Christmas Approaching

Once again we're in the run-up to that time of year again. I've been through this process 57 times now, and I still enjoy it - although for different reasons now. Like all kids and young people, I used to love it for the holiday time - the overindulgence and the presents, and the decorations and carols were a seasonal backdrop to it all. Since I became a dad (over 31 years ago) I came to appreciate it in the light of parenthood; the kids provided a shift of focus from the usual cycle of giving and getting.

Since my conversion to Christianity nearly 30 years ago I came to appreciate the season for its theological significance as well - although it's a widely accepted fact that Jesus wasn't actually born at that time of year (or history, for that matter - it's believed that 5BC was the most likely year). What matters more than these disputed facts is that he actually came. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory - the glory of the only-begotten of the Father." (John 1)

While we have the usual media hysteria about the credit crunch and falling retail sales figures, and Mugabe's ongoing indifference to his starving and diseased people continues to occupy our news, the most significant fact of history lies wrapped up and largely obscured in religious ritual, Victorian fantasy and Hollywood sentimentality: the Messiah arrived as promised. That's what history's really all about. Economic conditions - like political leaders have their ebbs and flows, their exits and their entrances - but his arrival has eternal consequences. He is the anvil on which we are either eternally shaped or irrevocably broken.

A very happy Christmas to you - whoever and wherever you are.

Friday

Here we are - another Friday! What a week it's been. On Tuesday my father-in-law took ill (went out like a light and then was quite sick), so we had to call the ambulance. A paramedic arrived with all the hi-tech diagnostics equipment; an ambulance crew soon arrived on the scene. He was rushed into the Royal Infirmary, where he was kept until yesterday. He's now out of hospital and back home; it appears that he has a slow heartbeat, and this may be the cause of the problem. He's fine again, but in the new year he'll have to go in as an outpatient and be rigged up with a 24-hour ECG monitor. It may be that he'll need a pacemaker.

With my son-in-law's ongoing heart issues, this, my other son-in-law's job situation (glad to say, safe) and my unemployment, it's been (in the sense of that well-known Chinese curse) an interesting time.

Yesterday I had a phone call from a job agency in London. Would I like a contract postion in systems security in Cheltenham? I asked if this was for GCHQ, but the gentleman at the other end wasn't going to be drawn. He did however ask me if I had security clearance, thus answering the question for me. I really don't want to have to board in Cheltenham during the week and come home for weekends. Nothing personal against this branch of the Civil Service - I'd happily apply for a job there if it were nearer home.

This afternoon I have another appointment with the Job MAETS centre; I hope it'll be constructive. I have one or two ideas of what I would like to do for the rest of my working life, and they don't involve supporting crappy systems and raking through other people's codal abominations. The other thing I've come to realise is that competency-based questioning is de rigeur in all sections of IT. So if I'm to be asked at every interview "Can you give us a specific example  of a scenario where you found a solution for a system error?" - I'm going to be flummoxed every time, as I've solved hundreds of calls like that, but I don't have the type of memory to store such rubbish. My brain finds room for more interesting things. I don't believe in making up stories at interviews; if I did, I'd already be a novelist or journalist! 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

On Friday I went down to town to attend a course I've been assigned to by the Jobcentre. It was with an organisation called PACE, which has EU funding to help those who are out of work. The hour I spent was a one-to-one, filling in paperwork and signing things, but it was a profitable time. The lady who saw me was very helpful, and gave me some useful perspectives from the employer's side. She has worked in HR, so she has some useful knowledge to impart. I'm due there again next Friday.

Later on in the day I received a phone call from a recruitment agent. After the preliminary questions, he told me that there's a job in Derby (yes, Derby again) for which my previous experience would be suited. So I'll wait and see..

This so-called credit crunch is rolling on; relentlessly hyped in the press, we're expecting to see the soup kitchens any minute - and the Jarrow marches. There's a lot of realignment going on in the economic world at present (for example, Woolies down the pan and Santander job cuts in the banking sector), but I'm not sure whether the crisis is the cause or the effect. I'm inclined to think (borrowing Voltaire's saying) that it the credit crisis didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent it.

In the same way, if terrorism didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent it. Otherwise, how could we have armed police (and their attendant errors like poor Jean Charles de Menezes), ubiquitous sureillance cameras and phone tapping? Come back, Eric Blair. All is forgiven.

Wednesday already!

Yesterday Jane went to Leicester to see Hanna and the boys, while I continued my jobseeking online. I applied for a 1st line support job (contract) which is with a bank centre just a few miles up the road.

I arranged to meet Paul for a pint and a catch-up; it gave me a bit of exercise and an excuse for a beer. While I was waiting for him to turn up, I received a call on my mobile from the agency that had advertised the job. The girl asked if I really wanted to be considered for this, as it was pretty elementary, mind-numbing stuff - and not particularly well-paid. I said I'd still be interested. In view of the current posturings of our national socialist government, it would be as well to put myself forward. Otherwise I stand to lose the pittance that Uncle Gordon pays me..

I've applied for 3 more today - I'm on a roll! I was also gratified to find a letter in the post this morning from a company that I'd applied to for a job about 3 weeks ago. This might seem strange, but I was pleased at receiving a letter from them, despite the fact that they'd written to say that they'd turned down my application. At least there's still a remnant of courtesy and civility in this post-modern industrial landscape. I could rail and rant for hours about the sheer laziness (and my father-in-law also thinks, impudence) of employers who can't be arsed to respond to applicants.

Another Monday

Following on from my previous entry - yes, it was the selfsame job! I thought it was too good to be true. I had a good chat with the agent - it appears that things are quiet. That'll be why he made the time to talk to me..!

I've had a fruitless week searching for likely employment. I even went down to Tesco to see if there was any temporary work - but there wasn't anything listed on the noticeboard. Perhaps the students have got there first..

Realistically, I'm not likely to find anything before Christmas, but it doesn't stop me from trying. I see the same jobs cropping up (and rolling round) on the Leicester/Nottingham/Derby circuit. It would be a happy hunting ground if I were a .NET developer with SAS, C++, C#, ASP, MySQL and web design under my belt. It would also help if I spoke fluent Albanian and Portuguese. There are many exciting (yawn) opportunities for such people - if they even exist. If they do, I hope they have the requisite degree at the right grade from the right university, and they're prepared to endure endless hassle and stress for £19K. It's a wonderful world out there - you just have to be the right cherry to be picked.

Despite my apparent cynicism, I'm not in despair: this whole unemployment thing is for me an exercise in patience. Not a commodity I have in shedloads..

What I will not do is to present myself on my CV as someone who can solve all the world's problems before breakfast. There are too many of these types already, and they either deceive themselves (because they're chronically self-deluded) or they deceive others because they're style merchants. There will always be those who are ready to listen to them. Look at any political party conference, and you'll know what I mean.

What goes round..

I went for a couple of interviews at the JobCentre yesterday; these were pleasant enough - the process took about an hour. I have a "Job Maets" session to attend next week (yes - that is the correct spelling). I am flabbergasted by the complexity of the signing on procedure - and the amount of paperwork is staggering. Oh, the hoops we have to jump. How on earth do benefit cheats have the patience to go through all of this? It's bad enough for the bona fide claimants!

I also signed with yet another agency in Loughborough. This one was different - it took ages to fill in the requisite paperwork - and I also had to include my bank details. I then had an interview with a girl who told me that there's a temporary position at the electrical engineering place where I worked for 20 years! She's sending my CV - so we'll see what happens. The money isn't great, but quite frankly, I'm not that fussed. I can carry on searching while I'm temping. If this all happens, I'll then have to tell the JobCentre that I don't need any further benefit. All that sweat for nothing!

I met up with Paul (kid brother) for a beer - we exchanged moans/experiences/observations. He and I are starting to think that it's probably not worth pursuing further IT work: there are so many applicants, and the whole market is geared around the young bucks (and does). He shares my opinion that a change of direction and pace is needed. I'd rather be in a job where I'm happy.

I was surprised later on to find an email from a bloke at a recruitment agency who has matched my CV with an IT job in Derby. I replied, asking him to contact me so that we can discuss this, but no reply has arrived yet! This job sounds rather familiar - the criteria in the description sound the same as the one I was interviewed for the other week..

Job

I haven't been selected for second interview for the job for which I was interviewed last week. It's a pity that I had to contact the agency fellow to find out, rather than receive a letter or an email from the people concerned. Couldn't they be bothered to write?

It appears that common courtesy has gone out of the window in the world of recruitment. I really do believe that a company that is concerned with the small courtesies of life is one worth working for. So it's back to the drawing board. The applications continue - and so does the silence from those to whom I apply..

I've registered with various agencies in Loughborough. I'm starting to think that it's not worth trying to chase IT jobs; some former colleagues are still looking - several months on.

Interview

Yesterday I had an interview with a Derby software company. The place was quite easy to find; it was situated on a tired-looking industrial estate. The interview appeared to go well (the 2 interviewers were 30-somethings, and they were very pleasant), although some of the questions I was asked were rather difficult to answer, since they were asking me to trawl my memory for specific examples of certain scenarios in my previous experience. Now I have a good memory - but sadly it only extends to trivia and facts. I've handled a lot of calls over my years in IT, and most of them have disappeared into the black hole of forgetfulness. The job sounds interesting and would certainly involve some travel - even overseas. If they want me back for a second interview, I'll have to give a presentation on a technical subject - which sounds like fun!

I went for a sandwich and a beer at the Navigation at Shardlow afterwards - it was nice to reflect on the previous hour with some Pedigree in hand!

This morning I was phoned by the guy at the agency who put me onto the job in the first place. Naturally he was interested to find out how the interview went. He tells me he's going to speak to the company, and he'll phone me later.

I'm assuming nothing. I've continued the job hunting, and have applied for another job this morning. It's for a systems administrator in a Nottingham design studio, but there's no detail about what is required - so it's a shot in the dark. But then it's all a shot in the dark from where we are, isn't it?

Signing On

Today is the first day of my official unemployment, since my contract with Alliance & Leicester finished on Friday 14th November.

This morning I went down to town to visit the Job Centre - only to find that I didn't sign on there; I was told by a pleasant chap on the staff there that I needed to call an 0800 number. He gave me a booklet which also informed me that I can enter my details for a Jobseeker's claim online. In view of the fact that the phonecall takes 40 minutes, I decided to take the online option - only to find that I'll still be getting a phonecall from them, which should take - guess - 40 minutes!

The tally of jobs I've applied for in the last fortnight is up to 12, with an interview with a Derby firm on Thursday. This wasn't for a job I'd actually applied for - it was the result of a phonecall from an enthusiastic agency man. I hope it will be successful, but the blurb I was sent concerning the interview seems to indicate that I'm going to have to trawl through my memory banks for examples of technical support issues I've had to grapple with in my previous roles. Since there were so many of them (and I've been to bed since then), it's going to be fun.

There's a job in Loughborough I rather fancy - I won't say what it is - but it would be a departure from IT (although it requires IT skills), and it would also be in a non-commercial environment. I'd like that; I've come to despise the corporate culture that has developed over the last 20 years. It's theatre by another name: all the posturing, dressing up and reciting lines that don't come from the heart. Fingers crossed..!