Maybe for the past year or so, my boss has been constantly reminding me to take the Staff Programmer Analyst (Staff PA) test, to get a high enough score to be “reachable” (which means to be in the top 3 scoring ranks). I first took the test last April, but only got an 85%, which was rank 5. I had to wait 6 months to retake the test. I was eligible to retake in October, and ever since, my boss would constantly ask if I had re-taken it. I don’t know why, but I had always just pushed it back, thinking it’s not really that important and that I could just do it later. And the more he told me to take it, the more I didn’t want to do it. (I’m like that with other things, like every time anyone said that Avatar is the greatest movie ever and that I HAVE to go see it, it made me not want to watch it that much more. Same thing with Pitch Perfect). And plus, I was still getting job notices in the mail for Staff PA openings, and have been regularly applying, so I thought my current score was good enough.
Wednesday morning, my boss comes into my cube, again asking if I’m on the Staff PA list. I tell him yes, but only rank 5 cause I haven’t retaken the test yet. He insisted that I retake it immediately because there is going to be a Staff PA opening in our department very soon. So I finally cave and retake the test. I got a 95% this time, so now I’m rank 3, which is “reachable”, and I don’t have to worry about the test for at least another year (score is only good for 1 year).
A couple hours later, I got a call from the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). Two weeks prior, I had received a job notice in the mail for a Staff PA position there, so I sent in an application. I receive a bunch of notices for various state openings, and I apply to most of them, but I never get a reply, so this phone call was a pleasant surprise. I set up an interview for next week. And their building is nearby, about 5 blocks away (I’m on 5th & O, they’re on 9th & P).
So I go and tell my boss about my interview and he has a worried look on his face. He says “they’re going to like you”, as if it was bad thing. I ask him how soon that opening he mentioned earlier was going to be available, and he said 2 weeks. Apparently there is a guy retiring in 2 weeks, so his position, a Staff PA, would be open. Right before I leave his office, he asks “So you really want out of here, huh?” and I respond, “No, not really, I just want the promotion.” I guess he immediately went and told his boss about my interview, because soon after, his boss comes into my cube with a concerned look on her face. She said this opening “has my name written all over it”, so then I ask if I should cancel my interview, and she said “I can’t promise you anything” because the position has to be advertised to everyone and they still have to go through the normal screening & interview process.
I guess it’s just really bad timing (for my boss), but great for me. It feels good to be wanted. I’m still going forward with the interview with DDS. I don’t have a history of good interviews, so you never know. A new challenge and/or a change of scenery would be very nice, but there are some interesting projects coming up at my current job, so I’ll just have to wait and see how this all plays out. I’m pretty sure it’ll all work out, one way or another. It almost always does.
