Usaporkchops

I have been trying to catch up all my penpals on my life since I was fired I figured I would copypasta some content from a letter to get you updated:

           I was fired on April 1.  My human resources representative called me the Friday before and left a voicemail.  I called her back the next Monday afternoon, and she told me they decided to let me go.

          I had been expecting the news for over a week at that point.  So, I had thought out my next moves.  The first thing I did was tell my parents.  They reacted calmly at first.  I wasn't expecting that.  I thought they would be upset.  It wasn't until days later that my mom started to worry about how I was going to be able to pay my bills and my dad yelled at me for my outbursts of anger and the lack of urgency in my job search.

          Then I called my creditors – credit cards.  They all said that since I was current for the month there was nothing more they could do for me.  They advised me to call back next month if I had problems making minimum payments.

          That night I posted my resume on Monster.com.  I got calls from recruiters the next day.  I responded to all their messages.  I also posted my resume on Indeed.com.  I get calls from recruiters almost every day.  I have also done a lot of applying to jobs on my own.

          I had three interviews so far.  The first was with the University of Rochester Medical Center help desk.  I thought the interview went well but I couldn't answer some of their technical questions.  I got feedback after the interview.  I was a finalist but since I couldn't answer all the technical questions, they went with someone else.  The second interview was with Regional Primary Care Network.  The interview was scheduled at 12:30 PM.  They didn't see me until 12:50 PM.  The interview ended up lasting only 10 minutes, but I thought it went well.  I didn't hear anything for a week, so I called my recruiter.  He told me they went with someone else.  The third interview was a phone interview with Excellus/Blue Cross Blue Shield, a local health insurance company.  They are implementing Duo dual authentication software and wanted a technician on a two-month contract to support users in the transition to the new system.  I have previous experience with Duo.  At the end of the interview they told me that they would decide that day.  The next day I heard nothing back, so I e-mailed my recruiter that evening.  He called me back the next day to tell me they went with someone else.  She had more Duo experience than me.

          I applied for health insurance through New York State of Health, New York's Obamacare exchange.  I qualified for Medicaid.  I also applied for unemployment insurance.  That got approved and at the end of April I got my first payment of $273.00. I get paid every week on Tuesday.  I also tried to apply for temporary assistance like food stamps and rent assistance.  I was denied because I have too much in financial resources.  They included my retirement accounts – my 401(k) and my Roth IRA.  I talked to a financial adviser and we decided to keep the money in those accounts for now.

          I got four weeks’ severance pay.  I wanted to go over the severance agreement with a lawyer, but the lawyers want their legal fees up front.  I thought I would have enough to pay them when I got my final paycheck on April 15.  On April 15 I was only paid $50.  I emailed payroll to find out why.  I was paid for late March on March 29.  On April 15 I was only paid for the last day I worked, April 1.  I go no vacation sell back because I was on vacation in late March.  I signed the severance agreement on April 15 without consulting a lawyer.  I got my severance package of just over $1500 on April 30.

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Well, since I wrote this:

    I had a fourth interview.  It was a phone interview with NextGen Healthcare System.  It was long -- 45 minutes, with a lot of technical and non-technical questions.  I had to explain how I lost my last job.  The position would be hands on along with phone support, and I don't have much hands on experience.  They told me the next step in the interview would be coming in the office for an interview via their video conferencing system.  The hiring manager is not located in Rochester.

    However, I also got a call back about the position at Excellus/Blue Cross Blue Shield.  The person they originally extended the offer to fell through for some reason, so they decided to extend the offer to me.  I said yes, I am still interested.  Friday I filled out an application form and submitted my references.  I also signed a release for a background check.  I have to do a drug test today.  If it all goes through I could start Tuesday, May 28.  The contract would only last until early July, but still, that's five weeks of work full time at $20/hour.  So, if things go well, I would have a job for at least a while, and maybe longer if they want to hire me on full time somewhere else.

Joel