A bittersweet decision
After very careful consideration, I have decided to resign from my job at the Idaho Statesman effective September 19th. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges, triumphs, and camaraderie during the past 17 months. For a lifelong news junkie such as myself, working for a newspaper has been a unique experience that has caused me to grow both personally and professionally. There are a lot of genuinely dedicated people at the Statesman and what they do day in and day out is really something to behold. I will miss working here and cannot help but feel that my work is unfinished.
I didn’t intend to leave the Statesman any time soon, but a local company began to pursue me about a month ago. After a lot of back and forth via e-mail and a couple of interviews, they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. In addition to that, this company is an excellent fit for me as far as the development team, the tools and languages they use (LAMP stack with Zend Framework), the projects in the works, and the corporate culture. They’re also extremely profitable with very impressive year over year revenue growth. It may seem like a strange choice to anyone not familiar with the company, but I am very excited to say that I will start work on September 22nd as a software engineer at Bodybuilding.com.
Their consistent focus on customers and investment in employees really won me over. A prime example of the character of their employees and the unwavering commitment they have to their customers can be seen in their response to Tropical Storm Fay last week. This is not a one-time incident, but an integral part of the culture and values of the company. In addition to a strong customer focus, they invest heavily in their employees with excellent pay, benefits, and perks that encourage and reward a healthy lifestyle and professional growth.
I’m sure I’ll have much more to share about my experiences at Bodybuilding.com in the coming months. In the meantime, I have a lot of projects to wrap up at the Statesman. And I need to hit the weights pretty hard in the next three weeks to prepare myself for the new employee orientation. I hear it involves lots of shaving, fake tanner, body oil, and a Speedo. Nah, I’m just kidding of course. At least I think I’m kidding… 
