Not too long ago it felt like Mark was having interview after interview, and nothing seemed to come from it. Even the one firm that Mark actually got a call-back interview for has sent him yet another rejection letter. He's been feeling quite discouraged about this job search during the nation-wide economic crisis. There are fewer jobs to be found, and this is the all-important year for the law-student's career too. We were starting to wonder if we were really going to be able to see the light at the end of this tunnel.
We felt like we were in the dark, having done all we could do to get interviews, but 20 interviews and about 100 rejections later, there was still not even a glimpse of what we might do or where we might end up. We still had hope, but it was so faint because we knew our options were running very thin. Since there were only 4 firms left to hear from that had interviewed Mark, we decided that we really needed some Divine Intervention to help us figure out what to do about this whole job search. After much prayer and a few other acts of faith, Mark and I had come to the conclusion that something will come up, but we're just not exactly sure what or when yet.
Then, this morning something very exciting happened. No, he was not offered a job, but he was invited for another second interview. Our hope was bolstered to a new height. (Granted, this is only hope, but it does wonders for the human spirit.) This is for a firm called Hodgson and Russ located in New York. We're not exactly sure if it will be the NYC branch or the Buffalo branch that is interested in Mark, but we're hoping it's the Buffalo one. They have a fairly strong Chinese practice in this firm, and that is really exciting because it's what Mark wants to do the most. It's quite probable that it's why the firm is interested in Mark's Chinese language background. The recruiter assumed that Mark was interested in the NYC branch because of the Chinese Law issue, but Mark explained that he would rather live in a smaller city than a place like NYC. However, if he had to go to NYC in order to be a part of the firm, he was more than willing to go there. Then the recruiter mentioned that the firm is trying to even out their Chinese practice between the two branches, so hopefully Mark will still have a chance to go to Buffalo instead of NYC...we'll see. At this point, we're just hoping that they're truly interested and that he can get a job there...well...really a job anywhere, but this one would be really nice!
Another bit of exciting news: I'm going to be an aunt again within the next few weeks. My brother Rob and his wife Lucia are expecting a baby girl soon. This will most likely be their last (#4) child, but it makes the #17 grandchild for my parents. Wow, can you believe that I have that many nieces and nephews, and that's not counting the 2 on my husband's side. Yay for little babies! Mark and I are still not going to have any children of our own for a little while, but that doesn't mean I can't get excited for the ones that are expecting, like Lucia and our cousin Mindy Dahl.
