Occupation Overload

It’s just a piece of paper. One page.

Until now, I never fully realized the power of my resume. But then the phone calls started pouring in. Then the emails. Then more phone calls. “I’ve been trying to reach you. Please call me. I think you’d be interested in a few of the opportunities we have here.”

Barclay’s. Fischer Investments. Charles Schwab. Many more. I was overwhelmed. All I had done was post my resume on Monster.com. I didn’t get back to them. I couldn’t. Then a bold move by PayPal.

Hi Catherine,

I would like to set you up to have a 30 min phone interview with our hiring mgr. for the Sr. Product Marketing Mgr. role on Mon. March 5th from 3:00pm-3:30pm(PST). Please let me know if this works so that I can confirm the interview on everyone’s calendar and the best number to reach you at on the day of the call.

Thanks again for your interest in PayPal and we look forward to meeting with you.

Regards,
Recruiting Coordinator

Primary Job Responsibilities
PayPal is looking for a Senior Product Marketing Manager to lead our International Funding Mix and Debit strategy, who will deliver excellent results while championing our consumer experience. This person will be responsible for earning tens of millions of dollars for the company over the next few years, and will have the opportunity to partner with all of PayPal’s International teams. We are looking for the perfect blend of strategist and product manager to help us do just that, to infuse their keen product intuition with an analytical focus on our profitability drivers and tradeoffs. This role is for an individual contributor with mentorship opportunities, and job responsibilities will include:
 Creating, evangelizing, and delivering on our International Funding Mix and Debit strategy
 Delivering use case requirements on a variety of product and marketing initiatives
 Driving key profitability analyses for our International markets and US Debit users
 Interfacing with country teams to understand user and market trends and incorporate their profit picture

I declined the interview, but I applaud their persistence. The bold strategy. Nice touch. I’m flattered by the attention. I’m completely confident now in the credentials behind my name, the skill set I have built up, and the unique interests (entomologist, pianist, marathon runner) that spice up what would normally be a doldrum of a resume.

As I’ve been banned from mentioning my employer in my blog (you can ask me about that in person), all I can say is that I have decided to stay, but move internally. I secured my first offer last Friday, I’m waiting for two more this week. And when push comes to shove, I’m happy to know I can shove along quite easily elsewhere.