Not a lot to report in the first part of the week. This is largely because I've devoted a bit more time than has been usual recently to living a vaguely rounded life. (Or at least I've been doing a few things other than banging my head against the 'This Way to the Jobs' door!) These would be things for my other blog, if such a thing existed!
So what has gone on? A4E JC on Tuesday. Applied for C++ jobs on-line, as usual. Gave Emily my first stab at a skills list, which she's distributed to her colleagues for comment. What's come back largely seems to consist of 'Has Les considered an Admin role?' The answer to that is 'Only about as much as I've considered driving a 6" nail into my right eye'. (That's pretty much never, in case you're worried!) There's a reason I've always done software, and that's not a predisposition toward the administrational. I'm more what you might call an administratee!
Apparently I've got some A4E training coming up - not sure what it is - I'll no doubt let you know when I do.
North West Hants JC on Thursday was, as is so often the case, the high spot of my job-searching week. Jane Buxton of Simplyhealth came to give us a presentation on “How to sell your skills and experience to employers”. This involved, amongst other things, a simple and very effective demonstration of how different individuals' attempts to project 'neutrality' in their body language can be interpreted very differently by the same target audience. Thus if retreating to 'neutral' is your 'default setting' when unsure of yourself, you may not be giving out the signals you think you are! This could have enormous implications in, for instance, the interview situation.
We also spent some considerable time looking at what skills we really possess, as opposed to those we feel we should have based on our previous experience and job titles. (As always, this summary comprises my own thoughts and impressions of what I took from the session, and should in no way be taken as representative of (a) the group or (b) the intentions of the presenter.)
Finally we looked at the importance of personal/cultural fit in starting with a new employer. The best skills fit in the world won't necessarily work if there's a major personality clash or mismatch of cultural expectation.
I really hope that our propensity, as a group, to take a subject and run with it didn't disrupt Jane's 'lesson plan' too much. Possibly not, as she's apparently agreed to come back again in the future.
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Friday, 23 March 2012
Actual activity update
Right, whinge out of the way!
"What steps", you ask (or at least I imagine you do), "has Les been taking this week to further his chances of rejoining the ranks of the working masses?" (I have to hold this virtual conversation with you, dear reader, or I'm reduced to the level of 'that bloke who sits in the corner of the library talking to himself!' It's only one step from there to having people move away from me on the bus.......in fact, thinking about it.....)
On Monday came the second and final day of my A4E induction course. This week we covered (to my mind) some much more interesting topics, including CV writing (my current effort standing up pretty well to scrutiny), and, most usefully for me, produced skills lists associated with various occupations.
This served to help me in getting started on writing up my own list of existing skills, and so to identify my 'transferable skills'. This is an area where I've got a bit bogged down, largely by my continued self-categorisation as a 'Software Dude'. It's becoming increasingly (and, to some extent, painfully) apparent that my 'do a C++ course and sail back into software development' approach has been somewhat over-optimistic and simplistic. (This hasn't been helped by any and all on-line aptitude assessments I've ever tried asking me, on completion, what sort of software I would like to write!)
It's obviously time to look realistically at incorporating other skills I've got, particularly those gained in fulfilling my parental duties.
A4E Job Club on Tuesday afternoon: Many more of the job-seeking fraternity (and sorority) than in previous weeks, meaning both keyboard time and face-to-face time with advisers was somewhat compromised. I was hoping to get some help in developing my skills list, and, more importantly in finding out how to apply it in identifying my options. I've arranged to spend some time on this with Emily next week, so I'll keep you posted (this might constitute a pun in this context, in which case I apologise!)
Signing on day on Wednesday - I think I've pretty much covered my thoughts on this in my previous post!
North West Hampshire JC on Thursday. Nick was away doing some short-term employment stuff, so it fell to Paul Sherwood to run things. Unfortunately we didn't have one of our larger attendances, which was a shame, as Paul gave us a really informative and enjoyable session on active and empathic listening skills and collaboration.
The highlight of this presentation involved a team of four of us attempting the 'Marshmellow Challenge' (sic), which involved building the highest possible structure to support a marshmallow, using only dry spaghetti,sticky tape and string.
Incidentally, my schoolfriends used to claim I'm from a different species 'Pedantic Man'! I know it's an annoying trait but I really can't stop myself!
"What steps", you ask (or at least I imagine you do), "has Les been taking this week to further his chances of rejoining the ranks of the working masses?" (I have to hold this virtual conversation with you, dear reader, or I'm reduced to the level of 'that bloke who sits in the corner of the library talking to himself!' It's only one step from there to having people move away from me on the bus.......in fact, thinking about it.....)
On Monday came the second and final day of my A4E induction course. This week we covered (to my mind) some much more interesting topics, including CV writing (my current effort standing up pretty well to scrutiny), and, most usefully for me, produced skills lists associated with various occupations.
This served to help me in getting started on writing up my own list of existing skills, and so to identify my 'transferable skills'. This is an area where I've got a bit bogged down, largely by my continued self-categorisation as a 'Software Dude'. It's becoming increasingly (and, to some extent, painfully) apparent that my 'do a C++ course and sail back into software development' approach has been somewhat over-optimistic and simplistic. (This hasn't been helped by any and all on-line aptitude assessments I've ever tried asking me, on completion, what sort of software I would like to write!)
It's obviously time to look realistically at incorporating other skills I've got, particularly those gained in fulfilling my parental duties.
A4E Job Club on Tuesday afternoon: Many more of the job-seeking fraternity (and sorority) than in previous weeks, meaning both keyboard time and face-to-face time with advisers was somewhat compromised. I was hoping to get some help in developing my skills list, and, more importantly in finding out how to apply it in identifying my options. I've arranged to spend some time on this with Emily next week, so I'll keep you posted (this might constitute a pun in this context, in which case I apologise!)
Signing on day on Wednesday - I think I've pretty much covered my thoughts on this in my previous post!
North West Hampshire JC on Thursday. Nick was away doing some short-term employment stuff, so it fell to Paul Sherwood to run things. Unfortunately we didn't have one of our larger attendances, which was a shame, as Paul gave us a really informative and enjoyable session on active and empathic listening skills and collaboration.
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| Children at Play (apparently the best-performing group really are kindergarten children!) |
Incidentally, my schoolfriends used to claim I'm from a different species 'Pedantic Man'! I know it's an annoying trait but I really can't stop myself!
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Joined-up thinking
As I understand it, a large part of the reason for my being on the government's 'Work Program' is that A4E have taken over, from the Job Centre, responsibility for overseeing and monitoring my job search.
A4E have repeatedly declared themselves happy with what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis, while they help me to put into place a longer-term plan, identifying my transferable skills and hence other suitable employment options.
This (apparently totally satisfactory) activity involves my making numerous on-line applications for C++ systems development positions, which, by their very nature involve going through multitudinous layers of agencies without, in most cases, uncovering the true identity of the potential employer. Quite a lot of this takes place under the direct supervision of my A4E adviser, at their weekly Job Club.
I present details of this search (along with the reference numbers of jobs I've applied for from the Directgov website) as my 'evidence' at the Job Centre when I sign on. Why is it then, that at this point I'm still met with: "Yes, but what actual companies have you applied to?"?
Is just a hint of 'singing from the same hymnsheet*' really too much to ask?
*Other sources of religious/secular lyrics/music are widely available!
A4E have repeatedly declared themselves happy with what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis, while they help me to put into place a longer-term plan, identifying my transferable skills and hence other suitable employment options.
This (apparently totally satisfactory) activity involves my making numerous on-line applications for C++ systems development positions, which, by their very nature involve going through multitudinous layers of agencies without, in most cases, uncovering the true identity of the potential employer. Quite a lot of this takes place under the direct supervision of my A4E adviser, at their weekly Job Club.
I present details of this search (along with the reference numbers of jobs I've applied for from the Directgov website) as my 'evidence' at the Job Centre when I sign on. Why is it then, that at this point I'm still met with: "Yes, but what actual companies have you applied to?"?
Is just a hint of 'singing from the same hymnsheet*' really too much to ask?
*Other sources of religious/secular lyrics/music are widely available!
Friday, 16 March 2012
What WAS I thinking? (OFF TOPIC ALERT!!)
I woke up suddenly at about 03.00 this morning with the word "GALAXY" burned across the front of my brain.
Having checked for, and dismissed, a sudden desperate chocolate craving and/or some sort of seizure, I did a spot of rational thinking (as best I could!) and realised I'd used the phrase 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe'. I may never be able to hold my head up again in the company of my (equally sad) peers!
My excuse is that, whilst typing, I had quickly checked the synopses to check that the appropriate section wasn't in 'Life, the Universe and Everything'.
Having decided that I wouldn't stoop to revisionism by simply amending the previous post, I can but say "mea culpa!"
Having checked for, and dismissed, a sudden desperate chocolate craving and/or some sort of seizure, I did a spot of rational thinking (as best I could!) and realised I'd used the phrase 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe'. I may never be able to hold my head up again in the company of my (equally sad) peers!
My excuse is that, whilst typing, I had quickly checked the synopses to check that the appropriate section wasn't in 'Life, the Universe and Everything'.
Having decided that I wouldn't stoop to revisionism by simply amending the previous post, I can but say "mea culpa!"
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Well when I say tomorrow...... A busy week (part 2) etc
Right, where was I? I'm determined to get up-to-date while I've got use of a PC and no distractions, so we could be in for a long, bumpy ride!
Thursday of last week...... No Paul (again) at NW Hampshire JC - he must be seriously busy! Nick had some interesting stuff set up to project from his laptop for us to watch. I particularly enjoyed a presentation entitled "No more boring data." by a Scandiwegian doctor and academic named Hans Rosling. He took graphical data analysis to levels hitherto only available (to my knowledge) within the pages of Douglas Adams's 'Mostly Harmless' (the fiftth, and, some would say, least satisfying) volume of the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe' trilogy. (Yes I know........it's really not my fault!) The usual round of interesting/amusing/useful/inane (delete as applicable) conversation ensued.
Norman (see earlier posts and drive my stats up!) gave us his observations on Basingstoke Job Centre's attempts to involve him in the "Work Program". These were by turns entertaining (in terms of Norman's refusal to be cowed by 'authority') and troubling (in terms of information being presented to him as hard fact with nothing to back it up). His experiences seem very much at odds with my own almost entirely positive ones with Andover JC and A4E (of which more later!)
Nick also told us about the upcoming Andover Business Expo at 'The Lights' (of which more etc...)
and so to....... Friday!
Firstly I picked up a message from Julia passing on an enquiry she'd received via Andover Mutual Business Group asking whether she knew any Software Development Professionals. She has (as of last contact) passed my CV on for me, so you never know! Good stuff this networking!
Next, having squandered all my available cash on necessities (food, toilet rolls, that sort of thing) I arrived home to discover that A4E had booked me on an induction course in Winchester at 10.00 on Monday. This was problematic because:
It turned out that the guy I was meeting was only travelling to Andover to see me, so I could catch up with him while on my course, so that was one problem out of the way!
However.....Having got stuck in a queue even before the P.O. opened, I was hot-footing it up the hill, with just about enough time (if not breath) to get the train when I met a stream of people coming the other way. The train was cancelled (signalling problems at Axminster!)
What to do??? After a quick and informal risk assessment I made all haste to the other end of Whitchurch (thankfully not a big town....and, incidentally, the only town in England with no traffic lights!) and stuck out my trusty magic thumb. The hitchhiking skills gained in my student days stood me in good stead, and I got there just in time to be late (alas, far too often my default option!)
The course (day 1 of 2) wasn't, I'm afraid, hugely inspiring, but the second session next Monday promises much more interesting fare!
A4E JC on Tuesday - not much to report, except one specialist agency I spoke to who seemed more positive about my chances of reestablishing my 'Software Dude' credentials. Still looking at transferrable skills as well, in the hope of finding something else to aim at.
Wednesday.....Popped in briefly to have a look at the Andover Business Expo. It looked a really good event, but more geared at business-to-business interaction than anything I could take much from.
Thursday - North West Hants JC again. A really excellent mutual support session, with some newer members being given a chance to add their experiences, fears, hopes and plans to the general discussion. Sometimes sessions with a high level of spontaneity can produce really rewarding outcomes!
Enough for now, I'll try to get back my to 'little and often' ethos in future!
Thursday of last week...... No Paul (again) at NW Hampshire JC - he must be seriously busy! Nick had some interesting stuff set up to project from his laptop for us to watch. I particularly enjoyed a presentation entitled "No more boring data." by a Scandiwegian doctor and academic named Hans Rosling. He took graphical data analysis to levels hitherto only available (to my knowledge) within the pages of Douglas Adams's 'Mostly Harmless' (the fiftth, and, some would say, least satisfying) volume of the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe' trilogy. (Yes I know........it's really not my fault!) The usual round of interesting/amusing/useful/inane (delete as applicable) conversation ensued.
Norman (see earlier posts and drive my stats up!) gave us his observations on Basingstoke Job Centre's attempts to involve him in the "Work Program". These were by turns entertaining (in terms of Norman's refusal to be cowed by 'authority') and troubling (in terms of information being presented to him as hard fact with nothing to back it up). His experiences seem very much at odds with my own almost entirely positive ones with Andover JC and A4E (of which more later!)
Nick also told us about the upcoming Andover Business Expo at 'The Lights' (of which more etc...)
and so to....... Friday!
Firstly I picked up a message from Julia passing on an enquiry she'd received via Andover Mutual Business Group asking whether she knew any Software Development Professionals. She has (as of last contact) passed my CV on for me, so you never know! Good stuff this networking!
Next, having squandered all my available cash on necessities (food, toilet rolls, that sort of thing) I arrived home to discover that A4E had booked me on an induction course in Winchester at 10.00 on Monday. This was problematic because:
- I was due to meet A4E's Enterprise Adviser in Andover on Monday afternoon.
- I had no access to more money until my JSA became available at the Post Office, which opened at 09.00 on Monday. This would mean a race against time to Whitchurch station to catch the 09.14 train, which would just get me into Winch (as the young people call it) in time.
It turned out that the guy I was meeting was only travelling to Andover to see me, so I could catch up with him while on my course, so that was one problem out of the way!
However.....Having got stuck in a queue even before the P.O. opened, I was hot-footing it up the hill, with just about enough time (if not breath) to get the train when I met a stream of people coming the other way. The train was cancelled (signalling problems at Axminster!)
What to do??? After a quick and informal risk assessment I made all haste to the other end of Whitchurch (thankfully not a big town....and, incidentally, the only town in England with no traffic lights!) and stuck out my trusty magic thumb. The hitchhiking skills gained in my student days stood me in good stead, and I got there just in time to be late (alas, far too often my default option!)
The course (day 1 of 2) wasn't, I'm afraid, hugely inspiring, but the second session next Monday promises much more interesting fare!
A4E JC on Tuesday - not much to report, except one specialist agency I spoke to who seemed more positive about my chances of reestablishing my 'Software Dude' credentials. Still looking at transferrable skills as well, in the hope of finding something else to aim at.
Wednesday.....Popped in briefly to have a look at the Andover Business Expo. It looked a really good event, but more geared at business-to-business interaction than anything I could take much from.
Thursday - North West Hants JC again. A really excellent mutual support session, with some newer members being given a chance to add their experiences, fears, hopes and plans to the general discussion. Sometimes sessions with a high level of spontaneity can produce really rewarding outcomes!
Enough for now, I'll try to get back my to 'little and often' ethos in future!
Monday, 12 March 2012
A busy week (Part 1)
Where to start...........? An almost infinite amount of stuff seems to have happened since I last found enough time to do this!
Right! Strict(ish) chronology, according to my best recollection, is probably the order of the day.
On Tuesday last, there I was dutifully sending off my on-line job applications at the A4E job club, when Emily, my advisor (keep up at the back!) suggested I speak on the phone to the admin chap at their Winchester office. It turns out he was previously in the same line of work as I was. His recent personal experience of the job market led him to suggest that my chances of landing a software development position from my current situation are somewhere the 'nil' side of 'slim to nil'.
Cue a few minutes quiet weeping at the PC, and much mature reflection. While I'm still not fully convinced of his appraisal, I do think that perhaps the time has come to be a bit more accepting of the need to properly evaluate my transferable skills, with a view to casting my net a bit wider. Ho hum!
Signing on day Wednesday - largely uneventful!
(Currently running out of time on the library computer - more tomorrow!)
Right! Strict(ish) chronology, according to my best recollection, is probably the order of the day.
On Tuesday last, there I was dutifully sending off my on-line job applications at the A4E job club, when Emily, my advisor (keep up at the back!) suggested I speak on the phone to the admin chap at their Winchester office. It turns out he was previously in the same line of work as I was. His recent personal experience of the job market led him to suggest that my chances of landing a software development position from my current situation are somewhere the 'nil' side of 'slim to nil'.
Cue a few minutes quiet weeping at the PC, and much mature reflection. While I'm still not fully convinced of his appraisal, I do think that perhaps the time has come to be a bit more accepting of the need to properly evaluate my transferable skills, with a view to casting my net a bit wider. Ho hum!
Signing on day Wednesday - largely uneventful!
(Currently running out of time on the library computer - more tomorrow!)
Monday, 5 March 2012
......and sometimes I just sits!
The best laid plans and all that! Scribd (the website I've had to link to to make my CV visible to you) seems not to be able to log me in at the moment, so you'll have to live a little longer with a slightly extended version of said document! Try to be strong!
Sometimes I sits and I thinks..........
Not a huge amount to report at the moment! I'll resist the temptation to say too much about the much-publicised goings on at A4E, since these have nothing at all to do with my advisors, about whom I've got no complaints at all ! (Quite the reverse in fact!)
Those of you who've been paying attention may have noticed the appearance of a link to a version of my CV at the top of the screen. Setting this up has taken up a fair bit of this week's blogging time (Blogger only does links to image files and web pages, so I've had to go through a third party) - and I've still got a bit of editing to do to tidy up the document in Scribd. Any prospective employers among you can get a version complete with my contact details by leaving a response on this blog. (Said he optimistically!)
Paul S wasn't able to attend the NWHants Job Club to give us the presentation we were anticipating on Thursday, due to what could perhaps be best described as geographical constraints (or possibly 'being in Sweden!') Those of us who were there enjoyed a wide-ranging and interesting discussion (if a tad less focussed than our usual ultra-professional encounters!) All being well Paul will be with us this week, to give us further insights into the joys of NLP.
Right then.... off to the land of Scribd to try to work out why a slightly abridged CV is taking up more pages than the original!
Those of you who've been paying attention may have noticed the appearance of a link to a version of my CV at the top of the screen. Setting this up has taken up a fair bit of this week's blogging time (Blogger only does links to image files and web pages, so I've had to go through a third party) - and I've still got a bit of editing to do to tidy up the document in Scribd. Any prospective employers among you can get a version complete with my contact details by leaving a response on this blog. (Said he optimistically!)
Paul S wasn't able to attend the NWHants Job Club to give us the presentation we were anticipating on Thursday, due to what could perhaps be best described as geographical constraints (or possibly 'being in Sweden!') Those of us who were there enjoyed a wide-ranging and interesting discussion (if a tad less focussed than our usual ultra-professional encounters!) All being well Paul will be with us this week, to give us further insights into the joys of NLP.
Right then.... off to the land of Scribd to try to work out why a slightly abridged CV is taking up more pages than the original!
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