Monday, February 13, 2006

I know it seems like yesterday that I was blogging about a new job and here I am doing it again. An opportunity came knocking and I couldn't close the door without walking through. Over the summer, I took a written exam for a promotional position in Sac County. After passing that, I moved on to an oral exam in front of a panel who would do the final ranking. After being fairly certain I ranked highly after being offered a provisional position before I ever got my notification, I was still excited and shocked when I did receive it and found I was in the first rank, having an overall score of 95% (combined written and oral). I was even more shocked when I discovered I was the only person in Rank 1. Needless to say, the requests to interview came pouring in. I waived most as they were mostly for positions in departments I didn't like. Eventually, I received a letter from a department for which I had never worked and the position was Confidential - no, that doesn't mean I have to kill you after you read this, but it does mean that it's not represented by the union and it also handles information and files that are confidential, therefore it pays over 11% more than the same non-confidential classification. I was intrigued by the type of work that division did and so I called to schedule an interview. My boss, meanwhile, was less than thrilled at all the interview requests I was receiving and, though he planned on promoting me and the paperwork was started, he was still sitting on it and preferred whining to actual action.

The day of the interview came (January 26) and it went perfectly. They offered me the job on the spot and, though I wanted to jump at it, I managed to tell them that I wanted to talk it over with Michael and get back to them. The next day I also talked it over some of my coworkers and I weighed all of my options. I quickly realized that this was a chance that probably wouldn't come around again for a long time and I knew that I would regret not accepting. Anyway, to keep this story from getting any longer than it already is, I called and accepted the position the next day. I start there on February 21 (next Tuesday).

My boss did not take the news very well and he resorted to passive-aggressive and spiteful behavior. Where once I was on his Can-Do-No-Wrong List, I moved at the speed of light to the Shit List. In fact, it was so bad that many people in the department noticed and by the time I went to HR about it, they were already aware because others had mentioned it too. It was pretty sad that the way someone expresses their appreciation for you and disappointment in your departure is with such abominable actions and cruelty. After HR spoke with him, his attitude improved and hopefully my last four days there will be more pleasant. This new position will put me in a much better place to eventually move back to private sector, especially if one day Michael gets a job out of state. Basically, what I will learn will help me extend my marketability and help me get good job sooner rather than later when that move comes.

Speaking of turning corners...
Last Saturday, February 4, I turned 30. After feeling like I was spending much of my 29th year waiting to be thirty, it seemed normal. I had a bunch of friends over and I cooked an awesome dinner of steak, crab cakes, spinach salad, grilled vegetables and my special bread pudding with amaretto cream sauce. It was a blast and, by far, one of my best birthdays. I'm looking forward to all this year will bring, not just in my career, but in everything else as well.

Sláinte