New job!

On September 30th I will be starting a new job and I can't wait. Susan had gotten an internal email about a part time position in the children's hospital that needed to be filled and she forwarded it to me. Now, I have tried to get a job at DUMC several times but never seem to get out of HR. The pediatric social work director is someone I had met before and she taught a few adjunct classes at UNC, so I thought maybe this time I would just try and bypass HR and see where that got me. Susan forwarded her my resume and then I sent a follow up email expressing my interest in the position around mid-August. While on vacation the team lead called for a phone interview. We had to exchange a few messages and when we finally caught up with each other, we were on the beach. So, I just did the interview while the waves crashed behind me! She just said that the department secretary was setting up their schedules for the coming weeks, but didn't say anything that would lead me to believe I would get called in for an interview, so I hung up feeling disappointed and figured that was the end of it. Lo and behold, not long after we got back, they called! 

I went in for the 2nd interview and met with one of the other social workers on the team and the team lead. I loved them. They were fun and easy to talk to and the children's hospital is a really nice place to work. The problem was, we were just back from vacation and Theo had literally been up every hour the night before so I was totally exhausted during the interview. I usually interview pretty well, but I left thinking that was the worst interview I had ever given. Then she mentioned they had 5 other people to interview and then the final candidates would be interviewed by the department director. So, again I left thinking that was that and I would not get the job. 

The day after Labor Day, I was called in for a third and final interview. I was hopeful because she said I was not only meeting with the pediatric social work director, but the social work director for the whole hospital. Susan said that he never gets involved except to discuss salary. She told me later she knew I had the job based on that but didn't want to say it in case something happened. So, I went in for the interview and it went really well. Somehow we got to talking about parenting and she had done so many things like we do them and we laughed about our kids and just had a nice time talking. They offered me the position right then and there! I tried not to look shocked and I'm sure was grinning like a fool. I met with the big boss and we hammered out the salary details and start date, filled out a few forms, got a bunch more handed to me to fill out and I start on the 30th!

So, what's the job? I will be working in the children's hospital in one of the outpatient clinics. My main responsibilities are cardiac, transplant and genetics. I will be doing all kinds of things - counseling families whose kids are in the hospital, helping out with their needs while they are in Durham and making sure they are well connected to resources in their home communities (lots of people come from all over to get treatment at Duke) before they go home. It's two full days a week from 8:30-5 and they are hoping to secure funding to add a third day after the holidays. This is perfect because it means I will be home with Theo for more than half the week and my work days won't interfere with Susan needing to sleep off her weekend of work. Since it's a clinic, they are closed on weekends and holidays! I can also keep taking care of Sydney in the mornings, which is great because we are really, really trying to get out of debt except for my student loans and our mortgage. The salary for my new job is the most I have ever made (well, I mean if my salary was for full time) and I am so, so happy. They were really welcoming and seemed genuinely happy to have me. 

This will be so much better than my current job for a number of reasons. For starters, in my current position I do a lot of driving, phone calls and paperwork that I don't get paid for. I also end up working about half the day every day and never have full days off except on the weekends (I know, cry me a river - but for a part time job, it feels really full time just without the pay). Now, my work days are my work days and my home days are my home days. I will be able to schedule Theo's doctor appointments, play dates, story times, etc. on my days off and not have to worry about rushing around. The other big issue with my current job is that if my clients cancel or just no show, I don't get paid. So, my paycheck was never consistent and many times, fell short. Now I have a good paycheck and it will always be the same. And the final reason is that because of changing definitions at the state level, I was either going to be forced to take ALL therapy cases (which I would have hated) or would have been out of a job in another month. So, this couldn't have come at a better time. It's a good career move and they will take on my LCSW supervision (free!) and fold it into my work day. 

I'm a little sad about having two days a week where I will only see my baby boy in the evenings, but right now I will have 5 days with him full time and that's awesome. I know he and Susan will have a fun time having Mom and Theo days where they can break all my silly rules and wear clothes that don't match. Hopefully they will email me a picture or two during the day to keep me happy. 

So, all in all, it was a red letter day. We are going to make serious financial headway AND continue to keep Theo out of daycare. And yes, we have talked about making the big move to Durham. I think our plan is to take the next 2-3 years to get in super good financial shape so that we can pick out a house we LOVE instead of just one we settle for. So for now, the commute continues. 

And, on the day they take my picture for my badge, I will be sure to wear Carolina blue so no one thinks I have become a Dookie now that they are paying my bills. :)