I asked for my old job back

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Six years ago, I had a cool job. It had zero advancement unless I wanted to wait until I was 50 for a promotion BUT it involved all the things I liked doing and I was good at it, it had set hours with a little bit of flexibility, and it was in a fantastic location. But I got really sick with a pregnancy that turned out to be high risk, my employer could not secure my employment while I was knocked on my ass or even when I had the baby (HR really tried to make it happen), and just had to leave.

I noticed yesterday that they were hiring for the position so I applied electronically, which is proper, and then I walked into the supervisor's office this morning.

I was not as ballsy as I should have been. I should have just outright asked, "What are my chances?" and "What do I have to say and do to get you to offer me this job today?" But I kept it professional and friendly. It was clear that I wanted the job. But she also made it clear that she's in no rush to interview and there's a couple other people she's looking at.

However, when I got this job the first time, I impressed her because I wrote a Thank You letter for the interview and hand delivered it. She thought it was weird but the longer she thought about it, the more she appreciated it. I'm hoping this hits her the same way, because I left the office with the horrible feeling that I am not on the list.

Yikes.

What if, as a possibility, you briefly and matter-of-factly hand deliver another thank you note, thanking her for "her consideration for the position," and maybe prefacing that with a short sentence saying it was good to see her again?

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In general, yes sadly, you've got to trust your poker read.

Maybe HR caused "problems" for her, or at least bureaucratic steps, and she vaguely blames you.

Or, any of ten dozen other reasons that she's put off, many having nothing to do with you (I still have to remind myself of this from time to time, hopefully you're well past this).

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What about using this as reasonable inspiration to apply for another job that's at least as promising as this one?

Thanks for the advice! I think I'll send her an email Thank You tomorrow morning since I took time today.

She definitely remembered me. I knew she would. She knew who I was when she received my application through their HR system yesterday. She didn't recognize my married name but I'm always honest on applications and put my former name in the field that asks you if you had worked under any other names. The office has only five women at a time at the most, counting her.

I don't know if there are other jobs like this available. I didn't want to give too many personal details, but the position is a government position that deals with a lot of writing, research and paperwork while also helping out the public and attending government meetings. It's right up my alley. This is for a municipality that I used to live in but no longer do (it doesn't matter where you live as long as you can get there). I did just call (like right before I read your comment) the local municipality. I usually check online for openings but they said to call, so I was expecting an automated message with a job list but instead someone answered and started asking me questions. My inner aspie screamed, ran into the closet and closed the door! LOL But I answered her questions happily and she took my number to call me back when she was done with the person in her office. So, who knows! If I get to work closer to home that's better because my kids go to school and have all their extracurriculars here.

Keep your fingers crossed for something to pop up, please!

I will keep my fingers crossed, and here is officially wishing you good luck!

Fingers crossed! Best to you. You've done the right thing. I wonder too if you could update your resume a bit; make it apealing and, with discretion, if she'd like to interview you in the future, about what a transition you've made from your experience. I bet you'll get the job. But, if not, there's more.

Aren't they not allowed to sack you for being pregnant?

They didn't. They intended to fire me for not being able to work. I wouldn't have been there long enough (they required 18 months of employment) to qualify for FMLA (family medical leave act) or maternity leave (one is law and the other was included in the benefits package) for when the baby was born. I was missing too much work from being so sick. It wasn't normal morning sickness. I really started believing that the baby was killing me, it was that bad. By the second trimester, it'd eased up, but it was the first trimester where it was so rough, I'd missed so much work, they wanted all the decisions made right then, and I began bleeding. The OB/GYN told me I was likely to miscarriage if I continued to work. He believes my second and third trimesters were easier because I had shifted to a less stressful home environment, rather than the bustle of working (which I normally enjoy).

Now I do have to say that HR really tried to bend the rules for me. These were crazy rules created by the boss. Our new hire probation time wasn't the 90 days standard, it was 6 full months. You did get your insurances and 401K started after 90 days but that was the only thing that was remotely normal. Everything else was such a long wait.

If I hadn't had so much trouble in the first trimester to push the decision to leave, they would have had no way to secure my job for me or continue my pay while I was out having the baby in the ninth month because of those long waits. There might have been a way to push the issue with the boss to get an exception just for me but we didn't get that far because of the first trimester trouble.

When will you know?

I don't know!

I had another interview with the closer government today. I don't know when I'll hear about either one of those. Today's seemed pretty promising.