Yesterday's Job Club Meeting etc

Sir George Young (our local MP) at North West Hampshire Job Club (Dec 22 2011) 

Right, to start on a positive note, we had a really stimulating meeting of the North West Hampshire Job Club yesterday. I think I'll just call it The Job Club in future if no one objects. (Too much typing!) Don't forget there is a link to http://northwesthampshirejobclub.weebly.com/ at the top of the page, Oh, there seems to be one here now as well...the wonders of modern technology!!

Paul Sherwood of Blueberry Coaching gave an excellent presentation on treating life processes (like job searching, setting up a business or even getting fit) more like professional projects. He stressed the importance of setting real goals, timeframes (even - dare I say it - deadlines). His enormous enthusiasm and good humour (and, no doubt, his utilisation of an excellent toolkit) combine to drive home points that I've previously managed to ignore/skirt around/hide in a hole at the bottom of the garden.)

I left the meeting full of enthusiasm to 'strike while the iron was hot' (I avoid cliches like the plague) in sending out some long-overdue emails, sorting out my vacancies and applications files and writing it all up for my (expanding?) readership. However, the usually excellent internet service provided by Hampshire County Council Libraries was not up to scratch in Andover yesterday. (Running like an arthritic tortoise if the truth be told!)

To add to the slight downward trend in the day, I then found myself unable to attend the networking event run by Julia Homan at Propaganda in Andover yesterday evening. Julia's a local HR guru, stalwart supporter of The Job Club and indefatigable putter-together of like-minded people (very often to everyone's benefit.)

However, I'll make a contract with myself (with the blogosphere as my witness) to make sure I have the forward planning in place to attend next time. (Do you see what I did there Paul?)

Must get on and do some actual job searching before I let writing this become yet another excuse for my lack of progress.