Tired of job hunting? Don't give up!

In 2007, I was working in the finance department of a local Cadillac dealership when I realized that I wasn't happy with my career. Two years had passed since I had graduated from college and signed a compelling offer that would allow me to grow substantially within the business. I loved cars and enjoyed interacting with a great customer base, however, I was uneasy about the future of the car market and what my career path looked like. The late evenings and long hours typical of car sales certainly didn’t help! I decided to begin looking for something new.

Starting the job search

My criteria for a new job was straight-forward: find a job with a “high-tech” company. Looking back, I don’t think I really even knew what that meant! I enjoyed sales, and I knew I could meet quotas and targets, so I focused on sales positions. I interviewed with a couple of startups but nothing stood out to me. And with the larger firms, I would generally be starting in the most entry level position possible.

I kept looking and came across a company called Authorize.Net. The listing was for “Inside Sales” and the compensation was described as “base plus commission.” I looked at the website, and, aside from understanding that they helped people accept payments, all of the terminology seemed completely foreign. I applied, but didn't think too much of it as I had submitted several other resumes for similar positions.

The interview process

I got a call back, passed the first round of interviews and was scheduled for an on-site interview. But the last few days before the interview, I started to worry that this was going to be one of those jobs that paid a very small base salary with commissions that could never actually be achieved due to un-realistic targets.

On the day of the interview, I was completely slammed at work and there was no way I could sneak out for a job interview 25 minutes away. None of my co-workers or the owners knew that I was looking, and I felt trapped – if I wasn't there, a car couldn't be sold. Already concerned that the position wasn't a good fit, I panicked and frantically looked for a phone number to call and cancel my interview.

The only number I found rang and rang without going to voicemail. I was about to give up, when a one-hour window miraculously opened up at work. I raced to the interview and found that an acquaintance of mine was the receptionist. She told me how great the company and leadership team were and wished me the best. I let the interviewers know that I had a very tight schedule, which they graciously accommodated. The interview went well, and they had me come back to meet with the senior leadership team. They made an offer shortly thereafter.

The global journey

My career at Authorize.Net has been amazing and fulfilling. Our company has grown considerably in my time here, and we have been acquired by CyberSource and then Visa. Most recently, I spent the past two years working in the UK launching Authorize.Net in Europe and then Australia. My job has literally taken me around the world as I have worked on opportunities from London to Sydney to Dubai.

Looking back seven years later, I try to envision what would have happened if I had given up and blown off the interview. Where would I be today? Would I have survived the auto industry recession? Of course, no one knows, but I learned the invaluable lesson of never giving up on exploring a new opportunity.