A job I never applied to

Two weeks ago, I wrote about how I had interviewed at the Joseph Smith Papers and didn't get the job, and my rejection made me question my abilities in editing and people skills.

But some out-of-the-blue events this week gave me a little boost of confidence.

On Monday, I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. I figured it was mostly likely from 1) my apartment management, since they were doing an inspection; 2) the dentist, since I had just rescheduled an appointment due to insurance issues; or 3) BYU Magazine, where I had submitted a resume over the weekend.

Instead it turned out to be Reid Neilson, the managing director of the Church History Department. Apparently, the JSP gave my resume to him. A long time ago, he worked for BYU Studies when he was at BYU, so he knew some of the people there and has a soft spot for it. He called one of the editors, Jennie, to ask her about me. He said that she said that I was one of their best interns. So he called me up and wanted me to meet with him. We arranged a breakfast interview for Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, I talked to Jennie, and she seemed quite excited at my prospects. That night I drove home so that I could easily get to my 7:30 breakfast interview.

On Wednesday, I met Reid at the Nauvoo Cafe in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, where he bought me breakfast. He told me about the job and offered it to me. And I accepted!

Here are the duties and implications of the job:

• He spends a lot of time managing, but the rest of the time he writes things, so I will be editing the things he writes.
• This is another internship. It starts at four months, but it may extend to a year and may lead to a permanent position. 
• Because it is an internship, there are no benefits. But a job with no benefits after I graduate is better than no job with no benefits. 
• I will make considerably more money than I have at BYU Studies. 
• It is based out of Salt Lake, but he is allowing me to work remotely while I am still in school. I don't know what will happen after I graduate. I think he likes to have his interns work up in Salt Lake.
• I will be working the same amount of time that I have been working (20hrs/week), and I think I can increase my hours after I graduate.

Because I am not allowed to work at BYU at the same time I work at the Church, on Thursday BYU Studies had a potluck lunch to say goodbye to me. I'm rarely the guest of honor at a party!

Friday was my last day at BYU Studies. I started there spring 2012, making it the longest job I've ever had. Thus it was a little sad. Jennie wrote me a glowing letter of recommendation, which said, among other things, that I wrote abstracts better than any other intern and that she would hire me as a permanent employee if there were an opening. It was good to hear those things. The people at the office seemed excited for me, but they said they were sad to see me leave. I had been there a long time. Two other interns came and went during my time there. Also, all this time I thought I was working for the same hourly rate, but apparently I got a couple of raises I never knew about. Then I had to drive up to Salt Lake to meet with HR. It was the fifth time I had to drive to the Salt Lake area in a three-week period.

Tomorrow is my first day on the new job, even though I'm not going anywhere. On my mission, I always thought I'd want to work for the Church. After I came home, I changed my mind. But I think the Church History Department will be more exciting and interesting than, say, the Ensign. These are exciting times in Church History, as a lot more research is being done and they are no longer shying away from sensitive issues.