So my boss told me that he wasn’t going to hold a teaching position for me in the fall. That means I am unemployed again. The obvious issue is the fact that I am 1000 miles away from close family and friends and I just renewed my lease.

Scary, right?

But I’m not scared. I feel great! I feel relieved. I feel happy. Throughout the school year, I lamented on and on about the difficulties I was having with the organization. I complained about the rampant miscommunication between the boss and my colleagues. I criticized the disorganization and turnover rates. I did enough mourning for my discontented state. Now it’s time for me to jump for joy! I’m getting out of that place! Thank God!

For some reason, I am not worried. I did great work there. Though I was dissatisfied, I didn’t let that feeling prevent me from adequately helping my students succeed. Not to toot my own horn but….. I had the best student outcomes in terms of retention and assessment scores in my department. Many of the other teachers commended me about my success but I never heard any constructive feedback from my boss accept when he expressed his disappointment of my career exploration. He finally said that I was a great “asset” and he’ll give me a reference.

Gee, thanks..

Honestly, I’m not a person who craves for praise all of the time. However, I do appreciate professional environments that express value of their employees. I am grateful that he is willing to give me a reference; but I’ll pass. My direct supervisor who is leaving as well had already offered to provide a reference when I told her about my career exploration pursuit.

Truthfully, I’m not surprised with what happened. I had a feeling since August that I wasn’t going to be back for the next school year. I just wasn’t expecting for it to end the way it did. I was honest with my boss about my career exploration and that I couldn’t give a firm commitment four months before fall classes begin so he decided that it would be best not to hold a spot for me. I tried to explain that I wasn’t resigning and that I will give him sufficient time if I get an offer; but he took it as a resignation and announced at a team meeting that I was leaving.

I learned my lesson: never be honest with employers. Haha! I’m being facetious; I’m not that cynical. I had a great communicative relationship with my previous employer. He was supportive of my job search and simply requested that I keep him updated.

If only he could’ve afforded to hire me full-time….

Therefore, I am very optimistic that God will bless me again with a great boss. However, this experience is teaching me to thoroughly assess future job offers; listen closely to my intuition; check in with previous employees about their experiences; look for signs of openness and vulnerability in a prospective boss; and pay close attention to the cleanliness of the organization (I can’t go to another place without a janitor).

It may sound far fetched but I truly believe the next job I get will be a place where I will NOT be afraid of losing my position because I’m considering to advance in my career.

So the journey continues. My last day is June 16th. I have two back to back summer teaching positions in D.C. and California and in the fall, only God knows.

Esther

#unemployment #hope #happy #dontworry

#relief