Time for me to move on…

Just over a week ago I handed my notice in.

Phew, I said it. and it’s true. And it was so straight forward, my carefully researched and brief written notice was signed, scanned and emailed to the two bosses with the original entrusted to the Finance and HR guy. For his records of course.

I used email for the simple reason that neither guys were in the office and I wanted to get the message delivered pronto. I soon had responses which confirmed receipt of the message and wished me well.

Within three hours from beginning of my interview I had received the good news of a successful interview and the actual offer. Perfect timing, It really couldn’t have been any better than that. After 2.5 years looking too…

Mrs W was delighted. I was well chuffed too!

Handing ones notice in is an odd experience. What ever the reason for handing it in there’s a sense of power (albeit breifly) and the control is with you… For me it was a brief moment of exhilaration followed by relief, then joy. Joy is my overriding emotion now, a week later.

Looking back there was no moment of hesitation, no regrets or soul searching wondering if I have made the right decision. Neither was there an attractive counter offer from my current employer desperate to keep me at a highly inflated salary! My new employer had kept their word and sent across the contract of employment which was, duly studied, signed and returned within a matter of hours.

Game on

Interview in a hurry…

Traffic was bad and it was raining. With 20 miutes to go I was stuck in traffic wondering if I should park up and hot foot it to the meeting place.

I spied an empty parking meter and started feeding it cash after a helpful Parking Attendant told me If I could wait until after 6pm parking would be somewhat cheaper. For me this was no real help, my interview was due at 6pm and I had precisely 6 mins if I was to arrive on time.

After changing my shirt and spraying something vaguely pleasant smelling in the rough direction of my armpits, I fed coins into the pay machine and ran. Thankfully in the right direction.

With 2 minutes to spare the guy on reception had phoned my interviewer and I could relax breifly. After a short pause it was up 21 flights of stairs for my meeting. (I jest). The lift delivered me to a security door on 21 and after pressing a big plastic button entered the lobby.

It was now after 6pm and I was soon joined by my interviewer who thrust some registration forms towards me. A few moments later while the ink was still drying the meeting was underway.

She was, how shall I say, efficient and not one for small talk, she was in a hurry. At least she had my CV with her, but as the discussion ensued it was little more than a prop…

By 6.35pm (I checked)  the appointment was over and I was descended the numerous floors at high speed, this time with another traveller. Within a further 5 minutes I was starting my car engine for the trip home. I felt strangely time warped?

Oh my, that was a swift interview, my shortest yet. Let’s hope the effort was worth it!

Christmas job search shut down?

Job hunting in December is seen by some as pretty pointless exercise but between the office party and finishing for the year there are some things you might be able to commit to trying…

Private Review
This time of year is a great time to review your objectives to ensure we are clear headed for the coming new year. Might be worth thinking afresh of your goals and motives for seeking change. This might be obvious in most cases but worth consideration.  Is this what you are thinking about really what you want? If you landed a new job tomorrow – how would you feel? December holidays is an ideal time to think the unthinkable, explore radical ideas and, if necessary, completely revisit your job objectives for the coming year. Write it down and keep it handy!

Clean up your act
Over the Christmas period you should make some time for doing the things that you have been mulling over the past year. This might include updating (or completing) your Linkedin profile, or replacing that unflattering photo you posted up in a rush. It might be a good time to re-read and then tweak your main CV, and consider if it can work even smarter for you. When the new year arrives you should be ready for the next assault on the job market…

Network
December and Christmas in particular can be a great time to network with old colleagues, friends, and relatives and anyone else you’ve neglected during the past year. It doesn’t mean you need to over indulge and spend over the odds either. Very often a chat over a coffee will be sufficient. I recently caught up with three ex colleagues who were able to share some ideas almost as we took our seats in the pub to eat! I would not discount the value of informal (or otherwise) catch ups as they are always useful and can be a good source of encouragement and information. It is fun too!

Learn something new
Learning a new skill or tool might be another way of increasing your visibility in the job market. Alternatively you might pick up a skill or technique that you’ve struggled with in the past. If you need advice, there are many online resources available to draw on too. Practising interview techniques might be another consideration. Whatever efforts you expend will hopefully help to build your confidence and ‘appeal’ come the new year.

Refresh
Ok, you can relax too! We all need to take time out to refresh ourselves and re-energise. Job searching can be tiring as well as being stimulating at times, so give yourself time out to enjoy being with friends and family, maybe a good walk will do you good too. Enjoy!

Have a really Happy Christmas and here’s wishing you success in the year ahead…

When Wednesday comes…

After an incredibly busy few weeks and with increased stresses and pains (for various reasons that I won’t go into here), it’s good to be at the weekend.

There have of course been reasons to be cheerful… This last week Mrs W celebrated her birthday in a low key, low calorie, low budget sort of way and  midweek I got the news that I’d been invited to interview, so you can imagine my delight. Everyone knows, but interview opportunities these days, don’t come as frequently as buses. London buses that is.

But when next Wednesday comes I will be ready as I can be, my nerves may be jangling ever so slightly, but i’ll be groomed, prayerful and in my sweaty palms I will be grasping my design portfolio and heading into the city.

I will give this one my best shot, and hope to give a good account for myself… Almost certainly, this will be my last interview of 2009. No pressure.

Media week

I never thought I would appear in a womans magazine, but that day has now come. Not as a centrefold of course but as a contributor/ writer. The excitement doesn’t stop there, oh no, also in the pipeline is a radio interview with Premier Christian Radio, which should be quite fun. The subject under discussion is unlikely to catch me unawares, it’s very likely to focus on how I (and my family) am coping with being out of work, rather than my choice of desert island discs.

Should the question be posed however, I would count the following seven gems as real contenders. ELO by ELO, Heroes by David Bowie, Genesis Live, Free All Angels by Ash, Boy by U2, Should God Forget by The Psychedelic Furs, Leftism by Leftfield.

Anyone have Jonathan Ross’s phone number?

It’s not all happenin’

As I entered the reception area I was full of hope, confident and with a number of questions up my sleeve to show enthusiasm and real interest.

I was offered a cup of tea, drank it, and was ready. Just as well.

A few minutes later I met my interviewer. A tall, leggy blonde with a bright smile entered the reception area. By all accounts, she knew about HR and recruiting the right candidates. The hope was of course, that she would be able to help me in my job search. After all I had had her PA call me in for interview the previous week.

An hour and ten minutes later I left the interview room rather dazed, with head hung low and with much more to think about. I had done nothing wrong of course, the conversation had in fact been quite searching, revealing and honest and would result in my head spinning for a few further days. According to Linda (not her real name, it was Lorna) HR would very likely be a poor match for me, and the University course possibly a hugely expensive mistake. My skills and future she suggested lay elsewhere, possibly in training, coaching or even training, using more of my transferable skills and talents.

Now, a few days later, I view Lindas fairly straightforward and blunt approach as refreshingly helpful and worth my careful consideration. She also gave some helpful pointers for the way ahead.

I guess it has to be time for me to push other doors, try other options trusting that ‘He Upstairs’ has something even better in store for me!

Navel-gazing

And I don’t mean watching the Ports. The daily schedule can allow for excessive introspection, should you wish too. Maybe that’s why I try to keep busy, there are after all so many cups of coffee to be drunk in one day.

A typical day could look a bit like this, not should, but could…
Get out of bed. Get clean, get dressed. Eat something, this is usually breakfast and the meal you’ve usually skipped in the past. You need to eat. (It’s hopefully still morning). If you have kids – maybe you could help get them to school, check emails, send emails, do job searching type things, to get you in the mood, take a break, allow yourself time to watch rubbish tv for an hour or so, then do something else, maybe diy? Around lunchtime grab a light lunch (not a burger!) do some more things, back to the diy or job searching, facebooking, reading etc. Gosh is it that time already? Neighbours on TV? Or Miss Marple? Go get the kids – best not forget them. Play with kids, clean their mess, watch them play,  get them to clear their own mess, Pilfer the cupboard for a biccy or a cake, yum this will go nicely with that coffee you yearn, (don’t forget to put that kettle on). Prepare evening meal for family, if partner is at work, surprise them with a list of what you’ve done in the day. It should impress them, Early evening, help get kids to bed after ensuring they’re washed (check behind those ears!) The rest of the evening is yours, however you could just take a bath, do some ironing or enroll in that evening class, doing job searching things for one more time before bedtime? Pray. Place head on pillow. Nighty noo.

Tomorrow, is another day, so when the new day comes, consider using yesterdays routine as a template, but for fun change things around a bit,.. or add go to Job Centre/ waste another hour (these two can be the same activity).

Other things you might add to your day include :-
Go to library, clean house, gardening, a bit more diy, more job searching,  prepare for interview, interview, shopping, ironing, visit family members and tell them how hard you’re trying to find work, email friends and tell them how had you’re trying to find work, lock yourself away from the world for an hour or two, read that book. (This could be done at home or in another establishment, often a public house). Walk, back from public house after one or two drinks (max). Visit Dentist – Ask how he is, Visit Doctor – Ask how he is, he will know you’re not feeling too good, why else did you make the appointment? Get prescription, go for a short drive, breathe in some lovely fresh air, drive home, bark unfairly at kids – they still are still playing with the entire contents of the toy cupboard and the understairs cupboard, wash walls, (the kids have been doing some craft today!) Look in mirror, do I really look that good? Go back to mirror, look again – Yes you do! Smile at yourself, not laugh – smiling is good practice for interviews! Check the car over, maybe clean it, put petrol in it – for that day out/ interview. Go shopping, buy hair clippers in Argos, cut hair, or if you need human contact – go to barbers or hairdressers, but don’t get involved in idle gossip. Surf the net, brew a cuppa, write a note to your other half (if you have one). Go get the milk you were asked to get first thing, but forgot to. Home again, relax, think, ponder, consider, plan, oops back to that navel again!

Bored? If so, do something different tomorrow.

When in Wonderful Winchester…

4 June 2008
Winchester is one of my favourite places to visit, primarily because the Cathedral is amazing, and is home to the sculpture Sound II by Antony Gormley, and the coffee served in the refectory is more than passable. The day I was there, I was by some margin their youngest customer, and I’m no spring chicken. My interview, earlier in the day with the Design group who boasted that they were exceptional, extraordinary, magnificent, and outstanding, had seemingly gone well, so I opted to celebrate with refills of refectory coffee. After checking out the shops in the high street, I made for home.

If I got a second interview, we as a family would have to seriously consider the feasibility of relocating.

19 June 2008
For the second stage interview, a fortnight later, I needed to complete a set task. The design brief was emailed across and I set to working on the ideas that I would be required to present to a panel of three including the Chairman.

It was good to have my brain challenged in this way again. I worked hard to answer the brief and submitted some branding and campaign items too and hoped they would be impressed with my efforts. A challenge of another kind also remained, a second tie was required, the selection criteria here was critical (well, almost!) I determined that for a second stage interview a new tie was worth the extra expense and effort. Another trip to M&S.

Punctuality is vitally important when facing an interview situation, but, as we all know, even the best laid plans can go awry. My interview was, I judged just on 1.5 hours away by car, so with this in mind I built in an extra hour extra travelling time as contingency. Just as well.

I really had no intention in being interviewed in my t shirt and combat trousers, but It very nearly ended that way. The roads I thought I knew well but were slow and heavy with traffic. On a clear stretch of road, Mr Honda in front seemed to be enjoying his morning drive at a steady 20mph. If I was late, I would of course be holding Honda man personally responsible. Even once of the motorway, It soon seemed highly likely that it was going to be touch and go whether I arrived on time, I of course stuck to the legal speed limit.  I forewarned my interviewers of my possible late arrival and also sent an APB Bulletin to some christian friends to pray for my journey. Prayer worked, and I got to my destination with 10 mins to spare.

I now had time to freshen up and slip into my suit. My Windsor tie knot in the rear view mirror looked impressive, hopefully others would agree. I entered the foyer with an air of confident in my creative solutions, and was aware that prayerful friends were lifting me up in prayer.

My presentation to the panel was well received, and the creative solutions presented prompted a lively discussion between the four of us, then amongst themselves! This was vaguely amusing, and I felt pleased to have made such an impact. Surely this was going to be “the One” – wasn’t it?

The email arrived a week later on the Thursday… and the blow hit hard. It appeared I had not got the job but there again the job advertised had been ‘changed’ overnight. I tackled the HR dept on this and they went quiet on me. What a waste of my time and effort. The job was not my destiny after all. Mrs W put a consolatory arm on my shoulder as I sat at my computer and we were in silence for longer than usual. I permitted myself a weekend in which to be particularly grumpy and feel sorry for myself. Clearly they weren’t exceptional, extraordinary, magnificent, and outstanding after all. Pretty much the opposite. When Monday came I would start looking again in earnest. Blast! (Or words to that affect!).

Dress to Impress

My first job interview came in October 2007…

On sliding open our wardrobe and after having a quick look at the clothes hanging limply on hangers, it soon became blindingly obvious that new clothes were in order. If I was to dress to impress at interviews, I had to make some changes. The smartish shirts that I’d relied on for the previous 3 years or so were no longer in the best of shape, and when it came to the suit “You can’t wear that!” spoke my conscience. Mrs Workhope, my wife, was right, it was over twelve years since my brother got married, and though the suit might still fit (in the sleeves at least) it was no longer deemed fashionable.

True, many of the roles I was applying for were Senior ones, which would require the postholder to meet with clients, present work and present the right image. Stubbornly, I tried the suit on. “Ok, you win” – I conceded.

M&S, I knew had good quality suits and with the right colour shirt and tie combination I was sure to achieve my goal. Thankfully I found what I was looking for early on, it was stylish, worked well with bright colours and was in the right price bracket – (cheap) value for money. The next and most frustrating phase was to select and purchase a suitable tie. The local store didn’t have my size in the jacket and with two days till my first employer interview, it was, (as the kids show Me Too might say) a “Race Against Time”.

I few phone calls later Marjorie had put one fitting my description by for me in the Kingston store. When I got there, I tried it on and got the in-store suit-and-tie-co-ordinator-expert to give me his valuable input. In just over an hour I had tried on three different suits, half a dozen ties, and got a free Windsor knot tie lesson in the bargain. Tired after my exertions I retreated to the Cafe for a cup of froth, mis-sold as coffee.  “I’ll knock ‘em dead with the suit and colourful-yet-carefully-considered tie, even if they’ve doubts over my portfolio” I mused.

When the interview for the Design Management position came it was after a two hour drive into Hampshire, and I arrived in the company car park just in time for the thunder and lightening. So, there I was about to enter my first interview, in torrential rain. Was the good Lord trying to tell me something? Did the tie offend?

With an air of confidence, rather than arrogance, (hopefully) I took to the interview process without too much nervousness, answering honestly and when prompted, asked pertinent questions regarding the role up for grabs. My two interviewers both seemed likeable and on the table behind, lay a copy of the Good News Bible. I smiled to myself, maybe this was a sign from above, maybe just maybe, this job would be THE one!

As I left the building, I called Claire, (Recruitment Agent) with my feedback and waited for the official response. I had liked them, and thought they had warmed to me and my work. Claire was sympathetic in her tone when she told me the news. Boo.

I’d now succeeded in registering my first failure (?) My rain sodden go-get-em-suit, would soon be carefully returned to the wardrobe – ready for another rainy day…

Signing On – My first time. (5 Oct 2007)

9.50am. Signing on, my first time.

The Job Centre is fascinating. Depressing, but fascinating, and no one even offered me a cup of tea and a biscuit. Not a good start in my book.

A glance at those who crossed the threshold that morning with me told many a story. If Jesus was to show up in this town, I reckon he’d pop his head round the door to keep an eye on the proceedings, get amongst the job seekers and at the very least he’d be understanding, maybe turn a few tables over. But he didn’t show up this day.

I waited, in fact I waited only a few moments, but had long enough to take in my surroundings before being called by name. Welcome to the world of the Job Centre… It’s where different worlds collide. The world of government departments and beaurocracy meets the job seeker with questions, interviews, assessments and a certain degree of scrutiny – the staff of course are not to blame for this, just following instructions.

The job centre is not actually a place to get a job – my first big mistake and my first impressions have lasted. Within the centres confines I was addressed by name but I felt like a statistic. There was no eye contact as I was asked for the umpteenth time, where I live, what I’m looking for, how I’m doing, and how’s my job search going. A glance at my details on the computer screen would give the answers, inevetably my Interviewer remained engaged in tapping keys on the keypad, goodness knows what she (Debbie?) was typing. All I know is that she has ‘locked in’. The man who sat before her with his job search log book in hand, simply was waiting to sign on the dotted line before escaping the building.

Not yet buster. In addition to form filling and inane questioning there are also row of big grey boxes at the side of the office on the first floor which seem to be getting other job seekers attention. Clearly I would need to ask to be shown how to fire one of these up. My chosen device, standing about waist high was obviously the Centres’ secret job seeking weapon. It bears a resemblance to both Doctor Whos pet pooch K-9 (minus its feet and head), and a card dealers shoe, although not as sophisticated. It has a small green screen on which my search results would be displayed and handy over sized buttons similar to those on a childs alphabet train. This was introduced as a means of job searching, but not a very good one, the staff conceded, nevertheless I was obliged to give it a whirl anyway. My trainer wasn’t exaggerating. I could either do a local job search or select the wider search area option, which effectively meant it would chunder out jobs found pretty much anywhere within the UK or Europe. If I was fortunate enough to have a prefered job title come up, a quick glance would tell me that it was not only in Inverness, but it was above the minimum wage – other details would be available on request. Hitting the print button ensured I had enough toilet paper for the rest of that day.

I left the building with my papers, signing on book, paperback and (quite possibly) a bemused expression on my face. Aaarrgh! Time for a coffee…

A fortnight later I would be back.