Exact same timings as mine, except i think I got 5 extra minutes with Boss 1:1 and she got 5 extra minutes with the committee (probably because i asked less questions to the committee). I didn’t feel intimidated by the vibes I felt whenever they passed my desk, it didn’t seem like they were trying to “wine and dine” as much in terms of effusive warmth, and I didn’t feel that from her either. But, I am not sure why they would delay a decision or what they are waiting on to make a decision. My brain says they may have offered her the job, or are planning to, and not telling me until she accepts/rejects. But, there may be other things outstanding. They discussed as a committee together for about an hour after the other candidate left. There are no other things added to the calendar for them, and really no opportunity for them to meet for another week at least (vacations, conferences, etc). —> I think they’ve made a decision or are mostly there. So now i just wait and continue applying to other places. DH is no longer sure he wants me to take the position even if offered; he thinks i should prioritize another place now that he realizes we don’t need to stay around here. But, title wise and pay wise this would be hard to turn down, so he isn’t pushing it, just letting me know he’s ok either way.

Sorry sorry! I came home last night, told DH about the interview, told him I needed to do some work (ie, post here, lol), and sat down on the couch with the laptop. I fell asleep before I opened up a web browser, LOL. I hadn't realized how much energy the day took out of me!

So to recap the interview and thoughts on it: Started with a half hour skills test. It was making up a particular document for the public (typically made by Boss), I hadn't done it before, but I've dealt with enough of them that I was able to put it together pretty well. I was given a copy of mine after, and I compared to what we've done in the past, it's near a 100% match. So I think I did well on that. The committee interview (45 mins) went really well. They still opened with the "nice to meet you in person" handshakes when I came in, and I was reminded by HR before I walked in that I would be treated "like any other candidate." So mostly went along with that. Answered all of the questions well (it helps I know their personalities...), all answers were confident and I didn't flub anything. The only one I didn't feel great about was the first question, asking me based on the description of the job what I thought would be the most challenging part of the job for me; I didn't have the posting in front of me, so I said that from my memory, I was most unsure about what would be expected in helping the boss with "the overall direction of the department" and that I had intended to ask them more about that when I could. HR at one point did ask me to keep my answers shorter, which was easy enough to do. I spoke a bit faster but I think it sounded more in control and to the point so it helped overall. They asked about time management, large projects I've handled in the past, mistakes made and how I've handled them, and a few other questions (10 in all). The last question was "What strengths do you think you would bring to this role to make you successful?" (mostly word for word there). I said that to answer this one I'd have to break down the Chinese wall or whatever they wanted to call it, and talk about how I do know them and the department already. I got a crash course in the entire organization's personnel, developed relationships with the directors, know who we work with outside the organization, the culture, the workload and so much else that simply couldn't be learned so quickly in any other way. It would be invaluable to help the department overall especially if the goals the Boss mentioned earlier in the interview were going to be something I directly worked on. Felt I did really well on that in particular. For my own questions part, I asked if the department would be changing directions as alluded to in the posting, or if this was more of an "onward and upward" type of direction where it wasn't changing as much as getting better at what it does. Boss outlined some changes he wanted to see in the department's responsibilities, so that was interesting to see; all indications at the boots level says we should be handling less since we are (assumedly) moving from a 4-person to 3-person department, but his answer makes it seems we would actually be taking on more work -- hopefully his plans include more automation. I also asked what skills or qualities they were prioritizing in an ideal candidate. Boss started and said he was looking for someone who could step into his place during his absence and who would be comfortable working with him closely to restructure the department and wouldn't be afraid to speak up with ideas and opinions through that process. 2nd person on the panel (kind of Second Big Boss?), after a bit of stuttering, laughed and said they were looking to keep Boss happy, that they wanted someone who could help him manage the department, but what matters is he's happy with the choice. 3rd person (HR) said "ditto." Throughout the vibe was very positive. After the first couple questions everyone was relaxed and very open to the interview and discussion, I was very happy with the atmosphere and interaction. After the committee interview it was moved to a 1:1 interview with just Boss (35 min). He gave me an overview of the department from his perspective (mostly already known info) and then talked more in depth about what projects would become immediate responsibilities of the Second. I asked for more in depth understanding of the changes/directions he's looking to implement and the timeline. I asked him what he thought the most challenging part of the job would be: he though that the volume of work would be the hardest part of it, but that I already know how the workload fluctuates. I replied yes, sometimes it's a fire hose, and you have to be thirsty. He laughed and said exactly and that he wasn't concerned about my ability to handle it as much as it would be the biggest challenge. Our time was up and HR took me out to the lobby and thanked me for my time. The other candidate was sitting there so I was let go kind of abruptly, I didn't really have a chance to say much, without being rude about it. I was not given any indication of when to hear back from them or next steps. I'm assuming that was last-round interview based off previous experience. I'm wondering if I was treated the same as the other candidate in this regard, with being given information. [For comparison: when first hired, during the in person interview I was told I'd hear back within the week, got a phone call asking for references before I walked all the way to my car in the lot, and got a call 2 hours later with the offer.] On a funny note, my Apple Watch gave me a notification about 10 minutes into the skills test that my heart rate was elevated without activity, I'm still new to the watch and thought it was a fun little addition to the day. Today (day after the interview), nothing has been said about it. I feel great about the interview but the longer it's being drawn out the less I see my chances. Starting to make plans about The Conversation when I'm told I don't get it, lol. But I still have hope and I'm staying positive and cheerful in the office, playing the game of nothing's different. I've started applying to other places. We had the realization that this job is the only thing tying us to the area, so I'm expanding my area for searching and looking at remote also.

Nailed it. If I don’t get it, the other person walks on water or I was never actually being considered in the first place. Will update with more details after work.

Yeah... they have done at least 5 internal transfers/promotions since I've been here, that I've seen pretty up close. None have been like this. 4/5 didn't have any tangible interview process (like where it's posted, or even where a conference room is booked for discussion). It's leading me to think that they are more interested in bringing in from the outside. Or, at least, it feels like HR would prefer this, since they are the drivers of the process. And yeah, the fact that I'm already inside and know so much is a definite strong advantage and I don't like it's just being pretended out of the interview process. It's definitely going to be one of my key talking points during the upcoming interview. IDK about handing in resignation immediately. I mean, I'd want to, lol, and DH is beyond angry on my behalf so he'd say yes if I asked his opinion, but financially idk if I want to put us in that position. OTOH, I don't think I can stomach being there when a new person comes in and then being introduced to them as the Front Desk. That might be enough to make me quit on the spot, so maybe I'll have to end it more professionally before it gets to that point. I'll still act like I expect the job and focus on the positives that point that way. I know I'm the best candidate for the job. And less than a week before we know how this ends now, so that's good.

In summary, it could have gone better. There were a total of 3 candidates interviewed separately, me included. It was a bit awkward pretending not to know everyone on the committee when I see them every day. They all introduced themselves and their job, etc. I did the same. What was supposed to be 20 minutes only ended up being 10. I had one lame question for the "do you have any questions for us" part because all the questions I'd usually ask about culture, environment, size of department, etc., I already know. They did ask my favorite part of my current position and I jokingly said "my boss" which got a good laugh and then gave a more serious answer. They asked my least favorite part, and I didn't do a politique answer, was blunt about it (front desk phones). Maybe not the best option but its no surprise to at least 2/3 of them and really any other answer Boss would know I'm lying. Weird, to me and to everyone at work I've discussed this with, I had to clock out and drive home to do the video interview. While they did the interviews from the conference room connected to my desk. I get being treated the same, but I had hoped/thought me using a different conference room or an empty office would be an option. Nope. It threw off the rest of my day, rushing home for this then rushing back. This morning: I did get a call back, they invited me to an in person interview next Tuesday 1pm, 1.5 hour interview. I am not the only candidate being interviewed that day, there are 2 of us this round. They said they "reserved me the 1pm slot" which to me means they gave the other person the option of time. Which, I get, I'm the most flexible since I'm right there and scheduled to be there all day, but bleh. So I'm still in the game, but I'm concerned about this. I'll be at my desk when the other candidate goes past at least once, if not twice, so I'll get a vibe check immediately after my own interview. My Boss initially asked if I wanted the rest of the day off after the long interview, but as we discussed options we both realized there's no one to cover my desk (the dept we are borrowing someone from during my actual interview has made a couple comments about "willing to help for an hour or two..."). eta: starting to look to send out resumes.

Small update: they set up a short video interview with me for Tuesday afternoon. The HR person who called [my cellphone while I was at my desk] said I was being treated like every other applicant. So prayers, well wishes, good vibrations, etc., that you're able to send me on Tuesday would be appreciated. I know there is at least 1 other applicant getting a video interview (maybe 1 more, too). If it goes well, next step would be an in-person interview the following week. While the in-person is hours long, the 20-minute video interview is biggest determiner of my success. Logically, just knowing how the office works, if I'm not the only person offered an in-person interview, I probably didn't get the job. Always a possibility it still goes my way, but the chances get decimated. If they see another applicant in-person, I'll be pushing my application out in earnest, even before the official decision comes out.

Performance review went really, really well. No issues, no negatives, nothing brought up in person that wasn't on the draft version, except more positives. 6 Month Goal Conversation: we need to have 3 goals written down for the eval. He specifically said to keep the goals flexible enough that they would apply "no matter what position you're in" and to make sure they were not front-desk specific. (eg. we had a discussion about one of the goals could be "finalizing front desk procedures and tools..." that I've been doing to streamline my work and make the front work well -- no one up front before me had any training/experience for reception or an assistant, so there's a lot of issues -- but I was frank I didn't want to pigeon-hole me or to make it seem like my goals included being up front in any capacity, and he completely agreed with the assessment.) One of the goals is to directly take on a Second Boss duty. Raise: got the maximum allowed. He explained it will go into effect mid-August, and "it may not even matter by then" (ie, I could have the new position by the time it hits the books). He was careful not to say that I definitely have the job, no promises and nothing direct, but at least I'm not out of the running at the gate and he does seem to be giving careful consideration to how we'll be splitting duties if I get Secondary. We had calendar conversations of some events coming up in August-September-October, and when I asked if we handled XYZ Event, he said "Yes we do, and by we, I mean you :)". Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but I am taking all the positives to heart to help keep my head in the game. Working on my resume tonight and seeing how this goes. I've never shown a current resume to a current employer so I need to take some time to figure out the best way to present my experience in the office optimally.

They knew for a while that original Boss would be retiring. She gave them months of notice, for various reasons. Secondary Boss was hired with the intention of replacing her and that was well over a year before she actually left. The position of Sales VP at my previous company was handled similarly: hire a General Sales Manager under then-current VP, and once VP became COO, the General Sales Manager took Sales VP place. Everyone knew that's why he was hired, it was just getting the ducks in a row so the transitions were smooth and there was time to make sure he had time to work with his predecessor and get trained on the particulars of the company. And, yes, make sure they would succeed in the role they were hired into -- but, understanding the role they were "hired into" is actually the higher position, not the holding place. I guess because I've seen this before, it didn't seem at all odd to me. --- Had a family thing happen on Sunday so didn't get my application in. Will do either Tuesday or Wednesday after I've processed my performance review. Boss gave me the printout of his evaluation this afternoon, with just the "6 Month Goals" area left blank. Nothing concerning in the rest of the document. We will discuss any changes I want to include, and the Goals section together tomorrow.

He didn't respond to that part. Just did the frog face pushed lips together semi nod. To be fair, he wasn't in the lead position when I was hired, he wasn't the one saying this at the start. It was talked about as what will happen, but not guaranteed (ie not in writing). Although he certainly gave me no reason to question it until recently. I didn't say I was walking if I was stuck up front. I'm sure it has crossed his mind. Or it should have by now, he's a pretty smart guy. There is the real factor of finding a place to walk to, though. I don't have time to do a good thorough job search and I'm irritated that they are adding this to my plate.

So, I did talk with Boss on Tuesday. Bit of a mixed bag. I told him I'd be applying for the position. And that when I was on the website reviewing the posting I noticed the Assistant position wasn't posted (I knew this already, but we hadn't explicitly talked about it). He said they hadn't had any luck on the Assistant position and the feedback they got was the $ was too low, and so the new plan is that the Secondary person will cover the front for a couple hours. So if I get the Secondary, they would advertise my current position and after someone is hired I'd be covering up front a couple hours (lunch I always assumed, but maybe more?), and if someone else is hired instead for Second they will help me out up front so I can have some focus time on my other duties. Reading between the lines, we are becoming a 3-person department and whoever is in my current position will be up front permanently. So, not great news to me. He doesn't seem opposed to my getting the job, but it's not being treated as a given either. He made sure I knew the cutoff date for applying (it wasn't on the website yet, only the open date was showing) and he asked for me to make sure I get my application in before that day. I'm doing some online little trainings to supplement my resume this weekend that are Secondary-position specific. I'll put in my application on Sunday. My official annual review is scheduled now for Tuesday. First review of applicants for Secondary is August 4. In the space between this application and interviews for Secondary, I will be putting in applications elsewhere. There are no other opportunities close by, so will see if there are things for remote work that I can apply for.

They could have posted internal only; they did not. Boss also mentioned that they are doing this since they couldn't find the front desk person and so we're going to do this to get a third person in. That's what I'm basing the idea that he isn't expecting me to apply/get the job: if I take it, there isn't a third person coming in. Sorry I wasn't clear. The comment about "not moving forward is falling behind" is not a universal truth, obviously. I was using it to simply explain how I feel about me in this situation. I switched tracks to take this job, letting some of my other skills go, with the expectation I would be growing in other ways. That is not what's happening. So, I have been nicely vocal about my spot and not liking the front desk. Not annoyingly, not making it an unpleasant work environment, but he knows and has commiserated with my situation as much as a Boss could. Boss recognized this is not what I signed up for, and until this past week had been reassuring about it being temporary. I think that, as far as he is thinking about how this goes, he might feel bad about my situation, but not enough to stop from seeking relief for himself in an increasingly stressful situation. And probably telling himself that as soon as we have this new person trained, we will find a front desk so I can take the #3 spot and he'll train me more thoroughly and give me a good ladder of titles to climb even if I'm really staying in place. Once he has time, he'll do right by me. <-- This isn't what I want, but probably his justification for how it might shake out.

So, shortly, background: I took an Admin Specialist job July 2021. The interview process covered future plans: January 2022 the Boss would retire, Secondary Boss would take their job, and I get Secondary Boss job. Being told "this will be your office in January", explicit "fast track your training you so you're ready in January", etc. Besides us three, there was an assistant at the front desk. I was unsure about taking the position originally, but with the expectation of advancement I figured it was worth it. Well, things happened. November 1, Assistant at front desk left. I got moved to the front desk "temporarily" while they looked for a replacement. I held onto my original duties and assumed the assistant's also. In January, Boss retired. Secondary Boss, after a couple weeks of cold feet, assumed his rightful place. I was back to "fast track to Secondary Boss position, once we get the front desk covered." Here we are in July, we have not found a front desk person, and they stopped looking in June (posting came down). No known plans for trying again. Boss and me have held the dept together surprisingly well considering. He's handling a lot more complicated things than I am, though, since my training effectively stopped once original Boss retired as we went into survival mode. But I am definitely putting in my hours and holding up my side. This week, I was told they were posting Secondary Boss position: we need a third body in the office and having someone that already has experience in the industry would really ease the strain. It posted Thursday afternoon. I am expecting they have already received applications. Boss has not suggested, implied, or even seemed to have considered me applying for the job. He is just seeming relieved at the thought of having another body in the dept soon. Understandably. I have been up front for 9 months, and only 3 months at my original desk. I am feeling a bit bait-switched, even if I know logically it's just how the cookie crumbled. So, I don't know how I want to respond to this. Do I apply to this position? Boss and I are very simpatico, this is not a snub due to personality conflicts or anything like that. Last week, he was still trying to fit in a little training so I could take Big Task usually given to Second's position. He sincerely did look for a front desk replacement so we could go with the original plan. 4 people have already given me "advice" or have quasi-assumed I'm going for the position. Former front desk (she moved to another dept) also reached out to be excited for me because I'm finally "up for your position". I am very good at what I do. I would be very good at the Secondary position. I am not qualified for this position yet. I need more months of training, which can't happen until we find another person for the front desk. Which isn't going to happen, apparently. I don't know if I want to pit myself against better-qualified applicants for this position and drop my estimation in my boss's eyes. I know if we find a person to fill the position, the front desk urgency will go down to none. Effectively, I will be stuck there. I do not want to be front desk. But, DH and I are talking about moving next May 2023. If I get it only to leave less than a year later I will have harmed the dept. That feels scummy. But, if we don't end up moving, this is going to be my only chance for advancement for realistically 2+ years. The idea of "if you're not moving forward you're falling behind" is something I think about a lot job-wise. Realistically this is the best employer in my area for my skillset, it kind of caps out how far I can go in this geographic location. An added consideration: my annual performance review is coming up in less than 2 weeks. I expect regardless we are going to talk about my future trajectory. I could hold off applying until that meeting is done. I want to put the ball in his court and see how he responds, press him on how he sees this playing out. I could pose some other options if I'm going to be stuck in the front desk: maybe we move me to an office manager title, or some other made up position that will better encapsulate that I'm taking on two roles. I could do some general online training for Second Position to shore up my weaknesses and show that I am eager and willing to take on the Second job. I could just do nothing since I might not even be here long enough for it to matter anyway. Thanks for reading if you got this far. It's helpful to type it out and assess where I am. Any thoughts, advice, or considerations are welcome. What would you do?

@Lori D. thanks for the thorough response. The few newsletters/articles I've read have definitely had some (unintended, I'm sure) vagaries and misunderstandings based off your quotes. Very helpful, thanks!

But isn't this what the bill is changing, ie, it's erasing this requirement and so kind of getting rid of the need for two definitions from a funding standpoint? So this may no longer be a requirement, since the distinction is now moot to ESA check writers. Again, we don't know if this is going to be still part of the requirements since ESA is being changed/expanded. If I'm now eligible for the ESA, I will use it. We don't know what the actual bullet-point requirements are going to look like as far as I know. I've checked the ESA website and it seems they aren't publicizing anything about implementation until it is actually signed into law (later this week probably?). I haven't seen anything about having to change affidavit status or anything onerous about how to account for the funds, yet. That was actually a big criticism of the bill, wasn't it?, that there was little direction in the bill about oversight and proof of how the funds are being spent (or testing to show "proof of value"). We will see how it's actually implemented. Would love sources that are better explaining what you're seeing, thanks.

I love Samson but seems like a name for a long haired cat. Went with Shadow.

Anyone can tag me in the future if they need to mark something as sold. Maybe this will scratch my itch of wanting to buy all the homeschool stuff without all of the threat of overdraft! Modern problems require modern solutions, lol.

You're crossing a line here, continually, and personalizing your issues with the [your perceived] general treatment of the case to individuals on the forum. The escalation in rhetoric and insults is unnecessary.

Music can change the world. - Ludwig van Beethoven It's not as long as maybe you were looking for in an intro quote, but it's pretty direct, lol.

Making Waves [Swim Foundation]

I'm not going to pretend I know enough about this topic to give actual advice. What I found recently on my own searches was that Dr. James Hansen, NASA scientist and climate activist guy that is apparently a big deal to those in the know, recommends becoming a active participant with Citizens Climate Lobby, as being one of the bigger things individuals can do to make a difference. "Be the change you want to see in the world" I think applies: even if your individual actions aren't saving the world, the inspiration you give to others might. The definition of a group project is that individuals are doing the work together. I completely totally get it's corporations that need to get on board, but we need to build the ship to get them onto. They won't get onto a ghost ship, frankly.

I feel like setting up a second papacy. Like, "No, SIL, YOU are no longer included in the planning and getting updates because you are neglectful and are trying to create an imminently dangerous situation for both FIL ad MIL, and offer no helpful suggestions. For the family dinner I have you down as pickled prunes, so no need to bring a dish." I mean, I know she would have a conniption and it's an unenforceable edict, but frankly her own edict should be unenforceable. The fact that other brother is going along with it is kinda crazy. If I wasn't already setting up my own papal seat, I'd probably do a response along the lines of "Brother, you agree that I should be cut out of the loop about our parents? You agree that's the right thing to do and that I and my wife have been unhelpful?" But, perhaps for the best, I don't have access to your chat groups and so cannot stir the already boiling pot. But you guys have done the right thing; wear her disapproval as a badge of honor.

So, what you're saying is, the officer did not know that the guy had done anything wrong. The guy was, therefore, innocent in the cop's knowledge. Not even talking about the law. And the cop decided to escalate the situation despite multiple chances to do otherwise (and being the one in the situation with training). And decided that it would be better to put his own life in danger when he had other options. Then decided after putting himself in this situation by chasing a guy, deploying his taser, and then wrestling the guy, decided the only way -- the only way -- to get out of this situation was to shoot the guy in the back of the head. "Who knows what other crimes were committed"?! We don't even know one crime was committed! Is this the bar we are holding police officers to? Or ANYONE to? Seeing as police officers have training, authority, and therefore should be held to a HIGHER bar? You just need to know that there was possibly a crime, and so who know what other crimes!, and now it's justified to escalate and kill another person. Got it.

I am concerned of the precedent that this may be setting re: going in blind, or half-informed, on late notice, especially as it effects your schedule last minute with the kids. If you make an exception this one time that you go (with or without kids), it needs to be clear that you need to be completely informed as soon as information is available going forward. If SIL isn't willing to communicate with you directly (I roll eyes at her pettiness), then she needs to tell DH and he tell you. But this is turning into a game of telephone. She might already be understating what the nurse said in order to make it not a big deal (as she has done before, the whole start of this thread!), and then your DH is further understating it because it seems the path of least resistance to just to get you to go along with it. If she doesn't want you to know what's going on and not let anyone have enough information to make decisions, FINE, let her have her cake. But she can't eat it, too: ie, make you do the work without the information, and make you responsible for MIL's care without being able to actually have a voice in what it should be. Everyone is expecting you to pick up the slack and risks they are unnecessarily making, and my feathers are positively ruffled for you.