On the job front:
I've applied for over 70 jobs since I started my search in June...wowza! Starting to get annoying now. But I did score an interview with Surrey County Council doing adult social work. Won't be til next month, but it's something! Also, Surrey (depending on where the jobs may be located) can be quite a haul from Sussex so that will be something to consider when the time comes. Might need to get a car after all if all goes well. Although I continue to search weekly for social work jobs in Sussex, most of them seem to be taken, given to less qualified "support workers" for less pay (saves the council money, but ultimately quality of client care will suffer), or are internal posts only open to existing council employees. From what I understand from local gossip/news, jobs in West Sussex County Council are being "made redundant" due to funding cuts and they have to (by law) move their permanent employees around to secure different roles before they can take on more staff. Makes sense. Still stinks for me and others like me in the area!
Randomly on Tuesday I got a phone call from a sales and marketing agency in Worthing inviting me for an interview. The conversation happened so fast, from what I understood they had obtained my CV from one of the SEVERAL job recruitment websites I posted it on. Fair enough, I figured I'd see what it was all about, even though I didn't actually apply for anything. After all, their office was about 5 minutes from my flat it was no skin off my nose. I arrived to find a bare office (they had clearly just moved in or moved out) which was weird. The first question I was asked was "why are you interested in sales and marketing?" Pardon? I wasn't. You called me, remember? Well anyways, they just asked me general questions about my skills and I answered honestly. I was shocked when they called me at the end of the day to schedule a second interview.
The next day another guy in the bare office told me about this brand new company and how they needed hard working people (i.e. warm bodies willing to work long hours on commission pay only) to sell the product (home insulation for energy efficiency) and if key sales benchmarks were made then there would be opportunities to move up. The interview went well and I'm sure they would put me to work if I was willing. I'm just fortunate to not be desperate for income cause the idea of door-to-door sales makes my skin crawl. What would my mother say if her daughter was going into the homes of pensioners selling insulation? Is that what a Master's degree is good for these days?? No thank you. I'd rather be doing admin work for minimum wage at a charity or county council than do sales. It's not my thing. Knowing my personality, I'd probably go into homes and then get side-tracked by helping people with more pressing psycho-social needs and never make a sale, lol. It's still flattering to get a first and second interview, although my instinct tells me that they were more attracted to my having a pulse and a warm body than any skills/experience I would bring to the table.
So all this free time was making me depressed so I decided to pursue some volunteer work to keep me doing positive things and to gain the very elusive "post qualification, UK-based, social work experience." Plus, karma tends to work out the way it should when you put positivity into the universe. This week I started volunteering at the Alzheimer's Society and once my CRB checks clear, I will start doing friendly home visits for elderly and home bound clients involved with AgeUK. I'm very excited about the opportunities that these two organizations have offered me and they have made me feel very welcome already! Plus, the Alzheimer's Society is about a 3 mile bicycle ride away so at least once a week I get in some exercise! Just goes to show that volunteering can be good for the mind, body, and soul!
New flat search is OVER!
As you read about recently, we have recently been informed that we have to vacate our beautiful flat because the owner wants to sell it. In fact, it's already under offer! We have til October but we started our flat hunt ASAP. I have seen so many properties over the past few weeks. Flats, houses, maisonettes, 1 bedrooms, 4 bedrooms, the lot, seafront, 5 miles from the sea, etc etc. They were all crap. Either the lounge was too small, the bedroom sizes laughable, or the kitchens were not up to scratch. Some had nice outdoor spaces but we too far away from the center of town (keep in mind we don't have a car, I walk to do most of my grocery shopping!) We saw a property this week that was VERY close to what we wanted, but not quite there. The next day the estate agent called me back to say a flat on the seafront had just come on the market and he thought we would like it. He was right! It's just one block from where we are now so we get to enjoy the great location and sea views. It's massive and the kitchen is AMMAZZZINNGGGG. Better yet, even though it's slightly bigger and nicer than the flat we have now, the price is the same. Score! Only downside is we have no balcony (so sad!) but the kitchen and large lounge were worth the sacrifice.
I think both of us were hoping to downsize slightly in price, but it became clear that cheaper places just didn't offer the space and location we were looking for. It's still do-able, so we're happy with the choice. So once all the credit checks and financial stuff goes through (hopefully next week) we can get a move in date and give our current landlord notice (seems redic to have to give notice after we've been told to vacate but whatevs, British laws).
Friday
After cycling to the estate agent to drop off paperwork and application fees (ouch my bank account), "Nan Worthing" and her partner took me for a nice drive out to Littlehampton to peruse their market. What a beautiful day! Nan Worthing loves to spoil the grandchildren with sweets/desserts. She gave us a box of chocolates, baklava from the Littlehampton market, and encouraged me to devour a whole bowl of profiteroles with lunch. Oy! We had a great afternoon. She even took me to Sainsburys to pick up chicken and chips for the hubby cause she felt bad he was missing a meal with us. She's too sweet! I definitely appreciated the drive on such a sunny day.
We ended the evening at a friend's housewarming party with a few drinks and nibbles. Good fun!
The Americans Are Coming!
A week from tomorrow, my parents arrive! I'm so psyched, I've been waiting for this moment since I left them at the airport in May. Kieran and I have been busy today getting bedding and discussing tentative plans for their visit. I have to work on an itinerary and menus for the week, can't wait! My parents aren't huge travelers, they got their first passports in 2007 when they visited me in London, so it means a lot to me that they are coming over to see us. And I'm glad we've found our new flat so we can show them where we will be living next. Yay! I hope they will feel at home in our flat.
*GASPS FOR BREATH*
I told you I had a lot of updates! I think we're all caught up now!
Tonight the hubby and I are going with a group of friends to see the new Inbetweeners movie! For those of you outside of England, it was a brilliant comedy series that wrapped up about a year ago and the movie has been highly anticipated by all the fans like me! It's gonna be hilarious, I know it!
xoxox
A
oh my goodness, I cannot even begin to watch The Inbetweeners - it makes me cringe! Jon loves it though, and can't wait to see the movie. I told him he'd have to go with a mate! I'm not spending £10 to watch people embarrass themselves - you can do that on the street for free!
ReplyDeleteI got my first job out of college with the organization I was volunteering for - so you never know :) Have fun with your parents - and your new place sounds amazing!
ReplyDelete