About the same time the gears were grinding with the possible job at the architectural office, I was called back by a recruiter who'd sent me to the interview at a certain health insurance company shortly after all this started back at the first of July. It was for a relatively brain dead imaging and deployment job, but I thought I did fairly well in the interview. Of course nothing came of it, because—as I'm learning—age discrimination in the I.T. workforce is a very real thing.
Said recruiter told me that the health insurance company had decided they needed an additional body for the next six months and had asked if I was still available. Hey, second choice is better than none, right? But I put them on hold for a couple days, hoping the architectural gig would come through.
I called the recruiter back before I'd heard definitely anything one way or another on that job just to give her a heads up that I was interested if the other gig fell though.
Long story short, the IT Director wanted a "quick chat" with me (even though I'd spoken at length with him two months ago). I found this a little odd, but I spoke with him last week and he asked if I'd be willing to come into the office for another in person interview.
I said I wouldn't mind, figuring it was just going to be a chance to meet him face to face (he's based in the Louisville office) before being offered the job. After all they called me, not the other way around.
Well, I went in to the office today and learned it wasn't just a routine meet-and-greet. It was a whole other interview with him and the other member of the Phoenix team who'd been out the day I initially went in. THEY'RE STILL SHOPPING. His parting words were, "Great to finally meet you. I have three more in-persons to complete and I'll let your recruiter know our decision Monday afternoon."
I'm just DONE at this point. I won't say I'm giving up because I can't, but I am definitely stepping away from this madness for a few days. I've already started automatically deleting any and all emails coming in from off-shore recruiters because nothing has ever come from a single one of those contacts.
To this leave this post on a little more positive note, I'm getting some business cards printed. My friend Cindy convinced me that I need to start marketing my skills on a freelance basis. She said all the old folks out on her side of town would appreciate finding someone who actually knows their shit and would more readily trust someone referred by a friend to come into their homes and work on their computers than someone they might've found online.
So maybe I'll end up self-employed? It's not like I'd be losing any employer-paid benefits at this point anyway…