This would be with Anthony. This is also mentioned in my retirement series resume. I was at the local gym, and it was mid-afternoon, so not very crowded. I saw this guy working out before, probably because we kept similar routines. He was probably a few years older than me, and we did the typical guy thing, you know, the head not and the “what’s up” crap for small talk. I am not a big conversationalist, and I typically go to the gym and work in silence on my own. For some reason, we chatted a bit on this particular day.
I remember it well, and it was 17 years ago. It was the baseball playoffs, and as would have it, he was a Yankees fan and I too, which is odd for a guy from New England, so two in one place in New England is like seeing a unicorn.
In any event, it got onto the subject of work and what we do. I mentioned I was just starting to look for a job, and he was a Managing Director at the company in the next parking lot over, which happened to be JPMChase, or, more to the point, Paymentech, which was 50% owned by Chase and in the process of a 100% acquisition. We discussed what I do, and he asked for my resume. Of course, I drove home as fast as possible and sent the resume off.
By the end of the week, I had a call for an interview for the next week. That interview lasted about 4 hours with 8 or so people, and at the end of the week, I had an offer letter. Now remember this is 2008 and the country was reeling from the massive bank failures, the US was at war, and a full-blown recession, the worst since the 1929 depression. All of this, and I got the last job of my career, the best job of all, and it lasted 17 years until my retirement.
What started in a gym in New Hampshire with a chance encounter led to a fantastic job that led me to Florida, and ultimately, I retired. I can’t imagine a better chance encounter.
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