing. I was able to find what will be my next "home" in my career.

And I'm WAY excited!

The work I'll be doing looks great. I like the people I interviewed with. I understand a LOT of the field I'll be working in. I'll be able to work with my brother, albeit indirectly.

Sure, there is still some "unknown" left to explore. I'm not completely at home in the development environment I'll be using at Altiris. I won't know the products at all. I'll be stumbling blindly through source code. I'll be the N00B that has to ask everyone else for help. I'll have to figure out culture and learn how to deal with new benefits and all of that stuff that comes with starting a new job.

But all that notwithstanding, I'm still excited. I'll learn. I'll grow. I'll thrive.