Awkward Moment

For my current boss, not me. She looked embarrassed.

I've mentioned often that I've been working like a dog for months now (even more so than usual). My organization needed me and I stepped up. It's what I do. Being responsible is an old habit. I do it for me, but it usually leads to good things. This time it will not. I'm acting in place of my old boss who resigned in September (so I'm reporting to her boss now). The plan was to make the "acting" permanent. I received a temporary promotion and the official recruitment was going to be a formality. Our HR department confirmed I qualified for the job and my name was on the list of candiates to be considered. Then it all fell apart.

The Smithsonian has multiple sources of funding. Until recently I was paid from private funds. I changed jobs in May (a promotion) and became a "federal" employee (paid from from US government funds). It turns out that since I have not been in my current job for one year, I cannot be promoted again (even though I qualify for the job). If I had stayed a private employee, there would have been no problem. But once you become a fed, the rules are different. Our HR department screwed up--I'm not even eligible for the temporary promotion. So that was cancelled (I'm still doing the work). There's also an issue with "veteran's preference", but that's too complicated to get into.

Anyway, management could wait until May and promote me into the position then. But they've decided it would make them look bad. The awkward part?

As the acting head of our finance department, I attend a teleconference with our people in Panama every other Friday at 2:00pm. My boss thought she was going to use the room at 2:30, but of course I had it booked. She looked at me through the glass wall, wanting to ask me to move the meeting. She couldn't bring herself to do it.

Why did she need the room? To interview a candidate for "my job"--but I was in her way. LOL! The universe DOES have a sense of humor.