Always Something to Remind You

I have a couple of email subscriptions that do me no good down here.  More specifically, I get emails from Binny's Beverage Depot, Peoria Packing Company, and the Polish Museum of America. I could easily unsubscribe from all of them (except the PMA because they are luddites and you to email them) but I choose not to.

I also get emails from Zillow, Redfin, and other Real Estate entities that tell me my house in PP is worth X more than when I bought and sold it.  

Finally, I get the Book of Faces Memories, which used to be called On This Day after they bought it from TimeStamp.    

Those hurt.  

I really miss my Chicago house.  Yes, it had some warts.  No Central Air conditioning, the bedrooms were small and the bathrooms needed some work.  But I had finally got my garage the way I wanted it.  

But I'm trying to see a positive or at least something to hope for.   In the late 80s, my mom took me out of college because she fell into financial ruin, and instead of making the smart decision to apply for what was then abundant financial aid, she decided to just take me out of college.  There's more to that, but I won't go into it now.  

 And I wasted spent a lot of the 90s trying to get back to that life.  I seriously, naively, believed that some of the people I went to Northeast Missouri State University with actually cared about me.  

Has it been 17 years already?

This time of year used to make me Wiggy.  Yes, that's the technical term.  It was around this time of year in 2009 when Finance 1.0 left me abruptly.  As the years went by and Time did the Heavy Lifting, along with building a life with Nightingale, I thought less and less about it.  It's really only the Memories on Facebook and a specific Taylor Swift song that ever really make me think of those events.  

When it happened, I told a very small subset of friends -- my inner circle if you will -- what had happened.  But I didn't share with the world until May 1st, 2009, which also was on a Friday.  Because somehow not telling anyone made it seem not really.  

From the time D and I broke up until I met Nightingale, I went through a "when I'm alone I want to be with people and when I'm with people I want to be alone" phase.

Edit from the Future:  who would have guessed that 5 years and a few days later, I would also be announcing on the Book of Faces that Nightingale and I were having twins.  

Easy Come, Easy Go

Edit from the future:  This has been in my drafts for moths and I decide to just publish it as is.  It's too painful to try and proofread and see if I omitted anything of importance.  


A few Mondays back, I alluded to "some other news to share this week."  I am was employed again!  Alas, it didn't last and while I wrote up a draft about the adventure before my contract ended, I'm gonna whittle it done to the essentials.

It got off to a rough start because this hire didn't happen in the linear way most jobs do.  

I saw an ad for a help desk position in my industry.  I am hilariously overqualified for that position, but it was part-time nights covering the Pacific Coast Time Zone.  I figured they might give me a chance and whatever the pay scale, it would help pay for that bathroom remodel.  

My short-lived New Office

Instead, the recruiter at the consulting company (which I have interviewed with on two separate occasions since separation from Big Audit) reached out on Sept 18th about a position that is a little more within my wheelhouse.

It's a remote position, a W2 contract for at least 3 weeks, possibly longer. "This is a medical family matter, taking my senior person out of town to help with care. The situation is still developing, and it's difficult to determine the exact timeframe."

at face value, a 3 week gig at the standard rate would have knocked off about 25% of the bathroom remodel cost so I was open.  We talked on the 19th and I honestly cannot remember the exact details, but I told her my standard availability for interviews is 9-12 CST M-F with a day's notice.  I do this because, since most go nowhere, it's a waste of a shower and shave for an interview in the middle of the day.

She called back a bit later and said they would like to speak to me in 20 minutes.  I'm like, NO.  Then her boss BRAD called and said I was overthinking it, just have a conversation with their client.

I honestly cannot remember a thing from that call other than it was very pleasant and the client said he liked what he heard.  In fact, he mentioned that there was a permanent position and that the contract could lead to it.  The consulting agency immediately jumped in to protect their finder's fee and we left it at Boss and Client would work out specifics.

This seemed like a good situation.  Short term I can earn money to pay off bathroom renovation.  Long term this would be a path back to Chicago because they have an office there and I would have to move to a state they had an office for those good old tax compliance issues.

Unfortunately, what was supposed to be an immediate hire got delayed because Consulting Agency is very fly-by-night and they use a terrible background checking service.  It also took client a long  time to send me equipment and instead of a laptop (like everyone else sends) they sent me 2 sweet monitors, two sets of keyboards and mouses, and a very small desktop.  

I'm not sure what exactly happened.  I was onboarded by Consulting Agency but they wouldn't pay me for that time (realistically about 2 hours of my time).  Then they only wanted me to bill for the time I actually had something to do with the client, which was an average of 2 hours per day.  I objected and said my time is valuable and if I'm tethered to a computer, I deserve compensation for that.

Last Tuesday BRAD wanted to have a Teams meeting.  Here-to-fore, all our conversations were simply on the phone.  I asked if I should be concerned and he said "I do all calls on Teams, I like to see people".  Glaring Red Flag that I missed.  We had trouble connecting but once we did, he mentioned that he looked at my timesheets that I had saved but didn't submit and asked if I now had work.  I said there was still idle time but it had improved.

He said something about getting in front of something to course correct but he didn't elaborate.  I told him that the people I was working with are aware that I had idle time and were okay with my charging my time although obviously it was a Client decision so I told him to see if Big Client was okay with it.

That night I had sent a LinkedIn connection request to the people I'm working with.  The person who was out on Medical Leave accepted.  

Next day I get a call from Consulting Agency that Client reached out and said that things weren't working out for them so they were terminating my contract.  

The person who accepted my LinkedIn connection apparently has severed it.

And what sucks is I have to put this on my resume and LinkedIn profile to show that I have been hireable, yet at the same time I have to explain it IF I get an interview.

Because we live in a world where people are supposed to work from almost Cradle to Grave.  Gaps in your resume signal to employers that you are either a problem employee or, worse, that you don't actually need a job.  Employers hate an employee who could just walk away from a job.  

 

The Aftermath of Still You Gotta Try

I wrote about three opportunities that arrived in my LinkedIn message box in early August.  

It should come as no surprise that none of them panned out.  I cannot say what legitimate shot I had at any of these but for a hot minute, it looked like either Big Bank or Consulting Gig would have hired me.  I was feeling a little randy so I emailed the guy who went on vacation 2 hours after contacting me and he said the position was still open.  We spoke and I sent him my resume but no news.  Not unexpectedly, he is not a follow-through guy, and for recruiters these days, right or wrong (it's definitely wrong), they cannot expend any more time on a candidate the client isn't interested in.

Jeepers Creepers

The recruiter for the consulting job did follow through and it feels like he was more upset than I was about not getting the job.  The reason, I suspect, is that it is hard to fill some roles and when you have a candidate that is good on paper, what is the reason for not going with them if they do okay on the interview?  The reality is this was a case of the recruiter didn't understand the assignment.  They were looking for someone with a skillset that included a range of software tools that the last place I worked produced.  But I only had skills in one of them.  

This happened years before whe No-Name Software Company was acquired by a bigger company.  I'd get calls from recruiters saying I'm perfect for a role but if they had just spent 5 seconds reading my profile, they would see it was for the other side of the business.  Think Samsung TVs vs Samsung Washing Machines.

I have absolutely no way of knowing but I suspect the position at Big Bank went to a candidate who lived in one of the preferred cities.  

They keep stringing me along

 Yesterday at 4:49 pm  Call-Center Recruiter reached out to me to tell me that Big Bank client wanted to do a 2nd interview.  He said I was shortlisted.  But when I pressed him, he said the other two candidates were also shortlisted.  

The available spots were today at 10:30 am or Thursday.  I didn't want to drag this out.  I also have a crew here working on the bathroom, and an HVAC guy coming to look at my AC, which is not behaving correctly.  Because that's how my life works.

As far as interviews go, this one went well.  We figured out the solution to the technical issues (log in as a guest).  That doesn't mean i have the job.  The primary person who was supposed to be on the call didn't make it.  And the techy who interviewed me had better things to do and was quite happy when half our time was over.  He did say I did well, and I think he was being genuine.

But here's the thing.  the job spec is for a hybrid with 3 days in a Big Bank Office.  If any of the other candidates live in a city where just one member of the existing team lives, that is an advantage because in in-person meetings.  

And I just checked.  Memphis has Big Bank locations, but I'm not sure they have offices for back office staff.  That could be a problem...for a fucking job that does not require being on site for any good reason!

Going through the motions

 Follow-up to my job hunting post.  Have not heard from or reached out to law firm recruiter.  He obviously found some other candidates and/or read the fine print and realized I'd need to live in a particular city for that role.

The consulting recruiter asked me to suggest some times for an interview this week, and I gave him a half dozen, in order or preference.  He, or the person he forwarded them to, didn't "notice" my mention of Central Time Zone.  This is a common occurrence among lazy, incompetent people.  The recruiter also sent both versions of my resume that he requested rather than pick one.  Again, lazy.

I decided to just have the interview an hour earlier and get it out of the way.  It actually was one of the better interviews I've had but that is mostly because the majority of interviews suck.  

Since I had this interview and NG managed to get me a long overdue doctor's appointment, I proactively reached out to the Call-Center Recruiters to tell them that my Wednesday was no longer an option.  They called and what an amazing coincidence: the client reached out to them at the exact moment I sent that email.

They begged me to have a call with them on the same day.  So for those keeping score at home, two interviews with 2 hours between (thanks to time zone screw ups) followed by a doctor appointment.

I did it but regret it because the call didn't happen because the  Bank people had a Production Outage they had to deal with.  There were also technical issues because they were using WebEx and they have it so locked down, I could join the call but no audio.  

WebEx!   What, Skype wasn't available?  it's like using AOL chat instead of Slack. We rescheduled the interview for the next day and it went somewhat okay.  Still had technical issues so we just did a phone in.  They asked a question I couldn't answer and couldn't bullshit.  Call-Center Recruiter told me afterwards they had interviewed two other people so unless they fucked up more, I'm not getting this role.

Finally, Mid-August is bad for interviews because people are squeezing in last of summer vacations and Labor Day is fast approaching.  No one wants to work this time of year.  And interview fatigue is a thing.  If they talked to two other people before getting to me, they are exhausted of asking the same questions.  Throw in the technical issues so they didn't get a chance to introduce themselves and the overall dysfunction they have emanated and I think I will have to just settle for working overnights at the Home Depot.  

Still you gotta try

In my industry, I have three paths, if you will, for employment.  I could work for a law firm that uses the No-Name Software I am a SME in.  Unfortunately, the law firms in Memphis do not use it, so I either have to relocate to a state where a law firm that does use it has an office, or find one of the few firms that are set up to use remote workers from anywhere.  Or I get a contract job and the 3rd party is set up to pay me from the fee they collect from the firm, while skimming a little off the top for "administrative costs".

The second option is to work for a consulting firm that specializes in No-Name Software.  The challenge here is that I'm a tad bit too seasoned in that I would not likely be pushed around as much today as I allowed when I consulted in the naughts.  It doesn't help that I haven't been working in over a year either.

The third option is a non-legal entity that also uses No-Name Software.  This is my preferred option because for all its ups and downs, Corporate America is better than Legal America.

As it so happens, this month I have been contacted by three recruiters for a role at each.  

First up is a recruiter who previously reached out to me last year for a law firm role.  Apparently, someone else had already submitted my resume there without my knowledge or permission.  This time, he reached out to me about two weeks ago, for another law firm role, an hour before he left the office to go on vacation.  I'm not confident about this one because even though it is remote, the JD specifically mentions specific states one has to work in.  Recruiters miss this all the time because they just hear remote or assume they will find someone in those places.

The second is a guy who called me about a consulting gig at a place I interviewed at about 3 years ago to the date.  He actually acknowledged this but says the company has had an overhaul.  And he demonstrated this by reaching out to me periodically over the last couple of weeks to try and set up an interview.  Calendar invite pending.

Finally, a recruiter reached out to me about a role at a Big Bank that I would love to work for.  He is not the first to reach out about this role nor is it the first time.  This started in May but apparently the job req got put on hold.  At first it was contract.  then it was FTE.  Now it is back to contract.  And it is hybrid.  They would want me in a office 3x a week.  Chicago is one of those places.

So let's look at this.  Big Bank couldn't figure out the job req.  This happens a lot because of budgets and end of fiscal year, yadda, yadda, yadda.  Big Bank hired a bunch of low rent call center recruiter to fill this position instead of using their in-house people.  And the team is spread across several offices which means Teams Meeting but yet they want you in the office in one of those cities.

This screams disfunction and yet I would take this chance at earning money again in a heartbeat.  I don't even bother telling Ng about these interviews since they often go nowhere.  We would like to move back north and this might be a way but it seems to be on the highest difficulty setting.

If they actually hire me, I would have to move back to Chicago immediately.  katness said I could use her guestroom, but that would only last so long.  And the thought of being away from my kids for an extended length of time freightens me, inspite of their douche nuggetness.  

When we moved down here, NG knew it would only be two months of being separated.  This could take longer.  much longer.  

Note:   I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

This Trip was a Little Different

We just returned from a 10-day trip to Michigan for a high school graduation party, with a stop in Chicago on the way back.  As per our brand, we did it at the Highest Difficulty Setting.  

We were in Louisville on Thursday, and we got to see some friends who live there.  But then, as soon as they left, Nightingale left me in the pool to go talk to her parents.  The parents who 1) live in the same town we do and 2) were going to see every day for the next 4 days.  I was pissed because she didn't even give me a chance to get my iPad or swim wear.  She just went to her parents' room like her umbilical cord was tugged.

On Friday, after a 6-hour drive, we had to get some food and go to SIL's house, an hour away, even though we were going to (check notes) see her every day for the next 4 days.  To be fair, we just didn't think it through: we should have had her come to us, and the food would be warm, and we had access to a hotel pool.

SIL and Confederate Jethro opted to drive all the way to Dearborn on Friday, and this worked out for us because I had forgotten my eye drops.  It didn't work out for them because the car they rented had issues.  The check engine light came on because the oil hadn't been changed on time.  They had to scramble to fix the problem and didn't get to Dearborn until much later than expected, only to find their room had a lot of dead bugs in it.  I feel bad for the kids who had to spend 13 hours in a car.  I don't feel bad for my BIL.  

On Saturday, we decided to go to Legoland, and it was mostly okay.  But during lunch Confederate Jethro just couldn't stop from saying shit that would get you called into Human Resources in Corporate America.  I couldn't take it any longer and told him to stop, but he wouldn't. I mentioned this to his wife, and all she said was "I didn't hear what he said". Right, because he never says this stuff in the car or at home or at his Klan rally.

So when we got back to the ranch, I exploded on my in-laws.  MIL decided to take matters into her own hands and gave him a talking to when he got there, which made him sulky for the rest of the trip.  It didn't stop him from still saying shit but he did avoid me.  On the last day, his wife made him take a gummy so he was more chill.

Then there was the Chicago Leg.  We cannot stay at my mom's crapshack, so we need a hotel.  NG used points, so it was technically free, but really, we are using points for something instead of for something fun.  We have to pick my mom up, and she will stay with us the entire trip.  Her hearing is mostly gone, so I have to raise my soft voice for her to hear, which makes it sound like I'm shouting.  

I didn't get to see anyone this trip.  But at least I got the car washed and went to a spa for a facial.  Down here, men don't get facials.  They get face massages, which are very lame.  But I had to do something about all these white and black heads, so I indulged.  I also got our knives sharpened because everyone down here sharpens their own knives.  

The thing is, whenever we talk about going to Chicago, Nightingale mentions all these things we can do.  But once we get here, all we do is spend time with Katness and her boys and my mom.  We only have one vehicle, so it's tough to see anyone.  We are supposedly going back for Thanksgiving week, and I could literally tell Nightingale that I have no plans except to meet So-and-So on Wednesday at noon, and when we get there, she will forget and make plans for noon on Wednesday.

Same as it Never Was

In the late 80s, I attended NMSU, a liberal arts college located in Kirksville, Missouri.  It took me a while to get any traction but eventually, I was getting good grades and had an active social life.  My mother took that away from me.  She lost a job and had a car accident and couldn't afford to keep sending me there.

But here's the thing.  back then, financial aid was more abundant than it was later.  we could totally have been able to send me back but my mom wouldn't allow it.  Because she knew the longer I was away from home, the more I would realize how dysfunctional our life was.  and she was jealous that I might meet someone who would be competing for my attention.

I tried to rebuild what I had in Kirksville in Chicago but a neurodivergent 20-year-old wasn't gonna be able to do it.  Many of my high school friends were away at other college campuses and the ones who went to city colleges didn't have the free time one does at a college town.  and a part of me thought I'd find a way back to Kirksville or after college move to St Louis where my so-called friends lived.  

There's a lot of complexity but it wasn't until I gave that up that I truly created a life in Chicago.

Fast-forward to 2021.  Nightingale decided we needed a change and she moved us to Mississippi-stan.  Not out of malice.  But because she hated her job and wanted to be closer to family.  The only reason we are in this particular city is because her younger sister set down roots here and as the baby of the family, she needed help once she had children with Confederate Jethro.  

Almost Daily, I get an On This Day from Facebook showing me some memories of our Chicago house.  I miss it terribly.  But the truth is, Chicago isn't perfect, and moving back wouldn't be the panacea I want it to be.  Just like moving to St Louis wouldn't have been the magical solution I wanted it to be.  

COW: Prayer after soccer games

My Crisis of the Week is this:  after the game, my daughter's soccer coach gets the kids together in a post-game huddle.  He says a prayer.  Of course, anyone who doesn't want to participate can sit there quietly.  

If I say anything, my daughter might be targeted. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I came along and uttered a Muslim or Jewish prayer. God, I hate this state.  maybe I should find a church down here and start playing soccer during the homily. 

Playing in the rain...and mud

I acknowledge that I'm disproportionally upset about this.  I've known about it for a few weeks and Natasha is fine with just sitting there silently.  I think I'm really upset because of all the other things going on. 

I'm not allowed to vent in the traditional ways.  I don't even have anyone to vent to down here.  And Nightingale has censored me and chided me when I do rage out.  

Back to the Beginning

 On Friday I got a phone call from the agency that "represents" me on my contract gig at No-Name Software Company Adjacent Company.

They told me that No-Name Software Company Adjacent Company is not renewing my contract and that my last day would be Feb 26th.  

While I'm not terribly upset that it ended, I wish it had gone on longer so I could use the experience to make my resume and LinkedIn profile more stable.  Because I've worked a few short-term contract jobs, I get penalized because:

• Recruiters want me to list every job to show I'm hireable;
• But the tasks and responsibilities are so mundane that no one would be impressed enough to choose me over another No-Name Software SME candidate.  

It is no coincidence that my Manager (Mel) rescheduled and canceled my One-On-One with her.  She, and our boss, don't like conflict and are just trying to hold onto their Corporate America jobs until they can retire.  They are on borrowed time because the Corporation that acquired their smaller company is not making money off their product.

What does irritate me is that Mel tried to pin it on me.  They could have, and did, go with Budget cuts.  But she also tried to put it on me that I didn't Step Up and In enough.  I should have been more of a self-starter.  let's ignore the snafu of my start date, or starting just as everyone is going on vacation after a long year of consulting.  

Translation:  I didn't realize I was going to have to be responsible for your Onboarding and be expected to help you succeed.  

Could I have been more aggressive?  Sure, but what would that have really accomplished when a company -- and by extension a team -- is somewhat dysfunctional?  I did my best to walk the line between asserting myself and respecting other people's downtime.  

  I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

The offer

   I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

I heard back from the recruiter today.  They want to offer me a contract position that could transition into FTE if I gel with the team.  They are also offering me less than we initially discussed.  

On the one hand, I have the luxury of being able to take $50/hr and not worry about making the rent.  On the other hand, the Job Description has not changed.  So they are trying to get Prime Rib at Pub Burger prices.

Update from the future:  The recruiter, who is jaunting around Europe right now came back with the following:

We are still getting some ducks in a row, but these are the details being discussed:

$60/hr

6-month contract (with option to promote to full-time after 3 months)

40 hours per week (minus holidays)

Exclusively working for us, but this is our preference (J thinks he will be able to keep you busy 😊)

I should know more on Monday.

10/12/23 1:39pm

The exclusive thing is because I asked about taking on a side gig if the work was anything like the contract job I had 2 years ago where I literally just earned money by pushing a button every hour.  It's telling that they don't want me to do anything like that even if it wouldn't interfere.  

Third and final Interview

   I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

|The 3rd interview with No-Name Software Company Adjacent Company came and went.  The only timeslot was not ideal because it comes at the time I normally get in line to pick up Moose and Squirrel at school.  But since all these interviews have had Hard Stops after 30 minutes (this one should too) I decided to risk it because I should still be able to get in line before the school starts releasing students.

The interview wasn't as good as the first two.  We finished early and she asked the usually bullshit "what are you passionate about and what motivates you to come into the office" type interview question.

The obvious answer is "a fucking paycheck" but they don't want to hear that.  They want you to give them some bullshit bougie answer.  It's on par with asking "why do you want to work here".  They want a virtual blowjob and a pony.  

  

The Second Interview

  I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

So the 2nd interview with No-Name Software Company Adjacent Company came and went.  As with the first interview, it was painless as far as interviews go.

And as with the first interview, as far as I can tell, it went well.  I don't recall if I grabbed the lead or let her ask the first question but she asked me why I got into technology.  That tells me that she, like many people, don't consider interviews as the primary part of their job.

Labor Laws are a bit lax down here

It's certainly better than the old guy who was going over my resume line by line and asking me things about my college major and who was my boss at a job almost two decades ago.  

I have  3rd and final interview today.  The only timeslot was not ideal because it comes at the time I normally get in line to pick up Moose and Squirrel at school.  But since all these interviews have had Hard Stops after 30 minutes (this one should too) I decided to risk it because I should still be able to get in line before the school starts releasing students.

10/5/2023 11:26 am

The Interview

 I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts.

So the interview with No-Name Software Company Adjacent Company came and went.  As far as I can tell, it went well.  At the same time, there wasn't any moment I could point to that said "Yes they want me" or "No they won't hire me".  

As far as interviews go, this one was painless.  I took the lead and asked him to describe the role beyond what the recruiter told me and factoring in any changes in the Job Description (JD) since initial posting. 
 

The interview was conducted by a nice enough fellow who wears the title of Director but is really just a techie who has been doing this far too long.  We of course ran out of time before he could ask me any significant questions, had he the desire and ability to do so.

Best case he is kicking the can down the road and setting up a technical interview where I can really show my knowledge of the No-Name Software platform.  It seems all their products integrate with it so my knowledge gives me a leg up on other candidates, at least on paper.  

Nightingale has given me permission to stop job hunting and focus on being a SAHD.  We were good savers and she now has a good paying job in a low-cost-of-living state.  That said, I would like my own income and to keep padding our retirement funds.  

BTW, this role turns out to be more implementation consultant than customer solution oriented.  Honestly, I can do it if they give me a chance.  I really just want to be able to add to my resume and be able to subtract some of the pointless contract work I had to take on.

No-Name Software Company Adjacent

  I'm writing these entries as they happen and as I have time to jot things down but I may not publish until months from now (or ever). Note: This post was written when the events were still fresh.  I waited for a while to post this because I didn’t want to risk my job-hunting efforts. 

Near the end of last year, I interviewed for a job that I really wanted.  It was No-Name Software Company Adjacent, meaning my experience with that software platform would have been advantageous.  I had three rounds of interviews only to return from the holidays to a "We've made the decision to continue the process with another candidate"  only to see the job reposted on LinkedIn less than a month later.

This year has been even stranger in the job hunt because I had a few recruiters reach out about positions that weren't actually available yet, or the movement stalled or the Job Hunting Gods just want to fuck with me.

'bout to drop a sic album

My options are in-house at a law firm (or if I'm lucky, an in-house at a non-law firm), working for a consulting company, or one of the rare No-Name Software adjacent opportunities.

Even during the Remote Heyday, most law firms require you to live in a state where they have an office for tax compliance reasons.  And now they are pushing back to the office at least in Hybrid Mode.  

The consulting companies want someone with my No-Name Software Company experience, but not my Corporate America experience, because they want to take advantage of less seasoned employees.  And if we are being honest, a lot of people I've worked with over the years work at these places and they simply do not like me.

Finally, there are the No-Name Software Company Adjacent roles which are harder to find and I've already been passed up on 2-3.

I'm interviewing for one of those tomorrow but I have so little hope that I haven't even mentioned it to Nightingale.  Besides the usual lethargic haze, the cadence on this one has been abysmal.  It's a little fuzzy when I actually applied but I recall when I got a call (Sept 7th) from the in-house recruiter, my thought was "Wow I applied 2 weeks and I'm hearing from you now".

We had a call but ran out of time.  He did say he would present me and hope I moved forward.  When I didn't hear from him on Monday as he suggested, I reached out Tuesday via email.  He didn't respond until Thursday saying that he hadn't heard anything but would ping the person.

I waited until the middle of this week to send a "Hey what's going on" in the cacophony of Corporate America speak.  He responded EOD and said the directory wanted to interview me and set it up for tomorrow.

A couple of things.  The pace he responds to emails is ridiculous.  That tells me that he is inefficient, his company can't get things done in a timely fashion, or both.  

He declined my request for some pre-interview coaching so I don't really think I'm gonna ace this interview.   

an incesstrious industry

 This happened.

Senior recruiter reaches out to me at 12:24 pm 3/8/3023

we talk at 3:30 pm.  I explain how it's very likely one or more persons in his organization know me and doesn't like me.  he says he's going to submit my resume anyway.

this morning at  8:06 AM

Hi, I spoke with the team this AM. At this time, they are moving forward with another candidate already in the interview process. I appreciate your time yesterday. Feel free to keep in touch!

 

Sent the following messages at 8:38 AM

I had a feeling.   :-)   Things do change and directors come and go so if there is a changing of the guard, please keep me in mind for future opportunities.

I give the recruiter props for reaching back with the best letdown message he could come up with under the circumstances.  He is lying and knows that I know he is lying.  

I've burned many bridges in my career.  Some of it was my immaturity.  But some of it was also standing up for myself, setting boundaries and not letting people treat me like crap.  

I cannot say who this company is but I did apply with them in 2015 and also got this after a first-round interview:

It was a pleasure speaking with you to discuss your background and interest in HBR Consulting.  We appreciate your time, attentiveness and patience throughout the interview process.  While we were impressed with your qualifications, we are unable to offer you a position at this time.  We will retain your resume on file and should our needs change, we will contact you.

And then a few months later I was hired by a Big Audit and we engaged said company to work on a project.  It doesn't look like lightening will strike twice though.  

Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War

 There's bad stuff going on across The Pond.  For posterities' sake, I'm referring to Russia invading Ukraine and half of America thinking that is okay.  Some of them are relations by blood or marriage.  

https://youtu.be/0vDAubIlYOs?t=12 

Last night (2/24/2022 in case I don't post this quickly) I cried for the first time in a long time.  I'm Polish but what is happening right now mirrors what happened to my grandparents.  

I reached out to a Virtual Friend who is Russian.  She told me the following:

Hi, thank you for your message. I greatly appreciate it. This war is a tragedy for Ukraine, Russia, Europe and the entire world. All Russians I know are of course against it. But nobody asked us. And, of course this war will bring poverty to each and every Russian person and will kill the economy. Hope you are well

 

Update:  it's 3/24/2022 and the invasion continues.  Ukraine has done an outstanding job of holding Russian troops off, but it's still war and people are dying.

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Job History repeats itself

Just wanted to share the not so pleasant news ...My job at Big Audit, along with 400+ other souls, was eliminated.  I got the news June 22 although my last official day was July 5th. 

We knew this might be coming and would have come sooner had COVID-19 not slowed things down a bit.  Like my last job, they outsourced my position to offshore/Not-America. This is just the wave of the future of corporate America.  Same way manufacturing went overseas in the 70s and 80s, other jobs were outsourced in the 90s etc.  Same as it's always been.

I should have been safe because I work with Federal Data that cannot be accessed by 3rd party or non-citizens (or non-employees of KPMG but the got around this by making offshore legit KPMG employees). Whatever your political viewpoint, the Trump Administration relaxing of regulations lead directly to the elimination of my job. 

I'm less mad about that than I am that my Office Nemesis got to keep his job but I lost mine. He made my life a living hell for the last 3+ years and it didn't need to be that way.  Poor leadership enabled him and lack of oversight empowered him. 

Anyway, there is never a good time to lose a job but in the middle of COVID-19 things are moving slower than ever.  Luckily we are good savers and don't spend money too frivolously so we are okay for now.  Hopefully something comes along that is a similar job where I could work from anywhere but this was a unicorn opportunity not likely to be repeated.

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Year Four at Big Audit is in the books

I made it through Year 4 at Big Audit.  All this means is that I get to keep 60% of my vested 401K firm matched contributions.  It's no accident the way they designed the proration.

Years of Vesting Service	Vested Percentage
less than 2	0%
2 but less than 3	20%
3 but less than 4	40%
4 but less than 5	60%
5 or more	100%

Every year on my anniversary, I look at the email that was sent to my "orientation" class.  There were eight of us, including myself.  Only myself and one other person are still here.  Even the HR person who sent the email and presided over the class is gone.

I don't remember the stats for the previous years but I'm certain even after the first year the number diminished.  I know one person changed careers to become a teacher.  She looked like a Carrie Bradshaw clone and had actually led me to the conference room and babysat me during my in-person interview two months before.

To say it has been a rough 4 years is an understatement.  My Office Nemesis and I have been having more and more issues.  It has got so bad that my PML forced his PML to get involved and our director even got involved.  So far it has mostly been Kangaroo Court Retorhic but there has been some improvement so I'll take it.


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