I Felt Inclined

I felt the need to post again, so here it is. I find that reading my own posts at a later date can help to clarify where I'm at and how I got there. I suppose it's almost like growing a beard and after a few weeks, finally looking in the mirror for the first time to see how it's progressed.

Today I went for another job interview, this time with a small company called Mosaic Software, based in East Kilbride. I felt that this was my most positive interview so far, so am hopeful I have a chance. This was my second time ever in EK (my last interview was there too) and I'm only just coming to terms with the mesmerising beauty, architecture and charm of the place.

I'm still training at O2, or more specifically, TSC. They do outsourcing for O2, just as RHL outsource for Sky. I have 3 days of "backshift" training left and actually go "live" on Saturday. This early start is down to the unusual shift pattern, and is a bit unfortunate as it is such a sudden start. The shift pattern seems fine, with fairly regular shifts, unlike my previous job. The training takes place at Skypark but we were in the TSC building on Monday for some call listening. I'm nervous about starting but hopefully by Saturday I'll know enough to get by and not make a tit of myself.

The training group is decent, with 14 left from the original 15. Basically, They've taken on 3 groups of 15 (from 3 different agencies) and will also recruit another 3 groups at a later date. It's for a 3 month contract with no guarantee after that. That suits me as I hope by the time the contract is up to have a better job, preferably not a call centre one! In the meantime I'm happy to be a corporate wage slave as it would sure beat poverty. It should be nice to see my first wage in over 2 months hit my bank account (on Friday, if all goes well) - just in time as well, before I reach my overdraft limit!!

I'm still enjoying living in the flat. I'd been getting fed up with it because I'd been spending so long in it over the past couple of months of unemployment, but now I'm getting "out and about", the novelty of the place is coming back again. On the subject of flats, Shagger (ex-flatmate) has been in touch to sort out payment of the penthouse bills. Good on him, as the sooner that's done, the sooner I can get my money back from Edzell. The saga continues - yawn. Shagger said he's going to college to do Business in January, as he needs to "get his shit together". I hope he does as the boy has potential.

I've not much else to report, other than my sleep pattern is as fucked up as ever, not helped much by the training shifts. Getting up at 8am this morning, even after 7 hours sleep, has really knocked me for six - in general my body is saying "what are you doing to me?!". I'd do anything for a regular routine!!!

Keep it real.

P.S. When reading an article on S1jobs, I noticed the following paragraph, about Dell (in Glasgow)...

"Much of future recruitment will concentrate on attracting university graduates that are either unemployed or are overqualified in their current jobs."

Me! Me! Over here!!

Final Post?!

Unfortunately I have been recently abducted by aliens (alongside Val Kilmer, Britney Spears and Barbara Streisand - how am I going to cope with the banter?). What happened was that during my break earlier today I spotted a trail of "smarties" on the floor - intrigued, I followed it up some stairs to the roof of Skypark. There, I was beamed onboard a waiting alien craft. I was able to post this using the WAP/GPRS facility on my new phone.

I guess whether there'll be any more posts depends on if and when they release me.

...

SHAG Theory

The SHAG theory (one I just made up) states that nearly all call centre employees are one of the following groups...

• Sengas (nedettes - female neds)
• Homosexuals
• Asians
• Graduates (who end up drifting or simply can't find "proper" work due to no experience)

At a rough estimate I would say that 85% of call centre employees fall into one of these categories.

Group Dynamics

I'm now on my 3rd day of training at O2. The training takes place Mon-Fri 4pm-10pm, and although it's 6 hours per day, I get paid for full-time hours. It's at Skypark, which is much bigger than I initially thought - the building is huge! O2 occupy the 3rd and 4th floors. Training's been ok so far. We get 2 15-minute breaks, and so far we've mainly been looking about the website, comparing mobile phone specifications etc. It's interesting to see all the current phones on the market and what features they have. The training is more focussed than previous training groups I've been in. I'm used to sort of 9-5 hours, with an hour lunch and a couple of long breaks, and lots of sitting around bored. This time, it's a bit more focussed; still boring to an extent but it pays to be at least interested in the subject matter. The trainer guy is quite camp (as a lot of them are), being one of those well-groomed sort of guys who wear pink shirts, and are effeminate etc - surely gay.

The group itself seems ok; there are about 15 of us (2/3 of which male). I've been chatting to one or two of the guys and they seem cool. It's a mixed group as usual, with people of various ages and backgrounds.

Job-wise it's not perfect (another damn call centre), but I'm glad to be there as I'm not in a position to pick and choose. It's a 3-month temp contract and we may be expected to work Xmas and/or New Year, but like I say, I'll choose that over unemployment any day! Hays IT were in touch to ask if I'd like to be put forward for an IT helpdesk role with Glasgow City Council, so I said yes, just to keep any better options open.

The hours are not ideal for my sleep pattern (I'm typically going to bed at 5-6am), but I suppose it's a good way to gradually break back into some form of routine. To be honest at the moment I feel a bit shitty - I think it's down to the unusual routine.

Technology Can Make You Happy

I got a new phone yesterday - a Samsung D600. I've been long overdue an upgrade from O2 and wasn't sure which one to get, but I decided on the D600 due to having used Samsung before and been happy with it. It's a nice phone, with the usual features (MP3 player, Bluetooth etc), with a sumptuous 262K colour screen. I took out insurance this time as I learnt my lesson from losing my last phone. It was a completely free upgrade as well, which is a huge bonus, especially as finances are tight.

Well, they've given me a new phone and (indirectly) a new job, so I can safely say that I'm an O2 fan at the moment.

Does anyone know if they run a dating service?

Brief Recap

I thought, in good old Duncan style, that I'd recap over the past year and moan about it (believe me, if I had anything more interesting to say, I would)...

Roughly a year ago, I moved back to the big city to find fame and fortune (Dick Whittington-esque, minus the cat). Since then, I've moved house 3 times, had 5 jobs (including my brief period at Sky, a couple of days working at a conference and my pending job at O2), and been 4 months unemployed (yes, 4 months; 2 periods of 2 months - that's one third of the year, for all those who can't do basic maths). In addition, the previous year consisted of 7 months of final-year university stress, and then around 5 months of doing very little (through choice admittedly, but perhaps not the best idea). There was also a relationship which went wrong, for various reasons - that didn't do me any favours, mentally.

There were small things as well; being without heating for months during the Winter period, falling out with Estelle (my first flat), being constantly anxious about Shagger not paying rent/bills, fighting with Shagger (2nd flat), those stressful long shifts at Goldfish, and not to mention I've had 9 interviews in the past month or so and been rejected for nearly all of them. Ironically the job I've been offered didn't even require an interview!! There's still the worry of whether Shagger will pay off the bills from the previous flat, so I can get my deposit back from Edzell - there always seems to be something to cause stress. Such is life.

My point is, given events in the past year, it's no wonder my head's messed up!

Ok, it's off my chest now. No more moaning. For your pleasure, here's a picture of an alsatian...

I would say I need a holiday, but no, not now - what I need is stability and regularity. Oh, and some money would be nice, also.

TRG To the Rescue

Time for a job search update.

Company	Role	Status
Hutchison 3G	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Lumley Letsure	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
RBS	Customer Service Advisor	NO RESPONSE
Golds (Solicitors)	Customer Service Advisor	ABANDONED
Abbey	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	REJECTED
Dell	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	RECRUITMENT POSTPONED
Graham Technology	Software Engineer (Deployment)	REJECTED
Visimetrics	Software Engineer	RECRUITMENT POSTPONED
ZEDA	Junior Programmer	INFORMED OF VACANCIES
SAIC	Service Desk Analyst	OUTCOME PENDING
O2	Customer Service Advisor	OFFERED

Unfortunately I found out that Visimetrics have postponed the graduate position until after the New Year, due to company cost limits. However, my agency told me they thought I was "very impressive" and "an excellent candidate" so all going well, I may get a job offer in the New Year.

I also had my interview for SAIC, a large global technology company, with headquarters at "Peel Park" in East Kilbride. The vacancy is for Service Support Analyst, which would involve taking calls but it's more IT based. It's initially temp for 3 months with the possibility of going permanent (but no guarantee). They are interviewing over the next week, so to be honest I don't think I'll get it, there being only one vacancy. There's always someone out there who's better qualified!

Anyway, the plus side to all this is that I was offered inbound customer service (O2), starting Monday. The role I think will be based in "Skypark", and there is 2 weeks training, Monday-Friday 4pm-10pm. Strange hours I know, which won't help my sleep pattern very much, but it's only 6 hours a day and I'd get paid for the full 37.5 hours per week! A bonus is that it would be so much easier to arrange any other interviews for IT vacancies I may see. Unfortunately we would be expected to work Xmas and New Year but they're paying triple time for the pleasure! Thank heavens for The Resource Group who offered me the position as I don't know how I'd cope if was going to be unemployed for any longer!

O2 it is then.

Lest We Forget...

Am I the only one to remember the significance of this month of November? It's C.R.A.M. (Craig Renton Appreciation Month), a celebration of everyone's favourite teetotaller.

For the sake of tradition, an anecdote...

Umm...

Ahh, forget it - it was a bad idea anyway.

Bang Up To Date

Company	Role	Status
Hutchison 3G	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Lumley Letsure	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
RBS	Customer Service Advisor	NO RESPONSE
Golds (Solicitors)	Customer Service Advisor	ABANDONED
Abbey	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	REJECTED
Dell	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	RECRUITMENT POSTPONED
Graham Technology	Software Engineer (Deployment)	NO RESPONSE
Visimetrics	Software Engineer	OUTCOME PENDING
ZEDA	Junior Programmer	INFORMED OF VACANCIES
SAIC	Service Desk Analyst	INTERVIEW PENDING
O2	Customer Service Advisor	OFFERED

It looks, so long as the agency get back in touch, that I've definitely got O2 as an option (last resort), and in the meantime have an interview for a company called SAIC, in which the role is more IT based. I should know for sure the outcome of Visimetrics by tomorrow.

You Can Count On Me

Nice to see my hit counter is ticking over rapidly. Soon, I'll need one with an extra digit in case it overflows!

I've noticed that everytime I update my blog, the counter seems to increment straight away, caused by some outside source. I must have some obsessed fan somewhere, waiting all day by the computer until the next update. Thanks, I appreciate your dedication, but please stop sending that wierd stuff through the post!!

Haven't really been up to much else other than accompanying Lara Croft to Egypt and managing the likes of the Nigerian and the Ukrainean national football teams, taking them to a comfortable victory over the likes of Brazil and France.

Fantastic Dream Career Opportunity

I was phoned today (rudely awakened just after 11am) by an agency who said there are vacancies at O2 (mobile network; inbound customer service), starting Monday. I said yes, given that I'm just so fed up with this unemployment lark. There are no interviews, just immediate start, on the premise that I'd be willing to work Christmas or New Year. They must be desperate if they're offering jobs to people like me! Anyway, it's nice to know that my unemployment period may only last another 5 days maximum. It feels as if I've 5 days to go before being released from jail or something! You may think unemployment is freedom but it's not!! I should hear back from Visimetrics tomorrow, so we'll see what the outcome of that is before determining where I'll be working.

I've just finished reading Gigantic: The Story of Frank Black and the Pixies, which is a decent read, even if the author is a little biased and sycophantic, and there are a lot of cryptic references. I got most of it though so enjoyed reading it. The strange thing is that the "normal" chapters are interleaved with chapters entitled "(Vicky's Story):....." told from the point of view of Vicky, whoever she is. She ends up as an obsessive Frank Black fan (lead singer of the Pixies), but at the end of the book, there's no explanation as to who she is. Is she a real person, or a fabrication of the authors' mind? Anyway, it's an interesting format, having that "interleaved" effect and hence having a story told from different perspectives. Ideally the two perspectives would link at the end but that doesn't happen in Gigantic.

Bored

Job search table...

Company	Role	Status
Hutchison 3G	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Lumley Letsure	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
RBS	Customer Service Advisor	NO RESPONSE
Golds (Solicitors)	Customer Service Advisor	ABANDONED
Abbey	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	REJECTED
Dell	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	RECRUITMENT POSTPONED
Graham Technology	Software Engineer (Deployment)	NO RESPONSE
Visimetrics	Software Engineer	OUTCOME PENDING
ZEDA	Junior Programmer	INFORMED OF VACANCIES
SAIC	Service Desk Analyst	INFORMED OF VACANCIES

I'm so bored.

It's A Hit!

I decided to get a "hit-counter" for my blog, just so I can realistically gauge just how big (or small) my readership is, and hence ultimately determine, is it worth it after all? Purely for ego-... er, I mean, sta-tistical purposes.

So go on, give us a hit - help make it worthwhile.

That Sunday Feeling

Where am I? What am I doing here? Who are you? Ugghh.

...

Britpop Retro

To pass the time lately, I've started playing the Tomb Raider series again (on PS2), from the beginning. I was always a fan of these games, for the solving of puzzles and the atmospherics (nothing to do with Lara Croft's finely-animated rear-end, honest).

Also, when down in Prestwick recently, I "unearthed" some old CDs from my youth; I rediscovered such gems as the Manics' Holy Bible, an album with some of the darkest lyrics I've seen/heard, covering topics from anorexia to the Holocaust. What makes it special for me is that these miserable lyrics are accompanied by some incredible music; dark, raw, powerful, dynamic - every tune for me is quality. I've never been a fan of polished production, and the Holy Bible is certainly not that. I much prefer more natural, raw recordings. That the band's lyricist, Richey, disappeared shortly after the albums release, is testament to the authenticity of the song content.

Another old favourite is Dog Man Star by Suede. I like this because it's haunting and atmospheric, and features the sublime jangly guitar work of Bernard Butler. Brett Anderson's unusual voice suits the drama of the songs. The production here is, not raw exactly, but unique in many ways.

Finally, there was a couple of albums by the eccentric britpop group "Mansun". Although a lot of their stuff is quite unusual, they did have the ability to make catchy pop tunes.

It's quite nostalgic to listen to these albums after so many years.

Strat's A Relief

Before you ask, no I'm not now working for the Sun! Basically, I was concerned for ages that my guitar amp was broken, as it didn't sound right when I played my guitar through it (a cream-white Fender Stratocaster); the sound was muffled, and "boomy" at low frequencies (is that a word?). Anyway, it turns out that my strings needed replaced. I replaced them yesterday and normality is restored - the clean, crisp sound has returned! I also restrung my bass (Squire Jazz-Bass), and now all that remains is to restring my 12-string acoustic. However, I think I've done enough restringing for 2 days, and so will probably ask for the acoustic strings as a Christmas present from dear old St Nic.

One Step Further

Today I invested in a 7-day (168 hour) easyInternet pass, for a mere £10. Stelios obviously had us jobseekers in mind when he came up with that idea.

Cheers, big man. Any spare snouter on ye bruv?

And Now For Something A Bit More Positive...

For a change I feel happier today, not least because I got feedback today from an agency to say that a company I went to for interview liked me and said they were seriously considering me for the role. I should get the final verdict next Wednesday. I'm not getting my hopes up too much as I'm all too aware that it could end in disappointment.

I also received an email from a company who are recruiting graduate software engineers and are based in Stirling. The found my CV on Monster (jobs website). Also potentially is a position in East Kilbride, doing IT support/admin for a large global company.

Also, I discovered the wonder of the 24-hr pass in the easyInternetcafe - £3.50 for 24-hr internet access!

Here's to you, Stelios!

Still Unemployable?..

Time for an update on my "job search" table...

Company	Role	Status
Hutchison 3G	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Lumley Letsure	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
RBS	Customer Service Advisor	NO RESPONSE
Golds (Solicitors)	Customer Service Advisor	ABANDONED
Abbey	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	REJECTED
Dell	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	INTERVIEW PENDING
Graham Technology	Software Engineer (Deployment)	OUTCOME PENDING
Visimetrics	Software Engineer	OUTCOME PENDING

Not a great track record, I'm sure you'll agree... 9 interviews and not a sausage to show for it. On the bright side, most people say it takes typically 3 months to find a job when they're unemployed. I'm not completely struggling as I have a beautiful overdraft and parental backup if all goes the shape of the pear.

I really must pull the finger out and apply for more if I want a result. It's such a Catch-22 situation as I have next to no motivation.

Unemployable?..

I'm still hoping someone will employ me. So far I've been rejected for that many jobs that I've lost count (my counting ability has gone notably downhill). I'm now used to the rejection and go into interviews expecting not to get the job, so if I do get an offer, then it'll be a nice surprise.

Here's a breakdown of what I've applied for so far (categorised by job type - the role description in some cases is general)...

Company	Role	Status
Hutchison 3G	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Lumley Letsure	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
RBS	Customer Service Advisor	OUTCOME PENDING
Golds (Solicitors)	Customer Service Advisor	ABANDONED
Abbey	Customer Service Advisor	REJECTED
Barclays	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	OUTCOME PENDING
Dell	IT Helpdesk (1st Line Support)	INTERVIEW PENDING
Graham Technology	Software Engineer (Deployment)	OUTCOME PENDING
Visimetrics	Software Engineer	INTERVIEW PENDING

As the completely OTT table shows, the statistics aren't all that bad; Out of the above 10, the only jobs I genuinely want are the last 4, and I haven't (yet) been rejected for any of them. I'm keen to move away from customer service roles so maybe the rejections are a blessing in disguise. I'm keen on the IT support roles, in particular the one at Dell. The GT job sounds good and I'd probably take that if offered. The one I'm most keen on is the Visimetrics one, not just because of the nature of the work, but because, it being based in Prestwick, I could stop by my parents' for tea.

My fingers are crossed, my breath is held and my overdraft limit is approaching...

"Life" Goes On...

I'm still searching for that ever-elusive dream job. I have an interview today, for Barclays (IT support), and one tomorrow for RBS (in-branch customer service). There should be one in the pipeline for a CCTV development company, who require a graduate software engineer. They're based in... Prestwick (where I'm originally from)!

I'm also waiting to hear back from Graham Technology. The position they have available is for deployment, so it would involve being sent all over the world to work on different projects on-site. Sounds real exciting and great to put on a CV, but I'm not entirely sure if I''m ready for all that travel just yet. Like I said, I feel like settling for at least about a year, to get myself sorted out. If I got it though I would probably take it as it sounds good! The interview was quite positive, and G.T. even paid for my taxi home, which was cool.

Actually I did have a job (for a moment there)... Search Consultancy, being their usual helpful selves, got me temp work with a solicitors at Charing Cross. It was just taking calls for their remortgage department. On Sunday night I went to bed early, so as to get a good sleep. However, I didn't really get much sleep, and when I went in to work, I was really tired. The place was like a mini call centre on the 5th floor. There was no training, and so all I could do was listen into calls (I was buddied with this attractive nedette). As there was no extra headphone socket, I could only hear what she was saying, and not the customer. I hadn't a clue about what was going on really. Although I was to be buddied up for the day, I felt there was no way I could go in next day and take calls on my own - I hadn't a clue what to say or do. There were numerous members of staff off, including the team leader, and basically, I just got "the fear", panicked and left at lunch time. I just thought to myself, "no more call centres!"

When I called Search, they understandably weren't too happy about me leaving half-way through the day, and looking back, it was quite an irrational (and inconsiderate) decision, but I blame it on tiredness, and the fact that my instincts were saying "get out of here!!". I guess it was a bit unfair after all the effort the agency made to find me work, so I did apologise sincerely.

On the plus side, Shagger got in touch today to sort out payment of bills from the last flat. I'm guessing his parents saw the bills come through the door and prompted him to contact me. Anyway, if they get paid off, I can then get my deposit back from Edzell :) Shagger himself has another job, doing sales for British Gas.