[Uh oh - another one of my long-winded rambles down memory lane ahead. If you want the short answer, skip to the bottom, but you'll miss what I think is a rather unusual story]
I got my current job
despite having absolutely no intention of taking it. Did someone say "huh?" A little background: as I described in
another thread I had a good job but the company was downsizing, so I thought it prudent to refresh my interviewing skills and see what jobs were out there "just in case". Since they were trying to shed employees, my employer set up an online bulletin board for other companies to post openings on. I saw one for a startup company in Princeton, NJ, which sounded intriguing, but there was no way I was going to work in central NJ!
At the time I was living in PA (near Newark, DE), almost two hours from Princeton, and liked where we were. Besides, NJ is outrageously expensive to live in, the traffic is awful, etc. Still, since I needed practice, I went ahead and called them and eventually got a phone interview, which led to an invitation to come see them.
The head guy I was interviewing with (Greg Kirk, PhD in physics, brilliant and
way too much energy - imagine Kressly with an IQ of 180) put me in a project meeting where they were brainstorming a problem they were battling. I dove right in an we had a great hour-long discussion where I was able to offer some insights. I also scored points later when, while I was waiting to talk to another scientist, I helped a biologist troubleshoot a piece of recalcitrant lab equipment. It helped a lot that I had done my due dilligence on the company beforehand so I could ask good questions.
By the end of the day I had interviewed with probably half of the company (this was a startup, remember) and was facinated by the challenges they were facing. On my drive home I knew I had a big problem - this job was just the kind of change I needed, and I was pretty sure they would make me an offer, but it was in New Jersey! I spent the time waiting for their call checking on housing prices and neighborhoods in the area - realizing that the position paid just enough more than my then-current salary to almost make up the difference in cost of living.
Sure enough, they did offer me the job. I made one last stab at getting my soon-to-be-former employer to transfer me from the engineering group which was downsizing to the science group I was supporting, but when that fell through I took the plunge. I went from being a minor player at a major multinational corporation to the 24th person hired by my new employer!
That was 12 years ago, and I've had a great ride at Pharmacopeia. And I never did move to NJ, opting instead for the long commute from Upper Black Eddy. Besides being a great career move, moving to upper Bucks County put us in the Palisades school district which happens to have a pretty good high school robotics team...
So, that was the long answer to your question, John. The short answer is:
I did my homework (researched the company and their key technology before the interview);
I asked a lot of questions;
I took interest in their problems;
I was in the right place at the right time; and
I took a chance.