Employment News

Some of you may remember from way back when that I was actually offered a contracting position before the one I am currently working under. At the time, I still wanted to stay home with Luke (he was only 16 months old; dang, that seems like *ages* ago, and I guess it was 16 months ago; Luke has doubled in age since then! sorry, I digress....), and I was only willing to do it if I could work mainly during business off-hours. She initially thought this would work, but it fell through. Six months later, I was offered my current contract, which I accepted, and eventually put Luke in full-time daycare (two weeks before he turned 2), which he loves and is currently thriving in that environment.

As most of you know from recent comments, there was some flux around my current contract. First, it was going to be terminated at the end of June because my current group was going to cease to exist (being split and absorbed into two other groups, and neither were willing to take a contractor). The group split was pushed out to January, thus I would at least be allowed to finish out the terms of my contract through the end of August. Last month, I mentioned that I may not have to go job hunting. Well, the possible full-time actual employee position fell through, but they found out in the process that my contract is technically funded in the budget through December 31, even though it is slated to end in August. So, they decided they would move forward on at least extending my contract through December. Hey, four months of additional income (right before the holidays especially) isn't a bad thing, and it buys me some more job hunting time.

Enter Wednesday's email. Same former boss who tried to hire me ages ago that fell through is seeking another headcount. I call and ask about timeframe. I told her that I did feel obligated to work to the end of my contract in August, but also said they were working on extending it through December, so if she couldn't wait that long, I needed to have them halt the contract extension procedure. She said she can't wait until December, but could wait until August if it meant she could have me (aww, I feel so loved!). I talked with my current boss and explained the situation. Current job is offering me 4 additional months of additional employment beyond August. Possible new job is offering me 12 (albeit for a bit less money, but less money for 12 months is better than somewhat-more money for 4 months), and the fact that it is a growing sector of the business (she's added two headcount in two years while current business unit is not backfilling any positions) means that a contract renewal a year from now is fairly likely. Plus, it will give me some official project management experience, which is something new (and highly desired by many employers) for my resume. Unless she (current boss) can assure me a contract renewal after December, or a full time position, I think I would be a fool not to take the offer. And my current boss completely understands. In fact, she agreed with me that it would be ridiculous for me to turn it down if she can't guarantee me a new contract come January, which we both agreed was unlikely. She did make some calls and ask around just to be sure, but upper management said that adding anything headcount-related to the 2008 budget (i.e. a new contract for me) is "highly improbable."

So, it's not officially official yet (I had to leave my hopefully soon-to-be (again) boss a message late Thursday, haven't heard back yet), but it seems I have managed to find new employment, at least through the end of August 2008. Yay!

Currently feeling: hopeful, and amazed at my continued employment good fortune (and hoping I didn't just jinx myself)