There are times when I get so BORED with job hunting that I go off into lateral lines of though. And this happened to me the other day and I found myself on Google entering “Fifty something and unemployed” and then thought I’d share some of the gems with you here on my blog.
First up was Advice to the recently unemployed fifty something worker Published in May 2007 (an American to boot) it reflects the predicament that I and many more like me face. And the message is clear - we don't need all the materialistic trappings of life, so lets just simplify things a bit and declutter. Now is the perfect opportunity to do so.
Next up was Unemployment is a full-time job I can identify with that sentiment. This piece isn't particularly well written, but, it is written from the heart.
Albert Ellis is Chief Executive Office of Harvey Nash, the global professional recruitment and IT Outsourcing consultancy. Here’s what he had to say on the subject of Recruitment and the global slow down on the July 15, 2008. I wonder what he’d write now?
Then I found this article. It’s one year old but still relevant – Serious career changes during middle-age. Has anyone ever done it? Could I do it? More importantly, should I do it? I keep thinking about it, is now the time to do it?
Tuesday 30 September 2008
The Credit Crunch – my take on it
It has been a while since I had a good rant so here’s one that’s long overdue…. The world of finance is in turmoil. Banks are going under, merging or being nationalised (trust good old Labour to come up with that one).
Why?
For 2 reasons. Firstly in America they embarked on sub-prime lending, and secondly, other banks were then stupid enough to trade on those mortgages. All done in the belief that property values can go up as well as up! Well it’s not like that in the real world. What goes up DOES come down!
So how do that banks react when the nasty brown smelly stuff hits the high speed whirly rotating thing? They react by NOT lending to each other, by stock piling their cash. Now the only reason anybody refuses to lend to somebody else is if they don’t believe the borrower when they say they will repay the money borrowed. In other words, at the moment ALL the banks are calling each other “LIAR!”, and the only reason they can have for doing that is if they themselves are being “economic” with the truth (i.e. they are lying).
Surely the banking institutions are there to do business. That means take it in with one hand (savings and deposits) and give it out with the other (loans and mortgages). There is only one reason for stock piling money, akin to us sticking it under the mattress, and that is to ensure that it is still there to pay out fat cat bonuses that haven’t been earned (no change there then).
So why have supposedly good banks and building societies gone belly up? Well that’s down to traders and their “Chinese Whispers”. If I was to say that I think such and such a venture is about to fail, then nobody much listens, much less cares. If what I said is repeated in a local news paper then a few people will take note and may boycott that venture. Then if the regional news program or local current affairs program repeats what I said, a few hundred more people may react in the same way. It could then get onto national TV and all of a sudden nobody wants to be involved with what is probably a perfectly good venture, but, which I spoke ill of.
And THAT is exactly what traders in the city have done. They have perpetuated concerns by betting that a venture (in this case, banks) will fail and everybody and his dog has followed suit. Tell a child that he or she is thick often enough and in the end they will believe that they are thick, and they will under-perform. And it’s no different with the banks. Everybody was placing bets that certain banks would fail, so fail they did.
And the worst thing about it is that the TRADERS that started it all off were proved right, so their bets were good, so they made MEGA BUCKS. And THEN the financial world is amazed when the American Congress vetoes the proposal by George W Bush (junior) to pump $700 billion into the banks and a system that has rejected meaningful regulation since it’s inception.
So what of the future? I have no doubt that GWB (jnr) will get $700 billion to pump into the system and shore up capitalism. And our favourite scot, GB, will do the same for Banks GB Incorporated. I'm just not convinced that the "day of reckoning" will ever catch up with those that it needs to catch up with and take to task. And who will pick up the tab for all this? You and I, the silent minority, in the form of income tax, value added tax, road fund duty (tax), council tax, rates, speeding fines, etc…. Meantimes, the fat cats will get considerably fatter. Bitter, me? Nah! Not a bit. Just remember, next time you hear somebody described as a “high flyer” in either Banking or The City – what they really are is someone who is on their way to becoming a “fat cat”.
Why?
For 2 reasons. Firstly in America they embarked on sub-prime lending, and secondly, other banks were then stupid enough to trade on those mortgages. All done in the belief that property values can go up as well as up! Well it’s not like that in the real world. What goes up DOES come down!
So how do that banks react when the nasty brown smelly stuff hits the high speed whirly rotating thing? They react by NOT lending to each other, by stock piling their cash. Now the only reason anybody refuses to lend to somebody else is if they don’t believe the borrower when they say they will repay the money borrowed. In other words, at the moment ALL the banks are calling each other “LIAR!”, and the only reason they can have for doing that is if they themselves are being “economic” with the truth (i.e. they are lying).
Surely the banking institutions are there to do business. That means take it in with one hand (savings and deposits) and give it out with the other (loans and mortgages). There is only one reason for stock piling money, akin to us sticking it under the mattress, and that is to ensure that it is still there to pay out fat cat bonuses that haven’t been earned (no change there then).
So why have supposedly good banks and building societies gone belly up? Well that’s down to traders and their “Chinese Whispers”. If I was to say that I think such and such a venture is about to fail, then nobody much listens, much less cares. If what I said is repeated in a local news paper then a few people will take note and may boycott that venture. Then if the regional news program or local current affairs program repeats what I said, a few hundred more people may react in the same way. It could then get onto national TV and all of a sudden nobody wants to be involved with what is probably a perfectly good venture, but, which I spoke ill of.
And THAT is exactly what traders in the city have done. They have perpetuated concerns by betting that a venture (in this case, banks) will fail and everybody and his dog has followed suit. Tell a child that he or she is thick often enough and in the end they will believe that they are thick, and they will under-perform. And it’s no different with the banks. Everybody was placing bets that certain banks would fail, so fail they did.
And the worst thing about it is that the TRADERS that started it all off were proved right, so their bets were good, so they made MEGA BUCKS. And THEN the financial world is amazed when the American Congress vetoes the proposal by George W Bush (junior) to pump $700 billion into the banks and a system that has rejected meaningful regulation since it’s inception.
So what of the future? I have no doubt that GWB (jnr) will get $700 billion to pump into the system and shore up capitalism. And our favourite scot, GB, will do the same for Banks GB Incorporated. I'm just not convinced that the "day of reckoning" will ever catch up with those that it needs to catch up with and take to task. And who will pick up the tab for all this? You and I, the silent minority, in the form of income tax, value added tax, road fund duty (tax), council tax, rates, speeding fines, etc…. Meantimes, the fat cats will get considerably fatter. Bitter, me? Nah! Not a bit. Just remember, next time you hear somebody described as a “high flyer” in either Banking or The City – what they really are is someone who is on their way to becoming a “fat cat”.
I like (nice) surprises
First surprise of the day was a phone call from Don to say that he was making a delivery up in Kirkby in Ashfield, and asking if that was far from me in Derby. Too far off his route to get away with (vehicle tracker fitted to his HGV) but close enough to the local motorway services for us to meet up for a cuppa – thanks mate, I owe you one.
Second surprise was that while we were queuing for Don to pay for the cuppa, my mobile rings and it’s Liz from Real Resourcing to say that she’s got me an interview at 10:00 on Friday. So I’m all smiles for the rest of the day and nice and chirpy for the half hour or so it took Don and I to down a cuppa.
On the way back home I paid for 6 months Road Fund Duty on the car, got home and fitted the tax disc to the windscreen. Tidied up and put away my tools, having fitted new front brake pads to Mark’s scooter before going off to meet Don and phoned the bike shop when a test ride by Mark suggested that there is something seriously wrong with the transmission – I just hope it lasts long enough to get it to the bike shop. They fitted new rollers/belt/pulleys so they can sort it out.
Then, at around 15:00 it was down to sorting through the email alerts to see if there were any jobs for me to take a pop at. More good news – 2 that I didn’t recognise as ones that I’d already had an unsuccessful go at, so I “applied on-line” which is all one can ever do.
Then I got an email from Lofty (real name Carol). An ex-colleague at zeda she decided to take retirement when the firm collapsed as she’d only got to get to May in order to do so anyway. Seems that she has just got back from a holiday in St Lucia, where she got a bug in the second week that meant she had to rest up for a few days. What a bummer! Having to rest up in St Lucia. Things like that don’t happen to me. Nice one Lofty, where are you off to next?
Second surprise was that while we were queuing for Don to pay for the cuppa, my mobile rings and it’s Liz from Real Resourcing to say that she’s got me an interview at 10:00 on Friday. So I’m all smiles for the rest of the day and nice and chirpy for the half hour or so it took Don and I to down a cuppa.
On the way back home I paid for 6 months Road Fund Duty on the car, got home and fitted the tax disc to the windscreen. Tidied up and put away my tools, having fitted new front brake pads to Mark’s scooter before going off to meet Don and phoned the bike shop when a test ride by Mark suggested that there is something seriously wrong with the transmission – I just hope it lasts long enough to get it to the bike shop. They fitted new rollers/belt/pulleys so they can sort it out.
Then, at around 15:00 it was down to sorting through the email alerts to see if there were any jobs for me to take a pop at. More good news – 2 that I didn’t recognise as ones that I’d already had an unsuccessful go at, so I “applied on-line” which is all one can ever do.
Then I got an email from Lofty (real name Carol). An ex-colleague at zeda she decided to take retirement when the firm collapsed as she’d only got to get to May in order to do so anyway. Seems that she has just got back from a holiday in St Lucia, where she got a bug in the second week that meant she had to rest up for a few days. What a bummer! Having to rest up in St Lucia. Things like that don’t happen to me. Nice one Lofty, where are you off to next?
Saturday 27 September 2008
Smile – but a ride away
Back tracking a bit here, but Friday was my sign-on day at the Wardwick Job Seeker Plus office. My regular handler is the lovely Lauren and she was there waiting (as just about all her colleagues appeared to be, many of them doing their hair, make-up, etc…). As usual she called me straight through, and we went through the now familiar routine. My 10 minutes are quickly over and I’m off back home and spend the rest of the day searching for jobs, without much luck.
So back to today, and after a week of lows, and no good news in any measure, this afternoon I found myself with a couple of hours “free time”. Out with the bike and off for a short ride to blow away the cobwebs. Only out for an hour but the smile is back on my face and I’m feeling human again. The bike has given me back my soul. The car may have to be sold, but whatever happens the bike stays – it does something that a car can never do.
So back to today, and after a week of lows, and no good news in any measure, this afternoon I found myself with a couple of hours “free time”. Out with the bike and off for a short ride to blow away the cobwebs. Only out for an hour but the smile is back on my face and I’m feeling human again. The bike has given me back my soul. The car may have to be sold, but whatever happens the bike stays – it does something that a car can never do.
You should see the smile
Andy has been away at the BMW college near Reading for most of the week, getting home late on Thursday. Having had a complimentary BMW 118d for the week he’s back home to his new (to him) Honda Civic Type R. Does he like it? You should see the smile!
Today Angie and John have come up to stay with Mum & Dad for the weekend. Needless to say, this afternoon Andy had to take them out for a trip round the block, but, not until he’d given it a wash and polish. He’s had it 10 days and it’s been washed and polished more times than John’s Ford Focus which he’s had for 4 years.
Today Angie and John have come up to stay with Mum & Dad for the weekend. Needless to say, this afternoon Andy had to take them out for a trip round the block, but, not until he’d given it a wash and polish. He’s had it 10 days and it’s been washed and polished more times than John’s Ford Focus which he’s had for 4 years.
What a waste of time
Thursday morning, spirits high and I’m off to Chesterfield for an interview. I’ve driven in a nice and relaxed manner but still arrive early enough for 20 minutes sat in the car in the car park before going inside, 10 minutes early to sit in the foyer for 20 minutes before being fetched up into the board room. 15 minutes later I’m being shown out because I’m “over qualified” for the role (which isn’t a Project Manager role as advertised, but a CRM role) and she believes that with 2-3 weeks I’d be bored.
I could go on, but won’t. Suffice to say, what a waste of time!
I could go on, but won’t. Suffice to say, what a waste of time!
Monday 22 September 2008
RIP Sooty
Sooty, our black and white feline companion of seventeen and a half years is with us no more. He’d been sick for the last 3 weeks, perking up every time we made arrangements to take him to the vet. Until today. After a check over we were informed that he had at least one tumour which was in his abdomen and pressing onto his lungs, causing him breathing problems on top of his digestive ones. At that age, and being as frail as he was, it was unlikely that he’d survive any exploratory surgery and that life expectancy would not be greatly enhanced.
He was always a great character and will be greatly missed by us all over the following days, weeks, years….
Sooty, March 1991 – September 2008, RIP.
He was always a great character and will be greatly missed by us all over the following days, weeks, years….
Sooty, March 1991 – September 2008, RIP.
Sunday 21 September 2008
No news means no good news
I hadn’t realised how long it has been since I’d updated the blog until I got an email from ex-zeda colleague Susan asking me for an update, so here it is….
After a couple of weeks waiting I finally heard that I wasn’t being called for second round interview at Echo Managed Services in Walsall -- no reasons given. That was my last interview on the 4th of September, and things have been very down beat since then. My attempts to get back in payroll are being rebuffed because I’ve no recent experience and the need for a relevant qualification. As a result I’ve applied for administration roles and even submitted a job application for shelf stacking at Aldi. No joy there either!
So what to do? I really don’t know. Sticking to what I know is getting me nowhere and just trying to get a job, any job, is getting me nowhere too. Apparently ASDA are starting their recruitment for the coming Christmas build up, as are Empire Direct, so do I? Don’t I? I don’t see that I have any choice. We can’t last forever on Sue’s salary and Job Seekers Allowance, but, in order to make those savings last longer I had prepared the car for sale – washed, waxed and cleaned out I’ve taken the photos ready to put it in Auto Trader. This week I’ll get a new MoT on it and put 6 months tax on it, and then it has to go. Anybody want a Mercedes C220 CDi Sport Coupe?
In the meantime I’m applying for anything and everything that I feel I can be confident in doing as a job of work. Sod the salary band, just get a job!
After a couple of weeks waiting I finally heard that I wasn’t being called for second round interview at Echo Managed Services in Walsall -- no reasons given. That was my last interview on the 4th of September, and things have been very down beat since then. My attempts to get back in payroll are being rebuffed because I’ve no recent experience and the need for a relevant qualification. As a result I’ve applied for administration roles and even submitted a job application for shelf stacking at Aldi. No joy there either!
So what to do? I really don’t know. Sticking to what I know is getting me nowhere and just trying to get a job, any job, is getting me nowhere too. Apparently ASDA are starting their recruitment for the coming Christmas build up, as are Empire Direct, so do I? Don’t I? I don’t see that I have any choice. We can’t last forever on Sue’s salary and Job Seekers Allowance, but, in order to make those savings last longer I had prepared the car for sale – washed, waxed and cleaned out I’ve taken the photos ready to put it in Auto Trader. This week I’ll get a new MoT on it and put 6 months tax on it, and then it has to go. Anybody want a Mercedes C220 CDi Sport Coupe?
In the meantime I’m applying for anything and everything that I feel I can be confident in doing as a job of work. Sod the salary band, just get a job!
Andy has a new car
My eldest son Andy had at last bought a Honda Civic Type R to replace his Vauxhall Corsa. Resplendent in Metallic Black it is exactly what he was looking for, a face lifted model on the 04 plate with average miles that doesn’t appear to have been thrashed and has only minor cosmetic blemishes that he can address as and when he has the time and funds.
Monday 8 September 2008
Testing madness
I received some feedback today....
After 2 trips to Birmingham and sitting 2 sets of tests, competency and psychometric, the prospective employer has decided to re-advertise the position because none of the 8 candidates (myself included) came up to the mark. But here's the rub... we were the only ones to apply, and according to the agency, there are few candidates out there. People with jobs are staying put. My competition comes fromthose who, like me, don't currently have a job to go to.
And this is a trend I've noticed. Several (to me) prospective employers are interviewing again for BA/SBA/PM roles having failed to find a suitable candidate. The one thing that they all have is that they are big name employers, so I suppose that they can (a) afford to be choosey and (b) keep going round the circle of advertising / testing / interviewing simply to keep thier HR department in business. Incidently, these prospective employers are the same ones that have a reputation for regularily having a clear-out, making "under performers" redundant on a 6 or 12 month basis. Begs the question, would I want to work for them anyway?
Yesterday I had a call from Viv to say that she had been approached for a reference on me, so maybe, just maybe, something is happening.... but I'm not holding my breath. Viv's situation isn't good. Like me she finds she's just not creating that spark that results in a job offer. Only in her case, she's not worked since zeda went bust. At least I had my time at Trinity, so "Not good" is the phrase that comes to mind.
Today was a visit to a local agency -- after chasing shadows in the form of IT agencies spread across the country I'm implementing a change of tactics -- register with a couple of local agencies in Derby, Nottingham and Leicester and push for a local job, lower salary but (hopefully) a greater quality of life. Only time will tell if it's a good move or not. Watch this space.
After 2 trips to Birmingham and sitting 2 sets of tests, competency and psychometric, the prospective employer has decided to re-advertise the position because none of the 8 candidates (myself included) came up to the mark. But here's the rub... we were the only ones to apply, and according to the agency, there are few candidates out there. People with jobs are staying put. My competition comes fromthose who, like me, don't currently have a job to go to.
And this is a trend I've noticed. Several (to me) prospective employers are interviewing again for BA/SBA/PM roles having failed to find a suitable candidate. The one thing that they all have is that they are big name employers, so I suppose that they can (a) afford to be choosey and (b) keep going round the circle of advertising / testing / interviewing simply to keep thier HR department in business. Incidently, these prospective employers are the same ones that have a reputation for regularily having a clear-out, making "under performers" redundant on a 6 or 12 month basis. Begs the question, would I want to work for them anyway?
Yesterday I had a call from Viv to say that she had been approached for a reference on me, so maybe, just maybe, something is happening.... but I'm not holding my breath. Viv's situation isn't good. Like me she finds she's just not creating that spark that results in a job offer. Only in her case, she's not worked since zeda went bust. At least I had my time at Trinity, so "Not good" is the phrase that comes to mind.
Today was a visit to a local agency -- after chasing shadows in the form of IT agencies spread across the country I'm implementing a change of tactics -- register with a couple of local agencies in Derby, Nottingham and Leicester and push for a local job, lower salary but (hopefully) a greater quality of life. Only time will tell if it's a good move or not. Watch this space.
Saturday 6 September 2008
Time for a career change?
It's now been 9 weeks of job hunting -- without success. Interviews, yes. Competency tests, yes. Jobs applied for now in excess of 60. Job offers, zero. Lots of nice friendly words of encouragement and plenty of invaluable interview experience but I'm getting a bit fed up with my own company and no sign of an earned income.
With time on my hands I've been thinking about a career change. Well not so much a change, but a return to payroll. I worked my way through all levels of payroll, from doing it all totally manual on the old card system issued by the Inland Revenue, through an in-house written batch system typical of early computerised payrolls to Senior Payroll Officer on a mianframe, real time, system from a software house. So I'm thinking, why not put all that experience to good use and go back into payroll? I had a look around late yesterday and there are some positions advertised locally, so now I need a CV to correctly position me for these opportunities. Then Monday I'm going to hit as many local recruitment agencies as I can, looking for that local job. The money will be less, but then, so will the commute, and that will mean a better quality of life for me. I like the sound of that.
With time on my hands I've been thinking about a career change. Well not so much a change, but a return to payroll. I worked my way through all levels of payroll, from doing it all totally manual on the old card system issued by the Inland Revenue, through an in-house written batch system typical of early computerised payrolls to Senior Payroll Officer on a mianframe, real time, system from a software house. So I'm thinking, why not put all that experience to good use and go back into payroll? I had a look around late yesterday and there are some positions advertised locally, so now I need a CV to correctly position me for these opportunities. Then Monday I'm going to hit as many local recruitment agencies as I can, looking for that local job. The money will be less, but then, so will the commute, and that will mean a better quality of life for me. I like the sound of that.
Guiseppi finds work
Some weeks ago a friend of ours lost his job and in all the years we have known them I've never seen Guiseppi so down and depressed. He's naturally cheerful by nature, typically Italian. Well, last night we heard that he has found work after just over 2 weeks of job hunting. The rate of pay is poor but he's happy to be back in work. Well done Guiseppi!
Thursday 4 September 2008
Another day, another interview
Today it was a trip down the A38, A461, A34 to Walsall. Nice location, nice people, good interview – by which I mean that I felt it went well. The saying goes “practice makes perfect” – well today may not have been perfect but it was certainly one of my better (if not, best) interviews. But, there’s always a but! I was candidate #2. They will be interviewing 2 more tomorrow, then 2 more early next week. Then they will make a decision on who to call back for the 2nd round interview and I should know either way on Friday , that’s Friday next week! But 2nd round interviews can’t be held next week, or the week after because those that will be doing the interviewing are away on leave for these 2 weeks.
In the meantime I keep chasing other possibilities looking for that elusive job offer. I’ve extended my search beyond the original 50 mile radius from Derby, so that I’m now at 65 miles (that’ll mean a 130 miles round trip daily commute) with prospective jobs under scrutiny now in Wolverhampton, Dudley and Northampton. Depressed, no – not really. Despondent, yes, just a bit. I really want to cut down on the time I spend travelling to a place of work – Gordon Brown and Alistaire Darling keep bumping up the costs and in this day and age, when working in the IT industry, all this travel shouldn’t be necessary.
Perhaps it’s time for a complete change? After all, all I want is a job!
In the meantime I keep chasing other possibilities looking for that elusive job offer. I’ve extended my search beyond the original 50 mile radius from Derby, so that I’m now at 65 miles (that’ll mean a 130 miles round trip daily commute) with prospective jobs under scrutiny now in Wolverhampton, Dudley and Northampton. Depressed, no – not really. Despondent, yes, just a bit. I really want to cut down on the time I spend travelling to a place of work – Gordon Brown and Alistaire Darling keep bumping up the costs and in this day and age, when working in the IT industry, all this travel shouldn’t be necessary.
Perhaps it’s time for a complete change? After all, all I want is a job!
Monday 1 September 2008
Family & friends matter
The Bank Holiday weekend saw Sue and I out on the Saturday evening with friends for a couple of games of ten-pin bowling. This is something we have enjoyed since moving to Derby in the late 1980s. Mark and his girlfriend accompany us with friends and neighbours as 9 of us do our best to hide our incompetence and have some fun doing so. A good evening out, raising the spirits somewhat.
This Saturday Sue invited her team from work up for a BBQ as a “thank you” for their support and efforts at work over the last year. This saw me doing the cooking (well, it’s a man thing, isn’t it?) while she attended to the social side of things, making sure that everyone was well lubricated and not left out of the chat.
Angie and John were up again this weekend to celebrate Dad’s 76th birthday. His condition continues it’s slow and steady decline, but multiple sclerosis doesn’t kill. How Mum copes beats me, but, she does.
John has had his work hours cut , but is happy that he still has his job. His boss has called a meeting for this coming week and John has heard that the firm has been successful in picking up some new contracts which will not only guarantee the workforce continued employment but could see some extension of working hours. He waits to find out for definite later this week.
Angie is in the same position that I am, having been made redundant when her employer closed the café where she worked. She isn’t computer literate and now finds herself having to prepare a CV and search for jobs on-line. A new and alien world for her so I tried to give her some pointers. Hope it helps, it’s bad enough having those skills and not landing a job, but, to not have those skills in the first place is a real handicap.
This Saturday Sue invited her team from work up for a BBQ as a “thank you” for their support and efforts at work over the last year. This saw me doing the cooking (well, it’s a man thing, isn’t it?) while she attended to the social side of things, making sure that everyone was well lubricated and not left out of the chat.
Angie and John were up again this weekend to celebrate Dad’s 76th birthday. His condition continues it’s slow and steady decline, but multiple sclerosis doesn’t kill. How Mum copes beats me, but, she does.
John has had his work hours cut , but is happy that he still has his job. His boss has called a meeting for this coming week and John has heard that the firm has been successful in picking up some new contracts which will not only guarantee the workforce continued employment but could see some extension of working hours. He waits to find out for definite later this week.
Angie is in the same position that I am, having been made redundant when her employer closed the café where she worked. She isn’t computer literate and now finds herself having to prepare a CV and search for jobs on-line. A new and alien world for her so I tried to give her some pointers. Hope it helps, it’s bad enough having those skills and not landing a job, but, to not have those skills in the first place is a real handicap.
My Deauville
For the simple reason that I prefer to use the bike, added to the fact that I can park it up in town for free, I use the bike whenever I have to sign on. Last Friday was one such day, so first thing I go to get the bike out and find the front tyre is very low, but not quite flat.
With time in hand I pump it up and perform a visual check for a puncture – none found. So out with a large plastic tray, fill it with water and after several rotations looking for punctures, I filled it high enough to cover the wheel to the rim and discovered the problem – the air is escaping from between tyre and rim. Obviously not properly sealed but at least I don’t have to worry about a puncture repair or tyre replacement. I called in at The Motorcycle Workshop, where the tyres were fitted, and they’ll have a go at sealing it on Friday.
With time in hand I pump it up and perform a visual check for a puncture – none found. So out with a large plastic tray, fill it with water and after several rotations looking for punctures, I filled it high enough to cover the wheel to the rim and discovered the problem – the air is escaping from between tyre and rim. Obviously not properly sealed but at least I don’t have to worry about a puncture repair or tyre replacement. I called in at The Motorcycle Workshop, where the tyres were fitted, and they’ll have a go at sealing it on Friday.
Anxiety starts
Nine weeks job searching and so far all I’ve gained is experience. Vital experience in presentations , psychometric testing (a completely new and alien to me) competency interviews and testing, all on top of the “normal”, run of the mill, traditional interviews. But even though feedback suggests I’m getting better I’m still not getting any job offers, and to me that’s worrying.
OK, we still have Sue’s earnings but they represent only a third of our income compared to when I was in work. There’s an insurance policy in place that will, from the end of this month, pay the mortgage for up to a year, but, even with cutting back everything to basics we will still be eating away at the savings we have unless work is found soon.
Anxious, yes, I’m starting to get anxious. I’ve never been a worrier, but now I’m starting to have sleepless nights, and that’s not good, as I see it as the start of a downward spiral which can only lead to me performing worse and not better at interviews, and I can’t entertain that. That’s just not the way I am.
OK, we still have Sue’s earnings but they represent only a third of our income compared to when I was in work. There’s an insurance policy in place that will, from the end of this month, pay the mortgage for up to a year, but, even with cutting back everything to basics we will still be eating away at the savings we have unless work is found soon.
Anxious, yes, I’m starting to get anxious. I’ve never been a worrier, but now I’m starting to have sleepless nights, and that’s not good, as I see it as the start of a downward spiral which can only lead to me performing worse and not better at interviews, and I can’t entertain that. That’s just not the way I am.
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