The perm hunt

Heaven

Having a new job is fab and my first pay cheque in 6 months will be arriving on 30 Sept - woohoo. A new pair of shoes may well be what the doctor ordered.

My role is interim and although my company will be advertising for a permanent person I still am keeping all avenues open and on the hunt for a perm role. I guess it's the nearest I can get to security in these challenging times but it would help to make me feel a tad more secure.

A past interviewer has got in touch to say that they would like to see me again for a perm role so that's good. Also been looking at different roles in charity fundraising as that's my dream job. Had been a bit unmotivated in terms of looking for a perm role once I'd secured something interim but then I went to an event last week about how to find a job in charities which inspired me to keep on going for the completely right role.

I now have a new mini job plan, have joined the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and set myself a networking events diary - so bring it on!

Got One!

Well sort of - it's interim for 2 months for now but hey at least I have work - woo hoo. It's a reason to get my lazy arse out of bed in the morning which is no bad thing.

The job came through a friend who was approached about the role as a Comms Manager but she wasn't in a position to go for it so it sent it to me. See it does pay to head out for a lunchtime burrito with friends. Is it me or in the past year has London turned in Mexican central - no bad thing in my eyes though. Can never go wrong with meat, cheese and tomatoes.

My interview was on a Friday and I started the following Tuesday. The weirdest thing is that 50% of my time will be spent based at the offices of my old employer. This part slightly messed with my head but at least I can hang out in my old stomping ground and hang out with my mates, yay. I do like to head out and party.

The whole concept of returning to work has been a bit strange especially having to focus my head and produce things. But hey, won't take long to get back into the swing of this work thang!

The Waiting Game!

OK, it has to be said that I am a tad impatient. Actually, that's a slight understatement - I am very impatient. Waiting for a response is a major part of job hunting and the current economic climate makes the wait take even longer. Loads more sign off from superiors, interviewers taking time to make a decision, consider that decision, review that decision before even considering implementing that decision. This means that more days tick by and candidates are on tenterhooks. Have they made it through to round 2 of 3; where similar waits will undoubtedly ensue.

Cutting to the chase I am waiting to hear back from 2 interviews (yes I have chased) and feedback from a role I didn't get. So come on recruiters have some balls and start making those all important calls. Don't they know that the economy is on the way up (some survey said so at the beginning of the work so don't shoot the messenger - I don't believe it either).

Happy Holidays

Well this week has been kind of slow. Work wise the month of August tends to grind to a halt as everyone heads off to catch some sun. Job hunting is no different. Most of the direct applications that tend to keep me busy over the week are becoming thin on the ground. This means I have quite a bit of time on my hands. Not used to that at all and am starting to go stir crazy.

Altho there is a silver lining - some recruitment agents seem to be getting more roles in. I am being put forward for loads at the moment. No feedback on the ones that are a 'no' but at least my CV is out there. One of them has come good though and my next interview is on Monday being a BD exec for a project management company. Lots of swotting up this weekend and then I will be ready to rock n' roll.

The End of Week 8

Well it has to be said that it's seems like ages since I was checking out the beaches of Thailand, heading to half moon (wicked) and full moon parties (rubbish and full of 18 yr olds being sick!). It's been 8 weeks since I started looking for work. Heading to a networking and self promotion workshop 2 days after landing was the wake up call I needed that I had to get my mind back into that 'finding a job' framework. Bit of a culture shock really as my head was certainly still in the clouds.

Week 8 has been ok. Had 1 interview for a fundraising and events role - the results will be out in a weeks time so fingers and toes crossed as it's a cool job.

Had quite a few calls from recruitment agents with roles mainly in the BD arena but I do have a targeted CV for that so fingers crossed. Things do seem to be picking up for certain good agents - others are still deathly silent.

Done quite a few direct applications too although I am starting to get a bit punch drunk and am starting to get extremely tired of talking about me.

Being Mute Has Its Benefits!

So today's highlight had to be my fortnightly visit to Jobcentre Plus in Wood Green. To be honest I didn't really want to go today as I had an interview at 3pm and quite frankly signing on happens to send me into a state of depression. When I called last week to see if I could change my signing on time as it was depressing and I had an interview in the afternoon, I was told "it'll delay your payments and they didn't have alternative times for weeks and weeks". Anyway, the long of the short of it was I thought I would still go along as normal.

Anyway, I selected 2 comms roles off the jobpoint machine and took my printouts to the signing on man. This time he wasn't chatty at all. In fact he was mute - maybe he had swine flu or maybe he had decided to channel his efforts into following his dream to be a mime artist. He literally said nothing to me, pointed so that I sat down, tapped a few bits and bobs rather slowly onto his PC (he ain't no touch typist that's for sure). Then he highlighted where I had to sign and nodded his head to signal my exit.

The silent treatment was kind of unnerving - maybe he was just trying to not waste his breath anymore on the 'tainted unemployed'.

The Job Seeking Highs And Lows

On the whole I have been pretty positive about the redundancy thing. It's an opportunity - it's a great way to figure out what you really want to do - you can go to the gym whenever you want.

That's all well and good but there are certainly times when I just miss working. I was always a bit of a workaholic - you know I would always aim to get all that I needed to do done on time no matter what. Getting up and having somewhere to go and something to do each day and the social interaction with colleagues.

Oh and having a nice pay check drop into your account each month - would also be good. Would certainly help out the old finances and mean that I don't have to delve into my savings.

I think the most significant impact of being redundant is when you start to question your own self worth. Maybe there is something not right with me as I'm not securing that all important job. Will my luck ever change? Maybe I am on the scrapheap at 32.

Luckily days like these are few and far between at the 'mo. Should the job hunt thing go on - I fear they will become a bit more frequent.