On the job

Tuesday I had to attend a presentation at the Armed Forces recruitment office. It was the usual stuff about life in the air force, why it was so wonderful, and how very, very hard both the selection and training would be. To be completely honest, I am not entirely sure if I am cut out for it -- I am certainly not fit enough right now, but I came away thinking all I can do is try -- and try I would.

Since work didn't seem to be flooding my way, I also arranged to meet with a temp consultant whom I have registered with and met a few times in the past, but always found work for myself before she was required to. I figured I liked her and while I was in town anyway it was worth paying her visit, since in an email she'd said they would probably be able to find me some temp work while they looked for something more permanent. It sounded good.

So I stopped by her office and we chatted a bit and she tried to think if there was any roles in particular she could put me forward for -- she mentioned a couple that would be coming up in the future, and then said there was one she could probably get me an interview for the following morning. Why not, I thought, so I told her to go right ahead. The job was to work as a purchasing assistant for a travel company (they run buses and trains and stuff in various countries around the world), and that she'd placed a couple of temps there, one to replace the other, but neither had stuck with it -- so they needed someone quickly. I was told they wanted someone who wasn't timid and could do with enquiries and whatever else and not fall apart if someone was a bit brash. I explained with my career history I thought I could handle it, so the recruiter said she'd set up an interview. Before I had even got home I had confirmation of the interview, true to her word, the very next morning at 10.30.

As ever, I arrived in my finest black suit and expected the usual run-of-the-mill questions -- the "tell me about a time when", or "talk to me about this", or just "tell me about yourself". Instead the interviewer read my CV -- being the first time he had seen it -- comment in parts, talked a little about the job, and asked me if I thought I could do it. He explained it wasn't a hard job, but sometimes it could be quite pressured, and he didn't think the previous temps had given it long enough. He also said if I wanted to walk away, that was the chance, because it would ruin them if I decided to quit later when they had gone through the rigmorale of training me and setting me up on all the systems. Unafraid of a challenge, I stood my ground. So he showed me through to the office -- I thought just to show me where I would be working and whatever else. Instead, he showed me to my desk -- I was hired, and was to start work immediately.

None of this "thank you very much for coming, we'll be in touch", I had been given the job just like that.

The job itself is hardly what anyone would growing up dreaming about doing -- but it's earning a living, like. It's a six month contract, and for Essex the wages are good -- in fact, I worked out that my first proper PR job in London last year was paying me £80 a day. That involved catching the train at 8am every morning, getting off the train at 7.30 every evening, and paying £100 a week in travel alone. Now I will still be leaving for work about 8, but will be home before 6, and my travel expenses are about the cost of a tank of petrol a week. There's not a huge difference in it -- it beats minimum wage in a book shop on 30 hours a week, or the 19.5 hours they offered me.

Sure, I would probably much prefer the book shop, but I guess we have to balance one thing against the other -- and if this really is to be the year I move out, then it has to start with a job. It might not be a glamorous, exciting or fun job. I might not get to drink champagne at events with Natalie Imbruglia and Liam Gallagher, or finish early on a Friday to join my colleagues in the free staff bar. Will I even like the job a week, two weeks -- two months from now? I don't know. But I have to stick with this one.

As I've also been reminded, it's a very big company -- so if I put the work in now there might later be opportunities for me in other roles, or possibly other countries.