Having imagined what the retirement process might look like for the past few years, it’s interesting to see it unfold now. While we were living in Bahrain, Josh had his sights set on his current assignment in Abu Dhabi anticipating that he would retire from here with the goal of beginning a second career in the Middle East. He knew that the job market was much larger and more diverse here than in Bahrain and felt that it gave him the best chance of staying the Middle East after retirement from the Marine Corps.
So far, things are going according to plan. He did get the job here in Abu Dhabi and is now putting out feelers to anyone he knows in the private sector or with the UAE government. The two most likely opportunities at this point have both been the result of a personal connection/introduction and both jobs are located in Abu Dhabi.
Josh told me about one interview and sent me the job description. I wasn’t really feeling it and didn’t think his skills were a good fit for the job as it was described on paper. But I kept my opinions to myself (truthfully I emailed him and said “that’s not happening,” but our email server was down at the moment so the message never went through. When have I ever kept my opinion to myself willingly?) and Josh went into the interview with an open mind. He called me afterward, energized and excited about it.
It turns out that the company is looking for someone to be the cross-cultural relationship builder for their company, an ambassador of sorts. The person to make the connection with the people in charge of purchasing without the requirement of being an aerospace technical expert. That sounds exactly like something Josh would be good at. He said it was a great interview and we should find out this week if he moves on to the next round in the selection process.
We should also have a better idea if his first interview is going to lead to a job offer once he’s back from his work trip and can meet with them in person again. He also has a few more leads to pursue once he returns home next week. I’m not worried a bit. I’ve always said he’s going to have more than one to choose from and choosing the right job will be the hard/stressful part of this process. I guess we’ll know in a month or 2 if I’m right.