marching on to yet another new phase in my working life

and so, this friday marks the last working day with my current company!
i've worked here for 2 years 11 months, my longest job in my working life!
good job, ecookie. hehe.

i've started actively sending out resumes by end of march and hence, apr mth was a flurry of interview activities.
its a good thing that im actually very open to interviews (yes, i love yakking to strangers and naming my top 3 strengths/weaknesses! haha.).
im not too sure if my job hunting process is a short or long one by others' standards but its pretty much the same as compared to my 2 previous job hunting process 3 and 5 years back.
my criteria this time round are 1) good work-life balance 2) higher pay 3) progression in terms of job responsibilities/scope.
not necessarily in this order but all 3 must be satisfied!

i shall try to document my job hunting process this time round:
1) Financial service industry.
went through 3 rounds and got an offer!
pretty excited for the coy has a good brand name, good pay + benefits.
BUT, eventually i turned down the offer after much consideration.
work-life balance may be compromised and the role is not exactly an expansion/progression of my current one.

2) IT industry.
went through 3 rounds.
the coy has good brand name, possibility of work-life balance and good role.
but pay-wise, may not be able to meet expectations.
ANYWAY, after going through the last round, they came back saying that they are witholding the decision to hire just yet. i was going HUH?!
oh well, its an employer's market after all.
THEN, 1 mth later ,they came back to me saying another similar role is open now and they are keen to offer me.
too late, ive already accepted my next company's offer.
and i think they can't meet my salary expectations too.

3) IT industry.
went through 1 round and kena rejected. haha.
its a start up coy and so the role requires one to juggle multiple roles while setting in place new processes.
to be honest, its not going to be a easy job and i may not be the best person to do it.
so no good fit between job and candidate and seriously, im not keen on the role after knowing more about it from the hiring manager.
i guess, it shows on my face during the interview too. oops.

4) Education services industry.
went through 1 round.
good role, good staff benefits, good work-life balance and can meet my pay expectations!
the only drawback is the less than ideal location.
so, i was really interested in this opportunity.
but, was told later that the role was expanded by the hiring company and they are now looking for people with at least 10-15 years of experience (which is clearly not for me..).
now, im getting a little pissed.
not sure how true is the above but it kinda shows that employers nowadays are a little unsure who they want to hire!

5) Retail industry.
went through 1 round.
good role, good pay & benefits. but, work-life balance not ideal and much less than ideal location.
the time taken to commute to and fro (even by driving) will take me at least 2 hours each day!!!
so even if i go off on the dot at 6, with the traffic, it will still take me an hour plus to reach home. @_@
hence, i passed on the opportunity to progress to the 2nd round of interview.

6) Commodities industry.
went through 3 rounds and got an offer!
good role, good pay & benefits, possible work-life balance and coy has good brand name.
slight drawback is location wise doesn't allow me to drive anymore (such a minor drawback!).
the culture of the company seems fine and i hope my new boss will really be the good coach that my gut feeling told me.
so.... i signed the offer letter and im going to start work in this new company in early june! :)))

7) Financial Services industry.
went through 2 rounds and got a verbal offer.
good role and possible work-life balance.
i actually fancy the job role for this opportunity the most. so when i got a verbal offer from the CFO , i was quite glad.
BUT, after escalating the decision to hire all the way to HQ in europe, they came back saying they may not be able to meet my salary expectations! *scratch head*
im not sure how could this happen when i've made known clearly my expectations from the start. if they cant meet it, no point wasting any of our time.

ok, that sums up my mad job hunting process this time round.
now, im getting pretty excited over starting a new phase in my working life!
but before that, let me take a well-deserved break by spending more time with my family and going for a short trip with the husband and elder son. *wee*