On to the next thing

** Warning: Long post **

I put in my two-week notice and decided to go with Employer #1.

Where did I leave off? Well, I withheld the news last that Employer #1 gave me an offer last Thursday. I received the offer letter 20 minutes before my scheduled interview with Employer C (Current Employer) for the assistant hospital administrator position. At the time I was very confident with the outcome with Employer C. I had support from my supervisor and the person who held the previous position who were confident I would do well if I got the job. It would have been a leapfrog of a promotion, I would have gone from a position that is a step below a director to someone who is a step above a director. If you called me back to Earth, you’d shake me and say “It’s a major reach! You’re disturbing the pecking order — that’s not how it works!”

I did not sign the offer letter from Employer #1 immediately because I was waiting to hear back from Employer C. But also that same day, I received a summons for jury duty that may affect my mid-April start date with Employer #1 if I end up serving as a juror. And also I had to look for a new daycare. The mid-April start date would have left me with zero days off to properly transition to the next job and find the right daycare. It felt overwhelming. A couple of days ago, I received an e-mail from Employer #1 following up with me because I haven’t signed their offer letter yet. I e-mailed her back about the jury duty situation and that I may need to start at later date to take care of a few things. Later on that day, the hiring manager from Employer #1 called me to tell me they could move my start date at a later date as far as the beginning of June and they’d even see if I qualify for time off for jury duty if I were to serve.

That same morning, I reached out to Employer C to follow up on the status of the selection process. By that time it’s been more than a week since I interviewed so I wanted to know if I was at least a contender. Nine hours later I got a one-sentence reply, “We’re still interviewing for the position.” I also knew the hiring manager was going on vacation the following week so it would be a while and let’s face it, I likely did not get the job. As soon as I got home, I signed the offer letter from Employer #1 and we agree the start date would be a week after the initial proposed date. It would give me a week free to relax and tour a couple daycares on that week off.

Employer #1 was willing to have me start as late as June, could have I let myself wait to see this interview process through with Employer C? No, I don’t want to drag it out if Employer #1 is already interested in having me on their team. Employer #1 has already been more than accomodating with changing my start date and looking to give me jury time off if I end up serving on the jury. Since I do not like the waiting game from Employer C, I should not do that with Employer #1. Plus Employer #1 is half my current commute.

Well, what about daycare?

Oh yes, everyone thinks I’m a bonehead for leaving a job that has on-site daycare. Well, this daycare like every daycare, is not free. I still paid for it. I had a Dependent Spending account that help me pay for daycare. And this next employer also offers a Dependable Spending Account too.

Lana’s daycare is license-exempt because it is on-site, she can only get daycare as long as I am on the premises. The nature of my job requires me to go off-site a few times a month to do outreach, recruiting, and presenting. Due to COVID, we did not have to go out in the field for a long time. But since things are returning back to normal and in-person events are back, I have to think of backup plans on days when I am not going to be in the office. The times I have to out in the field, I would ask my husband if he could work from home for the day or I drive 25 minutes north to drop her off at my parents’ house and drive 40+ minutes in the opposite direction for whatever event. Speaking of which, I have a recruiting event this Monday. Thinking about how early I have to wake up to drive Lana to her grandparents’ is already making me tired.

If there was no COVID would I have gone to a different daycare? I doubt it. I start work late in the day and my commute (and my husband’s too) is far. It was hard looking for daycares that offered later operating hours so we were left with the on-site one. The on-site daycare does close before I leave, but at least I can walk upstairs to pick her up and she hangs out at the office.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Lana’s daycare and I love the people there. She has really thrived and I hope she does well in the next place. Knowing we have to leave this daycare is the hardest part.

A Fresh start

I am bummed out that Employer C is “taking their time” with the selection process. I would have appreciated some feedback rather than just being left to hang. I am an incumbent employee seeking a promotion — not an external applicant. I can’t believe I almost considered declining Employer #1’s offer because I was confident I would get the job. One of my friends reminded me that sometimes selecting someone for a position can get kind of political so I should try not to take it personally if I’m not selected. That did snap me out of the blues, it helped me move on to the next thing.

The decision seemed to have decided itself. I did write a pros and cons list between both employers if I ever ended up with both offers. Both are large prestigious medical centers with the same benefits. In reviewing my list, Employer #1 had more pros: it’s half my commute which allows me more time for hobbies, the work hours were better allowing me to start my workday earlier, and they offered remote work one day per week which could relieve the daycare expenses. Plus there’s an on-site gym :-P. The cons I have is that it is a lateral move rather than a promotion. I know I’m not walking into an entry-level job, but I feel like I am starting my career over again. Anyways on to the next thing, and here’s to a fresh start.

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