I’ve been at my Office job since the end of March. Today, I was passed over for a promotion for the second time. It didn’t bother me the first time, over the summer — the people I was vying for the position with had all been with the company a lot longer than I had, and our continued recruitment effort (and our turnover) at the time meant that I’d be made a team leader by the end of September or early October.

And then the economy tanked, and I got stuck. I got a nice little raise on my 6-month anniversary date, but I later learned it really wasn’t much: I probably should’ve asked for more money when I was hired.

The second possible promotion was brought to my attention a couple of weeks ago, for a position in a different department, with the potential to make a lot more money: possibly even enough not to need a second job. I put in for it, and along with two other folks from my current department, interviewed with the appropriate management types.

I found out today that I didn’t get it. What burns is that the guy who did get it only started working here three months ago or so (literally, he’s “the fucking new guy”), one of the last hired before the hiring freeze went into effect. I know it’s all kind of cry-babyish to be bringing this up, but I’m a little bitter at the moment and I need to vent — punching walls in the Office wouldn’t be good for any future promotions I might hope to get, and punching them at home would hurt my hands (they’re concrete). I remember an e-mail sent out by the CFO a while back, stating that only employees who’d been here for six months or more would be considered for an in-Office promotion. Baloney. Dammit, I would’ve done damn good work, too.

In any case, this make the part-time job decision a snap: without the added income from the in-Office career switch, I am still very much reliant on a secondary source of income. And while I haven’t heard specifics on why I was passed over, I’m finding myself desiring a move from this Office job. In my daydreams, on the Metro, I envision myself opening up my Gmail account to find a request from an editor for NPR, or The Washington Post, wanting to know if I’m available to interview for a job. People say that those who blog do so because they want to be paid for writing, and I’m no different. However, it’s probably time to dust off my resume and start looking for a realistic job.

Seriously – if you know anyone who is hiring, point me in their direction.