It's finally over.
Friday was my final day with the US Postal Service.
Honestly, it's been a long time coming and it was finally the right time to move forward to the next stage.
Last May, I was officially given a Reduction In Force (RIF) letter as a result of USPS's reorganization. I was officially removed from my position and needed to find another job placement by October 8th or else I would be terminated from USPS. They provided 3 hiring waves with hundreds of jobs to apply for in order to assist with placement. With that, I knew that this presented me with an opportunity.
Escaping USPS was always the ultimate motivation with everything I did whether it was hosting events, creating podcasts, making videos, streaming games, investing in memes (lol), or selling on Amazon. Luckily, a few of those things stuck and I was waiting for the right time to make my exit.
My Amazon business was only a mini side hustle when I started around 2013 or so. I had been selling on eBay since I was a teenager and always found opportunities to make a few dollars here and there. Within the last 8 years, my business grew exponentially to the point where I needed to take 3 months off last year to handle the rush of the holidays. During that period, I realized that I had something special. I had full confidence that I could run my business full-time and, at the same time, financially support me and Lynnsey if anything were to happen OR... if an opportunity arose.
So, after receiving the RIF notice, I made a vow to myself that I would not settle for any position that I felt I would not enjoy. For once, I felt like I had another option.
When the time came, out of the numerous positions available, I only applied for 1 position within the 3 hiring waves, Purchasing Analyst. This job was available within all 3 hiring waves at different locations. In the first 2 waves, I was not even considered for an interview. But in the 3rd wave, I got my interview, which in my honest opinion, I totally bombed (lol).
Within that interview, they asked me why I wanted the job. I said I wanted a job that I would enjoy. And I continued, most likely ruining my chances but coming to a realization, stating that in the life of my career, no matter what position I've obtained, I always became that go-to person to fill in the work gaps to complete tasks that others could not, because not to toot my own horn or anything, I am dependable, tenacious, poignant and punctual. These qualities, mixed with my drive to not let others down, puts me in a box that continually leads me to being overworked and frustrated to the point where I want to move to another position. I told the interviewer all that. Soooo yeah, that's why I want this job... LOL. (whoops) But again, it was a realization, is there actually a job in this company that I would be happy with?
I've been told by countless co-workers that there are so many different types of jobs within USPS that I'm sure to find something that fits what I would like to do. And after almost 20 years, I hadn't found ANYTHING that made me feel like I belong.
During all this, I was actually working in a temporary position as a lead producer for internal training videos. When I first started in USPS, I actually wanted to find a position working with creating videos. So here I was, doing that exact thing. Yay, right? I was happy with what I did, until... I wasn't. I found myself frustrated with THE. SAME. STUFF. I was filling in gaps where if I could not get the information I needed, I would figure it out myself in order to ensure the video content was correct. I would be placed in situations where I'd be surprised with more work because everyone knows that JOSHUA CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN. I couldn't believe it. Here it is again. I guess it wasn't a job issue. It's a me issue.
I tend to always work harder and faster to ensure I meet that deadline or make sure that everything is done correctly the first time. If it happens, I get relieved and it's a nice short break before it happens all over again. If I don't make the deadline or mess something up, I'm pretty hard on myself.
Anywho, as time was getting closer to the RIF deadline, I encountered a situation in my job where my boss was off for the week. For the first time, I was leading the weekly meeting. I was "in-charge" that week. And that week... was the best week I had in a LONG TIME. The reason being, I felt like I was in control of everything going on. THAT'S IT.
What I truly wanted was MORE CONTROL. (duhh, right?)
I also wanted to be free of feeling like I couldn't leave USPS because the money is too good, or the benefits are too good, or I'm so good at what I do that it'd be a waste of my skills, or everything I've worked for in regards to retirement and my future would be thrown out the window. All those things kept me from making the jump as I tend to play circus clown by juggling a bunch of Plan Bs while Plan A is in action.
So, I'm waiting for any sort of notice to let me know if I got the job or didn't get the job I applied for. If I get offered the job, I knew that I would need to decide quickly. If I didn't get it, I would be out the door on October 8th and potentially get severance pay as a result... ya know, since I'm being involuntarily removed. Wait, would I get a severance?
On Twitter, I mentioned a bit of a chess game I was in the middle of. I knew that I would get severance pay as long as the following conditions didn't occur:
- I get offered a job in writing
- the job offered was in my local commuting area
- the job was the same pay level as the job I was removed from.
The HR manager was keeping in touch with me to see how my placement attempts were going. There was a time where we spoke on the phone and she stated that there were supervisor positions and a workplace planning position available if I was interested. I told her that I was not interested and that I would likely leave USPS if I did not get the position I applied for. That was about 2 weeks ago.
Last Tuesday, she sent me an e-mail stating that she wanted to follow-up and reminded me that I specifically told her that I was not interested in the positions that she offered to me in my local commuting area. At that moment in reading, I felt that the whole point of this e-mail was to say "here is the offer you turned down IN WRITING". I replied back to make it clear that I was not interested, but if they were being OFFERED to me, I would reconsider. I specifically asked if she was offering me any position. She replied back not really giving a yes or no, but stating that the supervisor jobs were available and I was qualified to be placed in them. She asked if I was interested in a specific one. I again replied stating my lack of interest but would reconsider if offered to me. I'm hoping this was good enough to ensure that I qualify for severance. This is currently ongoing. (Edit: I received the severance!)
So, final week of work. Counting down the days. Still waiting to know if I got the position. Let's break down the timeline here. I applied for the job on 9/8. I was told that management was encouraged to make a decision by 9/17. My interview was set on 9/21. Yes, that's right, interview was after their deadline to choose someone. At this point, it had been 2 weeks since my interview. The lack of closure is killing me.
I say screw it and send an e-mail to the interviewer thanking him for giving me the opportunity and ask if a decision has been made for the position. I did not receive a reply, but within an hour, I received an automated e-mail response where the subject line stated "Non-Suggested", which meant I was not getting the job.
*sigh* FINALLY.
Now I knew for sure that it was a done deal. I was on my way out! That is, until I receive a call on the day before my final day. It was my old boss saying that headquarters was trying to get in touch with me to offer me a job. Sooo, I get in touch with someone by phone who proceeds to offer me a position in Tort Claims that I have complete zero interest in. It's funny because this Tort Claims job that they offered me was one of the jobs they removed at the same time my job was removed. I know the person that had this job and she was given a RIF letter and forced to apply for other positions, like me. (hmm) I chuckle and say yeah totally don't want that. This person says that they will call me back to see if there was anything else to offer. By the way, this offer was VERBAL so it shouldn't affect my potential severance.
The final day comes. I'm waiting for a call. I start the process of deleting years of e-mails and files that I've saved just in case problems arose. I didn't even care to pass this information to anyone, because there was no one to pass it to. I felt no obligation to help anymore. The burden was finally being released. I never did receive a call. 5:00pm came and I knew that was it.
Yesterday, I gathered all of my work belongings and went to the HR office to drop off all my things. I hadn't seen my co-workers in months as I've been working from home since March. I was truly excited for this moment, and they could all see it.
As I was going through the process of checking all of my things in, there were numerous reminders of what I was happy to leave behind. Example - The lady checking my stuff in didn't know what to do with my Purchase Credit Card and went down the hall to talk to a person in Finance. No one was there. She decided to contact her by e-mail until she realized their 'out of office' message was up. I told her that she could deactivate my card by going to eAccess website. We tried that, but I was already removed from the eAccess system (yay!). She tried calling a former Finance employee and they didn't pickup. I suggested a person that worked in another District. She called them and they picked up, but told her to contact the PSSC, which was a Help Desk. She received an e-mail with the Help Desk Live Chat information. She went through Live Chat and they told her to go through the eAccess system (lol).
This is what I call 'the circle'. Throughout my career, this was VERY COMMON. In trying to find a solution to a problem by contacting people, X tells you to contact Y, Y tells you to contact Z, and Z says that they always got it fixed by contacting X. And how do I end up fixing it? By researching MYSELF, learning the answer MYSELF, and as a result, I have unintentionally designated MYSELF as the expert for that problem. Congrats me.
I am thrilled to be moving away from a system that tends to push problems down the line until it either magically gets fixed or it just never gets resolved until the next audit, and then SURPRISE, it's important again.
Finally, as I'm being walked out the door, having released every USPS-branded item from me, I run into one of my old co-workers. This co-worker just so happens to be the person who was removed from the Tort Claims position! When I told her that they tried to offer that position for me, the look she gave me in the moment was one of frustration. Almost felt like I probably shouldn't have brought it up, but she went to explain that even though she was removed from the job, they didn't have a plan of what to do with those duties. So they told her to keep doing the job, even after securing another position with HR. As she continues to do the job, HR is pissed that she's not doing her HR position. Then she hears that they are offering the Tort Claim position to other people. Why don't they just offer the job back to her? She is livid, and I don't blame her. Do you know how pissed off I would be if I took the job offer, only to be trained by the person who was removed from the job, because they planned on doing away with the job? WTF.
Did I say how I happy I was to be out of this hell hole?
I don't even know how to conclude here. After almost 20 years of being there, I really want to say that it's bittersweet. I want to be able to say all the good things that this organization provided me. I want to be the better person and be thankful of all the opportunities I was given while I was here. I want to say that I will miss being there.
But the truth is, I don't.
Before I left, I put an 'out of office' message for my e-mails, which stated: "I am out of the office until further notice." I didn't leave any signs of goodbyes, except to a select few. Sooner or later, they will figure it out. One thing I'm happy to have learned in my time there is that I am not a necessity. The gears will still find some way to turn. Even without me, they will eventually figure it out one way or another.