Not again...

It seems more difficult decisions are looming on the horizon. I suppose I should be used to them now, at least in the context of job-searching, because I turned down the awesome opportunity at the TC Chamber, then closed the doors on two promising opportunties recently by withdrawing my application after the first round of interviews. So here's the situation: Lauren, the communications specialist here at Mercy, got a new job and will be leaving on April 18th. Bryan (my boss) and I have talked previously about the possibility of transitioning me back to full time and into a position where I would take on some of Lauren's responsibilities and keep doing the grant writing thing while he took over the rest of her job, like working with the media, etc. After telling him I was unable to give him a firm commitment one way or another, I let him know on Tuesday that I was probably going to be leaving because Mitch and I decided to go look heavily in the Ann Arbor area and move as soon as we could. This was when he anticipated having Lauren until July 1st, but she got the new job offer today, which changes things. Let me try to explain: his preferred course of action would be to bump me up to full time next week and have me work with Lauren to transition into her position as a filler for the rest of the month. Then, at the beginning of April, he would like to post the position, which would be some combination of communications and grant writing, and start the hiring process. At this point, I could apply if I was interested, but more than likely I would just fill in until the new person was hired because I am not interested in staying here. That would be a fine plan for me, though I'm not sure how our budget supports bumping me to full time while Lauren is still here, but whatever. Under this model, I would probably be assured a position here until about the end of April (which is my self-imposed deadline anyway) because the hiring process would probably take 4-6 weeks. The hard part is the fact that the final decision on all that is not up to Bryan. He has to meet with John, our CEO, on Monday and fill him in on the situation. From a business stance, it would make the most sense for John to tell Bryan that he has to post the position immediately and have it filled by the time Lauren leaves. That would mean I would not be used as a filler, which is fine, but it also means that I would be out of a job once the new person is hired, which would probably be by mid-April. To be safe and conservative, in that situation, would mean that I should apply for the position and commit to staying here for a couple of years, which is not what Mitch and I want. But I'm a safe and conservative type o' girl...this poses a bit of a dilemma.

I've seen how fast, and how slow, jobs can progress. It took 3 months for me to get hired here, but Lauren got called for an interview on Thursday and had a job offer by Wednesday. That's less than a week. Could something like that happen for me? I just don't know, it's a gamble. On the other hand, I'd been counting on being gone, in one way or another, whether it was in a temporary job or a good job, but July.
Maybe I'd have to move that up a bit and stop being picky right now. But isn't not taking advantage of an opportunity that I'm almost guaranteed to have here being super picky? The only thing is, I would have to unofficially commit to staying here for a good length of time and if I took a boring, office-type job, I could roll out when something better came along. Argh!

All my problems would be solved if the place Rosie, my cousin, recently interviewed at would just offer her the job and Marsha at the Art Center would remember how much she loved me and hire me to take Rosie's place. That optimistic feeling I had when Mitch and I decided moving would be a good choice for us is quickly fading into panic as I struggle with the what-ifs and uncertainties.