Well, I can only apologise for
the two month delay since my last post. I kind of got very down what
with the whole lack of job thing and I vowed that I would not post again
until things improve.
Also, and it may sound extremely stupid and daft, but I felt that if I did post any updates on my job searches, I might actually put a hex on myself. The reasoning behind this was the job with the satellite company that I went for back in April/May when I got down to the last two and came mighty close to getting it. Incidentally, I still haven't heard back from the HR department for that company to say that I didn't get it. Perhaps it was just as well....
The low point for me was driving down to Southampton (a good 200-mile round trip from home) to be interviewed for an NHS post, which they then offered to me on the journey home. It wasn't an ideal position to be honest; only a 9-month contract and it was too far to commute to, so I was going to rent or stay at a B&B Sun-Thurs own there, so I would have needed the top end of the salary range. Unfortunately, their wage expectations were at the lower end of the scale (there was a 9k difference between the two) and, had I thought about it more, I would have realised that all NHS posts are offered on a grade scale, with people receiving increases within that scale every so often based on performance and experience. It was at that point that I realised I had spent £40 in petrol and half a day in time chasing what was effectively a lost cause.....
So what am I doing posting then, if it's all doom and gloom? Because, after ten months of trying, missing out, and being offered jobs that I couldn't take, I have finally been offered a job that I can accept, at a wage which is liveable. It will mean a 100-mile round trip by car every day but in actual fact is will take no longer than the commute into the City used to, by the time I had walked to and from the various stations at home and work.
The other real bonus is that, unlike the majority of vacancies I have looked at, this one has great scope for development. The company is expanding into different areas of business quite rapidly, hence the creation of this new Assistant Information Manager post to help support the bid teams as they prepare tenders for contracts. I was also told in the phone call offering me the job that a number of extra projects had been agreed so there is a ton of stuff to get my teeth into. At my second interview they were quite enthused by my ideas for developing ways of capturing competitive intelligence and for getting a standard repository of information for each separate bid, and I did come out of that interview thinking "I've got a bloody good chance here".....
My new manager, who was part of the interview team, told me that I would have to wait about three weeks to hear. It was actually six days. A bit of surprise but, discussing it with my wife afterwards, we came to the conclusion that I was the best candidate interviewed so far and perhaps they just took the next best few CVs and offered then a first interview to see how they measured up. It's all irrelevant now anyway....
I start on 30th September. I will let you know how I get on.
Also, and it may sound extremely stupid and daft, but I felt that if I did post any updates on my job searches, I might actually put a hex on myself. The reasoning behind this was the job with the satellite company that I went for back in April/May when I got down to the last two and came mighty close to getting it. Incidentally, I still haven't heard back from the HR department for that company to say that I didn't get it. Perhaps it was just as well....
The low point for me was driving down to Southampton (a good 200-mile round trip from home) to be interviewed for an NHS post, which they then offered to me on the journey home. It wasn't an ideal position to be honest; only a 9-month contract and it was too far to commute to, so I was going to rent or stay at a B&B Sun-Thurs own there, so I would have needed the top end of the salary range. Unfortunately, their wage expectations were at the lower end of the scale (there was a 9k difference between the two) and, had I thought about it more, I would have realised that all NHS posts are offered on a grade scale, with people receiving increases within that scale every so often based on performance and experience. It was at that point that I realised I had spent £40 in petrol and half a day in time chasing what was effectively a lost cause.....
So what am I doing posting then, if it's all doom and gloom? Because, after ten months of trying, missing out, and being offered jobs that I couldn't take, I have finally been offered a job that I can accept, at a wage which is liveable. It will mean a 100-mile round trip by car every day but in actual fact is will take no longer than the commute into the City used to, by the time I had walked to and from the various stations at home and work.
The other real bonus is that, unlike the majority of vacancies I have looked at, this one has great scope for development. The company is expanding into different areas of business quite rapidly, hence the creation of this new Assistant Information Manager post to help support the bid teams as they prepare tenders for contracts. I was also told in the phone call offering me the job that a number of extra projects had been agreed so there is a ton of stuff to get my teeth into. At my second interview they were quite enthused by my ideas for developing ways of capturing competitive intelligence and for getting a standard repository of information for each separate bid, and I did come out of that interview thinking "I've got a bloody good chance here".....
My new manager, who was part of the interview team, told me that I would have to wait about three weeks to hear. It was actually six days. A bit of surprise but, discussing it with my wife afterwards, we came to the conclusion that I was the best candidate interviewed so far and perhaps they just took the next best few CVs and offered then a first interview to see how they measured up. It's all irrelevant now anyway....
I start on 30th September. I will let you know how I get on.
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