I remember it so clearly.....I was at the Hereford House in Lawrence, KS for a Walgreen's recruitment dinner. The slide show was nice and fancy. The company looked great, the benefits looked great, and I just couldn't think of any reason why this company wouldn't be good for me to begin my pharmacy career. They were the #1 retail pharmacy chain and I could see why. It's hard to believe that was over 6 years ago. I spent over 4 1/2 years with Walgreens in Phoenix and over a year and a half with them here in Olathe. Walgreens is all I know. I was comfortable......but not exactly happy or excited to go to work everyday. The nights and weekends were getting old, and I wasn't happy with all the corporate demands. I knew there were better jobs out there for me, but with the down economy I knew Walgreens was stable, and again, I was comfortable. I get calls from recruiters all the time at work, but I usually just pretend I'm listening to them. It was back in April when I answered the phone. This one was different. "Pharmacy Manager...no nights, weekends, or holidays...sign on package....small town...etc, etc." It must have been music to my ears, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. I went and told Devin and he was very encouraging and said lets check it out! We both went for a quick visit and it was something we both thought would be a good career move for me. I've always wanted to take my career to the next level and manage, but wanted it to be on a smaller scale than Walgreens. This would be perfect. After much negotiation I signed a contract with them in May. I didn't have an exact start date; I wanted to try and sell the house before we made the move. With all the cut-backs due to the poor economy, Walgreens asked us to take some volunteer time off. I, of course, volunteered. I went and worked at my new store instead for a couple weeks and I did not want to come back! It was very different, but so simple and relaxed. We still haven't had any luck selling our house, but I've decided to go ahead and get started. The company has been so patient with me, and I don't want to keep them waiting any longer. Now comes the hard part. The Letter. Telling those that I've worked with for so long that I am leaving. It was hard. I've met some of my greatest friends at Walgreens. Walgreens has been good to me, but it is time to move on. And as I told them in my resignation letter, if it wasn't for working for such a great company and with so many exceptional professionals, I wouldn't have the confidence I do now to take on this new role. So my letter is in. I submitted it on Friday. It felt good. I have 12 days of work left......but who's counting!
To be continued.........
