In July 2002, I thought my career was finally on track and I was hoping for a promotion. Then I heard a rumor that jobs might be cut in my company. After two months of wondering whether the rumor was true, the truth became known: our company had been hit by a financial downturn and had to cut 14 people.

On the day before the announcement, there were only 13 names on the list, according to inside information. Just one more to go … but I wasn’t worried at all, because I scheduled to talk to my supervisor about my future role. When my supervisor cancelled my appointment that day, my heart dropped. I still hoped that it was because her schedule was too jammed.

THE DAY
On the day of the announcement, I was “invited” to the boardroom together with 13 people and, yes, I was number 14. It seemed like the darkest day of my life and I thought I had made friends with bad luck.

The compensation was okay but what about my future? Where will I get a job in this kind of economy, where there are so many talented people in the job market? I felt lost and couldn’t hold my tears anymore, when my husband came to pick me up.

THE DAY AFTER
In the morning, I sat in front of Gohonzon asking for direction. After a lot of chanting, I still hadn’t found my direction yet, BUT I found something else — strength. Also I realized that I had always wanted to spend summer holidays at home with my kids, and to a certain extent, my wish was granted!

We went everywhere everyday, had lots of fun together, and best of all, I found my long lost motherhood again. I am so grateful to Gohonzon to have given this to me. When I was working at my company, I had to work late every night and it was impossible to take any time off.

Friday 13th
Good time really flies; it was soon September. My kids were back in school again, and after sending more than 100 application letters with no response, I really got my act together and tried harder to look for a job. However, everywhere I asked, everyone I talked to gave me the message that it would be next to impossible to find a job similar to my last one. I was also told to definitely expect a pay cut. Somehow I wasn’t discouraged at all. I believed that my benefit job was out there — a job that suited me perfectly.

In the early morning of September 13th, a black Friday, I got a call from the lady at the job agency asking me if I would be interested in an Executive Assistant to Senior Vice President position. The requirements for the job suited me very well. She also mentioned that when she got first saw this position, she thought that this company was actually asking them to look for ME! This was an urgent replacement and the company wanted to confirm a candidate ASAP.

Right after I finished my morning gongyo, she called me again and said that this company wanted to interview me at 6 pm! I didn’t expected this could happen so fast!

My first interview was with their Senior HR Director. She was the nicest HR Director I have ever encountered. Not only did she tell me right away that I was the person they were looking for, and she also advised me about what my future boss liked and didn’t like to hear.

My interview with the Sr. Vice President next. (I thought I would have to wait for a couple of days!) When I walked into the room, the Sr. VP almost instantly told me that I was the one! When I told him about my last job, my character, etc, he confirmed that this was exactly what he was looking for.

At my last position, I had had a reputation as a whistleblower and my last company didn’t like that. They wanted to ignore problems, hoping they would go away, and they hated me for mentioning them. However, at this new company, my “bad” characteristic was an asset to them. They needed a whistleblower to alert them of potential problems.

I was confirmed immediately and the Senior VP told me that I should talk to the HR Director about my salary requirement. He also stressed that he didn’t want to underpay me! After I stated my expected salary to HR (I was asking for 10% more than my last job), they told me that they would have to conduct a survey to see what the market rate was. I thought, “Great, an excuse to lower my salary…”

To my surprise and thanks again to Gohonzon, they called me the next day to confirm that my expected salary was actually 10% lower than market rate and they will pay me what I am worth! (More proof of the benefit of leaving my last firm and moving to a better one!). So I got an instant 20% raise, I also got family medical, dental, bonus, profit sharing, and a much closer working location!

I really have to thank my last company for sacking me; otherwise I would never have the courage to venture out to look for a job in this economy. Other people might think I would be nuts to say that, but I remember a fellow SGI member saying that we should be thankful for all the problems or challenges coming our way. We must embrace our obstacles with courage and wisdom. The time of adversity is the best time for us to grow into better and stronger people. My experience has proven once again that this Buddhism really works when you have absolute faith in Gohonzon and chant with sincerity!

ON THE JOB
It has been a little more than a year at this new job now. This job is the best job one could ever have. I leave work at around 6:30 pm everyday – and my boss constantly tells me that that is too late. What a difference! I am now able to spend more time with my family instead of staying at the office or on the phone doing conference calls. Best of all, I can go to most of the SGI meetings and have more time to work for Kosen Rufu!

I am so so grateful that Gohonzon has once again proven to me that I can turn poison into medicine!