Same old same old (mostly)

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.