Mixed Emotions

That’s how I’m feeling today after the news I received yesterday. It doesn’t have anything to do with my pregnancy – well, actually it does, but not with my health or the health of Little Major.

I’m sure all of you know that I’m LESS than happy with my current employer and job. And before I ever found out I was pregnant, I started looking for other opportunities in my town. Well, I sent my resume to a certain company sometime last summer, but I never really heard anything back from them. I got an email saying, thanks – we’ll contact you if we’re interested, and then I forgot about it.

Well, about 6 weeks ago, I got a call from them. They asked me to come in for a quick interview. That went well, and the next morning, they called and asked me to come back for a 2nd interview. Woo hoo, I thought! Of course, in the back of mind I’m thinking that my pregnancy could complicate things, but I wanted to pursue it anyway.

I ended up having to reschedule the 2nd interview b/c of my quick trip to CA for my grandfather’s funeral. They were very understanding, and I became more and more impressed with the company.

My 2nd interview took up an entire afternoon and included interviewing with about 6 people and taking a tour of the facility. I wore a baggy shirt so it wasn’t so obvious I was pregnant. I felt like all my interviews went really well. I was myself, I was honest about what I like and don’t like in a job, and about what I was looking for in a company. We had a terrible snow that day, so I drove home slowly thinking about what it would be like to work for them.

About 10 days later, I got a call from their HR department. They offered me a job!! Their first offer was decent, but I knew I deserved more. I talked to the lady about all the details that she knew, and then I told her I was pregnant and would need to know what they would offer for maternity benefits. She had to do some checking and get back to me.

When she called me back with what they offered, it was better than what I’m getting here after working here for a year and a half! She even said I’d be eligible for FMLA (which I was insisting on). So, next I counter-offered on a couple things, and she came back the next day with a final offer that I was ok with.

By this time, I’d talked to The Colonel and decided that I would take this opportunity if their written offer letter confirmed everything we’d talked about. It is a much more secure company (for now, anyway), and there are a lot more opportunities for advancement and work diversity there.

All of this takes us up to a week ago. I told the HR gal that if the written offer confirmed everything, then I would accept and start ASAP since I don’t have much time before my due date. I didn’t get the written offer until a couple days ago, because my contact left on a business trip.

Imagine my surprise and disappointment when the letter said I couldn’t use FMLA until I’d been with the company for 12 months. The law says that they can’t prevent me from using is after 12 months, but I was hoping that this company was willing to let me use it earlier. After several phone calls and emails, I was told that NO, I would not be able to use the extra time off. I would only be allowed 6 or 8 weeks off (depending on how I deliver).

So I had to turn the offer down. I’m disappointed because I was SO looking forward to getting out of here. Four people have put in their notice and will be leaving in the next week or so, and I’m intensely jealous that they get to clean out their desks and start over. On the other hand, with my blood pressure scare, and the possibility of still having to deliver this kid early, it’s probably not a bad idea to stay here.

I told the HR gal that I was still VERY interested in their company, and we agreed that I will call her this summer to see if there are still openings for after my leave is over. Let’s hope I didn’t shoot myself in the foot by saying no!