A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Finally, I can breathe a sigh of relief. I've been unemployed since the middle of January. Some of that was by choice, some of it was out of my control. I intend to unpack the details in this post.

So I've been unemployed for a while now. Eight months without any money coming in. I was laid off from my job on a Friday the 13th (no shit). I say "laid off" because it sounds better than saying fired, but let's face facts; I was fired. All because of a shitty manager whose games I was tired of playing. I know. I sound bitter, but in this case, I think I deserve to be bitter.

This manager was a micro-manager who made it a policy to submit PTO requests via email, although he never came right out and told my team this. He would either approve or disapprove these requests citing his reasons for denial, I guess. I didn't even get that much. I put my PTO days on a shared calendar and stopped by his office to let him about it. This was when he informed me of his policy (he was relatively new to our team, but had been with our company a looong time). He told me to remove the days from the calendar and send him the dates via email. So, that's what I did.

Days went by and my PTO was approaching. By the way, the days I requested were for the end of the year, between Christmas and New Year's Day. It was company policy that if you didn't use your accrued PTO, you lost them. Fearing I would miss taking vacation or losing the days, I added them back to the calendar and took them off. The rest of my team (who were also taking days) was aware I was taking vacation. It's not like I sprang it on anyone.

I received a voicemail several days into my vacation. My asshole boss was calling to ask who had approved my time off and requested I return his call. Yeah, right! This was my time. I had no intention of ruining it by dealing with this peckerhead. So, I continued to chill until it was time to return to the salt mines. I would deal with him then.

When I returned, I knew it was just a matter of time before I was summoned to the bosses lair office. He sat me down and asked why I had done what I did. I explained that I was afraid of losing the days owed to me. When he failed to respond, I took the initiative and posted my days to the calendar and took them off. He said he was afraid we wouldn't have "coverage" during that period (to which I call BS because A) we had a developer who would be available, and B) all of our clients were on vacation until after the New Year), and that if the roles were reversed and he hadn't heard from his manager, he said he would've reached out to inquire. Well, good for him. Unfortunately, I'm not him and I could smell bullshit. It was clear this was a psychological tactic to screw employees out of vacation in favor of getting more work out of them. Or maybe it was just another way this asshole liked to throw his weight around to intimidate us. I'm still not sure of his exact intentions to this day, but I know he's a complete asshole and I'm glad I don't answer to him anymore.

I wasn't immediately fired. No. Instead, he chose to toy with me for a while. Although I could sense the tension in the air, the blood in the water. We had several one-on-one meetings over the course of several days to discuss my feelings, my performance, and other such topics. When the 13th rolled around, I thought maybe I'd emerged unscathed, with my job intact. I was wrong. As I got to his door, the ogre stood up from his desk and said to follow him. I knew it was a bad omen and expressed my dread. He escorted me to HR and had the nerve to say that this was "hard for him to do". Whatever. He was a liar right up to the end.

Luckily, I had plenty of money stashed away so that I knew I'd be okay. Also, shortly afterward, my wife accepted a job opportunity out of state. We wouldn't move for nearly 6 months, however. At first, I thought about waiting to find a job until we were settled into the new place. But, I also wanted to find something short term so I wouldn't have to eat into my savings.

I applied to jobs, went to interviews, and faced rejection after rejection. It was depressing, but at the same time, I wasn't too concerned because I knew if I landed anything, it would be short lived anyway. So, I coasted and enjoyed my down time.

Fast forward to mid-June. We just arrived in our apartment in a new state. My wife begins her new job. Meanwhile, I'm at home sending out resumes, taking phone interviews, meeting recruiters and potential employers. I'm running the gauntlet. Dressing up to meet these people. I wear my smile, shake hands, say "please" and "thank you" and try to sell myself. Rejections start coming in, but I wake up and do it all again. I take development tests and even write some small programs to prove I can do the work. The employers seem to want the sun and moon, but are hesitant about paying close to what I was making in my last state.

This goes on for nearly 2 and 1/2 months. I'm becoming tight-fisted with my savings, trying not to let it get too low. My cash savings are dwindling, nearly down to $500. I know I can tap into my brokerage account if need be, but don't want to do that. I'm beginning to question myself, my worth as a developer. I'm growing depressed, demoralized. But I persevere. I go to interview after interview. Finally, I apply to a job posting that isn't through a recruiting firm. I have a phone interview. I'm doubtful about my answers and think I've blown it. I won't hear from this company again. It's becoming par for the course.

Then I get a call from their HR person. He says he heard positive feedback about the phone interview and they'd like to have me in. I go, wearing new business casual attire I bought to quell my depressed spirit. I go through a series of interviews with various team members and managers. I'm given a sheet of paper by the lead developer with one question on the front and one on the back (each one addresses a different technology). With sweaty palms I fill in my answers. I give the sheet to a manager when we're done talking. He's smiling, shakes my hand, and shows me the door. I don't know what to think. It was hard to gauge their opinions of me.

I go get in my car, breathe a sigh of relief that that's over with, drive home and gear up for the next interview with another company. It's in a week.

On the morning of the next interview, I'm dressed up and pacing, a bundle of raw nerves. I receive a call from the HR guy at the company I interviewed with previously. He said they wanted to extend an offer and told me the salary (more than I asked for!!) and asked if I was still interested.

HELL YES! was what I thought. I told him sure. He said they would send me some emails that I needed to respond to and an offer letter was on its way. I was over the freaking moon!

I was preparing myself for this next interview. Butterflies swirled in my stomach at the dreaded anticipation of doing yet another song and dance hoping they would invite me to play on their team. But, I didn't have to do it. I just accepted an offer. So, I called the recruiter to cancel. She talked me into going, saying what did I have to lose. Besides, she added, it might be a better opportunity than what I just accepted (even though I highly doubted it).

So, I went. The pangs of doubt were still with me despite already receiving an offer. Again, I met with manager after manager before sitting before a panel of several developers who grilled me with questions. One of the recurring things I heard while meeting with these people were how "fast-paced" the environment was and several of them asked if I was okay with a lot of processes and if I minded working amid chaos. These were huge red flags, so I wasn't disappointed in the least when the recruiter said they decided to go with someone else. My sympathies for whoever that is!

That brings us to the title of this post. After so long without a job, moving to a new state, and letting my skills get rusty, I finally landed a job! I start in less than 2 weeks. I'm slightly nervous to be the low man on the totem pole again where I've got to learn a new system, new processes for doing things, etc. But, I'm grateful because this company saw something in me. Not once did I get the feeling they viewed me as just another cog in their machine. Also, they offered me more than I asked for. I've heard from several sources who've said this area doesn't pay the same salaries as I was used to back in my home state. That was disappointing news and I think it might've played into why I was rejected on some occasions. Regardless, this company chose to pay me more despite me telling them my base requirement several times, which is a new experience for me. Hopefully, it bodes well for how the company treats its employees.

I will finally have money flowing in again. I've got an opportunity to get back into accumulation mode on the way to my goal of financial freedom. I know I'm going to do my best for them. Hopefully, I will be there for a long, long time. It would be nice if this was the last company I work for...EVER.