Sorry another job related blog post!

Sorry, sorry, it's not supposed to be a job hunting blog but it's hard to think of other things just now.

This week I got my leaving date from work, 30th September is my last day.  10 years served and I was innocent I tell you ............... innocent!  It will actually be 10 years and 5 months working in the same place.

So now I know when I'll be finished.  I still don't have another job although the job with no salary has been in touch!

I had a phone interview with an HR person from a local company and was told I would hear by the end of the week ................... nothing!  This is a one of those interesting jobs, its an area I'd like to get into but to do that I need to take a step back to get some experience.  In some ways I'm over qualified, I have bundles of project management experience.  In other ways I don't have enough, only limited experience in this area of the Pharmaceutical industry. 

So I'd have to go from Senior Project Manager in manufacturing to at the highest an Associate Clinical Project Manager.  Except there are no Associate jobs around so I'm going back an extra step to the support level to get the experience.  Took some planning how to explain to the HR person that I'm not just using it as a stop gap while I find something better.  I do want to do this so happy to take the step back / pay cut and work my way back up.

Waiting, waiting, waiting for them to get back to me.  Even when they do it will probably just be to go for a face to face interview with the group manager.  Then more waiting, waiting and waiting.

Just give me the job, I'm fab, I work hard, I'm great with people, modest and I can communicate.  Go on!

Visualising getting the job offer in a positive thinking way. 

Wish me luck :0)

Interesting Interview

Well I had an interesting interview experience today.  It was a Project Manager job for a new company with a new product.  Very interesting idea and will probably work out if they market it well.

Discussed the job and it would be a good job, interesting to be involved from the start and a small company so probably I'd get lots of new experience.  But try and guess the salary.............

....................... go on have a guess


in £s if you can but I'll convert with my skilled maths mind and tell you if you're right for any currency



no lower........................



no lower ..............................



still lower ....................................




you got it

That's right zero, nothing, zilch, nada, nought, nowt, none, zip and nil.  £0.00 or $0.00 or €0.00 you take your pick!

So there you are, that was an interesting experience. 

PS.  Blogger has decided I can't post comments on my blog or anyone elses so although I'm around I can't comment.  It keeps saying I need to log in so I do and then we go round again.  Confused!

Still job hunting

Yawn

What a boring searching for jobs blog.

Sorry I'm still filling my spare time job hunting instead of blogging.  Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon.

Next week I will get my leaving date from my current job.............. TORN

I want out!  So sick of working there.  Really wanting an early date.

BUT I have to pay my bills so I should be wanting a late date and hanging in as long as possible.

Anyway off to search for jobs!

Applications away

Busy week of applying for jobs.  Thankfully most have been via the internet / e-mail but one was a application form.  Took me about 4 hours to complete!  When I struggle to write a half page about why I want the job, main achievements and strengths I'd bring I have to question the statement "excellent communication skills" I have in my CV :0)

So first week of job searching:
CV to previous boss and one previous colleague - it's not what you know, it's who you know!
6 science / pharmaceutical jobs applied for, one thanks but no thanks but to be fair I didn't have the experience they where looking for.
6 alternative project manager roles applied for, mostly in finance.  I'm looking a junior / associate roles hoping that someone might give me a try!
1 events management job applied for, probably won't pay enough but I've always fancied doing this and it would pay the bills!
15 applications in one week, not a bad start!  Clearly I have my favourites, a couple of the science jobs look interesting and finance is where the money lives so that might be nice!

Not much fun at work still, too much moaning and negativity, understandable but it's pretty draining.  Got very vague details of the job opportunities they have, 3 out of 6 of the people at my level could keep our jobs but it is unlikely to be in Scotland.  The initial offer of redundancy is above the basic which is a good start but clearly we will ask for more. 

All in all I'm actually finding this quite exciting, it's an opportunity after all.

Lots of woofs and licks from the furry girls to all their blog buddies, will let you know what they have been up to soon.

Mrs M :0)

Well hello blog, remember me

Dear Blog

I'm sorry I have neglected you for months but I have been really busy.  Work continues to be a source of problems.  The site I work on is closing and the staff are leaving, well all be over by the end of August. 

In true Project Manager style I analysed the risks and decided that the major risk would be that the global Project Manager vision wouldn't work and our group would be next out of the door.  I did a quick gap analysis (get me with the worky buzz words) and realised my CV was missing an actual Project Management qualification.  Everything has been on the job training from one company.  So I decided that the way to go was to get an official qualification and show I know how the job should be done not just how the company I work for does it.

So I put myself in for an exam without doing the course, bought the books and spent the last few months revising in preparation.  I sat the exam recently and frightened myself because I found some of the questions very easy making me think I may have missed something.  One of the 10 questions I totally messed up but overall I think I will pass.  Fingers and toes crossed, results should arrive in the next few months.

My next step was to polish my very, very out of date CV.  When I say polish I mean start from scratch as it is 10 years since I updated it.  Finally completed a basic CV that can be easily customised for different jobs and all ready to start applying.

JUST IN TIME:

Last Wednesday we got the notification that plans have changed and our jobs are now at risk!  Spent the remainder of the week listening to the rest of the group saying they saw this coming and that now they need to start updating CVs etc.  Confused, if you saw it coming why have you done nothing?

Have 5 job opportunities to apply for, all of them have things that sound interesting and I know I can do them although all but one would be somewhat different from my current job.  CVs will be winging there way through electronic mail early next week.  Wish them luck if you have a spare moment!

On top of all my planning for this I have had to deal with work itself.  It has been horrible.  Without moaning too much I just need to say that the company has decided on really unrealistic timelines for closure and transfer.  So many things haven't been considered and it has been a nightmare recently.  As none of you know who they are I think it is reasonable for me to say that I am disgusted by their lack of customer focus and consideration.  They haven't treated staff well but we are costs so that's business but customers are your profits and future income, you'd think they would be trying to protect relationships.  Bitch over, not really my problem but when you have worked with clients for years it is hard not to care about them.

Away from work all is good, Mr Midnite has been very supportive and continues to infuse me with his positivity.  The furry girls are as usual wonderful and always ready with hugs and doggy licks when the day has been stressful!

Mental health wise the stress of work hasn't been a great help.  The situation is pushing my pharmaceutical support system to it's limits but I refuse to let it break me.  The doctor has let me have a few sleep tablets and the difference the occasional good nights sleep makes is unbelievable.  I have heard before that there is nothing you can't handle if you get a good nights sleep but now understand this. 

Knowing that I have been doing positive things to improve the situation as helped massively and I'm confident I'll find  nice new job soon.

Hoping my blog will forgive me for my extended absence and that I can get back to writing soon, I do miss it.

Lots of love
Mrs M

Decisions, decisions

I struggle making some of the easy decisions that occur everyday, like should I have dessert or not, and if yes then what should it be?  Or which handbag to buy?  That's how I end up buying 5, they are all so nice.

So imagine the difficulty when it comes to really big, life changing decisions.

With the situation at work I am trying to decide if I am going to stay put and see how it turns out, or start looking at options now.

The company are closing 2 of the 4 Scottish sites, my job is safe but it will be different.  Whatever I do there will be changes.  I could move for a complete change or stay put for a potentially complete change.

I've been there nearly 10 years, maybe now is the time to move?

Some of the possible outcomes of staying put look exciting but some don't, it's a risk waiting to see which way it goes.  There are a few opportunities floating about that interest me but I have some new job fear going on, what if I don't like it?

I visited our new site in Italy last week and the boss there seemed keen for me to go back for a longer visit and get to know everyone.  This for me would be vital to my job.  When I discussed it with my boss here she didn't seem very enthusiastic.  She said "you wouldn't want to move out there would you?"  I just said that I hadn't really thought about it.  Her reply was "I was asked to put forward a list of people who might be interested but I didn't include you because of the dogs and Mr Midnite."  Firstly I don't see that the two things are connected,  I want to spend some time over there so I can do my job better.  If other people want to transfer I don't see that this impacts my request.  Secondly, who is she to make the decision about moving for me, I might have had a life long wish to live in Italy.  Dogs and Mr Midnite are mobile, if I'd decided to go then Mr Midnite would need to make his own decision.

I think this and a few other things are putting me off staying but there are lots of new opportunities that I hope are well managed so that they work out.  I'd like to stay for some of them.

But, there are some interesting looking alternatives.  There are possibilities to move locally to other companies in the same industry or to change completely.  I just can't decide if I should send my CV out and give something new a try.

I'm too good at risk assessment for big decisions, I see risks everywhere

When maybe I should be seeing possibilities

Anyway I haven't decided what to do yet, I haven't even attempted to update my CV yet.  Lack of action is that an unconscious decision to stay put?

January 2011 Sucked

Just thought I'd share that.

I moved into the new year feeling optimistic, the end of 2010 wasn't the best but I had high hopes for 2011. But

My gran after spending 2 months in hospital died last Wednesday afternoon. She was 85 and had a good life, we have a close family, I'm the only one who has moved away. She had a good life and had told everyone not to be upset about her. The infection she had wasn't clearing up and the only real option was surgery. It was very high risk but she got through the operation and seemed to be better but the infection had spread and there wasn't anything they could really do. She had signed a do not resuscitate order before the surgery in case her heart failed, she wasn't the type to be content sitting in bed so maybe this is better than something long and drawn out. It's a strange feeling because I am so far from my family nothing has changed for me but I can't help feeling sad.

My little dog, the red furry one, Star is in season and did a spectacular Houdini escape act earlier this week straight into the paws of a giant mixed breed monster. I shouted at him and he ran away with the little tart chasing him down the street. Me following after, when I caught her and was carrying her back the dog was chasing me. Must have looked like something from Benny Hill. I'm pretty sure he didn't get her but I have to wait three weeks before the vet can check. The dog has been hanging about outside with little Star sitting on the window ledge watching him and crying to get out. It's like some really wrong canine Romeo and Juliet.

I have had a stinky cold and a kidney infection for the whole of January, two courses of antibiotics to shift it. I'm feeling better now but somewhere I've lost a few weeks.

Work is awful with the treat of redundancy hanging over the majority of my colleagues, it is looking more and more like they will be closing two of our four sites so the mood isn't great.

Add to that the general January grey days and lack of funds it has been a crappy month.

So here's to February, the real New Year. I'm thinking in song lyrics, "Things can only get better" and "The only way is up, baby!"

On the positive side my antidepressants are clearly miracle drugs, I am coping with the January blues and I'm optimistic that things will improve.

I will be back with a happier post soon!
Mrs M