hhmmmmm thinks

2011. It has been an interesting few months. In January I resigned from a job that I had. I will not say where it was, but the company I worked for moved me from one place in South Wales to another in the Home Counties. A 45 minutes jaunt to work became 2 hours. Hhhm. I had been approached by a senior Director and really the way it was put to me I had no option. I was out over 12 hours per day in a place where I was not allowed personal calls or phones or email or access to the interweb, all for very good reasons with which I had no argument. It just meant that finding myself another job whilst unable to directly communicate with people Monday to Friday would be difficult.

Confident in my own abilities and sure that I was a marketable resource, I resigned, and due to the nature of that Job, I left on the same day.

So then I sat and wrote my CV, posted it on a few websites and sat back and waited for the clamour as people tried to employ me. The silence was deafening, and then, after a month, an interview, woo and hoo. Freshly pressed suit, new haircut, and so on, I pootled off to the interview. It went well, I answered all the concerns, gave ideas on how I would help them, and where I thought our future lay.

Next day, 'sorry, you are over qualified'. Do what??? Had they not read my CV which outlined my experience prior to inviting me in? Did they think that I lied on my CV and so tested me at the interview, found that I had told the truth, and became scared?

About a month later, another interview. Bit of a horrible journey to the place concerned, twisty country A road, no overtaking opportunities and lots of lorries and caravans. Hated the location, and to be honest, hated the job, but still gave a very good account of myself, explained exactly how I would tackle the job and solve their issues. Got on very well with the owner, chatted about Amateur Radio (a hobby I had) and left with warm handshakes. Nothing. Not a word. Okay then. .. ...

Meanwhile I am now on Interview number 4 and down to the final 2 for a job that was very much in the public eye and involved a rather large 'vessel' with a flat top. Again, I gave presentations, undertook Q&A session, demonstrated how much I knew about the project even tho it was classified, and explained where in the public domain I had garnered my knowledge.

I knew that I was up against someone younger than me that had no appropriate direct experience but that came from a financial organisation. I was exceedingly confident, I had managed multimillion £ budgets and contracts, have great financial acumen, as well as all the technical relevant stuff they needed. As I left I saw my competitor waiting to go up. What I didn't have was a translucent blouse, plunging neckline and an impressive cleavage. Guess who the engineering blokes chose? I am guessing the lady from HR didn't, but I didn't get it apparently on a majority verdict. Human nature vs Logic and common sense? Breasts win every time.

I never gave up. I spent 4 -5 hours every single day scouring the internet and company websites and applied for every job remotely close to my skill set. Each vacancy had a purpose written application letter. My CV was rewritten and re registered every weekend, to ensure I came up fresh on job site searches. Was it because of my medical position ? No, surely not, I din't have an history of lost time. Was it because of my age? Surely experience and knowledge are needed. I had no idea why I was getting no where. I checked the other day. I applied for over 200 jobs. I had interviews for four of them.

I even 'almost' fell into a few traps. "We are headhunters" they said, "we want to talk to you about a position". Hhm. "Will it cost me anything?" I asked, "No, of course not" came the reply. So I went and had a quite intensive interview that was as much about my psychology as my skills, and they offered me a number of part time directorships in companies and the accumulated salaries were very very impressive. But the interview was in the lobby of a hotel, not a room even, and it turned out that as a special offer they would only invoice me £5,700 plus vat, rather than the usual 10% tythe for the introductions. Yeah. Right.

Meanwhile the lounge at home was fully redecorated, there were several tidy ups and trips to to the tip, and my fruit and vegetable gardens fully populated and nurtured.

I changed tack and decided to seriously consider being self employed. Under such a guise I was interviewed, this is previously mentioned interview for company number 4. This interview was also held in a hotel, and actually in the empty bar, but for very good reasons that I do not need to dwell on. Two companies interviewed me at the same time. One was the company that would be contracting me, the other was the organisation that would contract them to use me. Oh and the actual position never came up for discussion, just some quite detailed examinations of my abilities, what if scenarios etc. They phoned me later that day and offered me the job. I accepted.

Technically, I do not know where the job is. I do not know what the job is, I do not know what the responsibilities are. I know that they believe I can do it, what ever it is. That is good enough for me.

So, I have established myself as a limited company, and applied for VAT registration. All I am waiting for now is the start date.

I have, since I accepted that position, been called for three interviews with other companies and for a more senior interview with the same organisation. Are job opportunities like buses? Nothing for ages and then they all come at once, and you sit looking out of the bus at the front looking at a stream of buses following behind?

What will the next few months bring? It will be interesting I am sure.