Reach for the stars...

Karmacat

Ooh, Butti, I like that. A lot.

niccatw

Apologies to any-one who does not agree with the strike action - each to their own - but today's turnout in Glasgow was brilliant and in spite of torrential rain and localised flooding. No damp squib here Cameron!

Anyhoo... boss now knows about job interview. Ooooooooh! She is not a happy bunny! To qualify, she would have been completely supportive if it was the next pay band up (which just ain't going to happen in the NHS. Never mind pensions, the job losses are hidden becasue posts are frozen and then deleted and people are being asked to re-apply for their posts so more posts can be deleted or certain people will no longer be eligible to be on protected pay).

But it's not. It's exactly the same job and exactly the same pay scale band, of which I am not on the bottom.

"That tells me you're not happy here" "Is there something you're not telling me."

What, you mean me telling her wasn't enough?

Anyway, it doesn't change the fact I have decided the job isn't right for me at the moment, interview or not. Which is pretty evident as I've given no thought to what I might be asked or what I will say! Or what I will wear. Or how to get there! Or if I have all the relevant documentation to hand!

So we'll wait and see what happens next as I now have a meeting with boss on Friday. "Do you have a spare wee hour?" Just a short meeting then?!!!

MatyMoo

Maybe now they will take your issues seriously!

niccatw

Here's hoping Maty.

But I think it's past the "personality clash" stage and I'm not sure she quite believed me when I told her that something needed to change and I hadn't yet figured out what that was and it wasn't just a work issue.

Some-times I curse the fact I'm too darn honest!

How do you tell your boss that, as soon as she retires, you don't want to be part of such a fractured, oppositional department that, on the whole, don't have the best of reputations/relations with many of their colleaugues... without it being personal!

Becasue it's not. She inherited the department that way and she's stopped the reported stand up rows that used to be team meetings (I never witnessed these thankfully!) and brought some kind of sense to the departement ... but some people still do what they want and when she goes, it will be a nightmare!

How much do you think UN negotiators get paid? I think I have the transferrable skills...

Karmacat

Actually Nicca, what you'd be saying is full of compliments about her personally! It still probably needs a bit of translation, but its basically *very* positive about her.

**wanders off wondering exactly what I've just written**

niccatw

Thanks Karmacat. I think I do know that. But she took my application for another job so personally I'm not sure I'll get past her stress to get her to see that. Though equally, I think she does see it. If you see what I mean.

*wanders off thinkingh exactly the same as Karmacat*

The interview was ok, run of the mill. Their manger is lovely; I've met her before, must have been at various training days, I can't remember and didn't think today was the time to ask.

They repeated on numerous ocassions that there was more than one person interviewing for the post. I'm not sure whether that was just informative or a way of setting me up not to be disappointed if I don't get it.

Which of course is what I'm hoping for. They'd actually be a lovely department to work for and perhaps it should be more about making Scotland wide links...

Anyhoo, thinking out loud and I need to grab some lunch and get back to work. My soup smells funny so think it might have to be cranberry oatcakes and tea for lunch!

Catch you all later

Butti

Friday's meeting is a positive move and you are a very positive person so I think start with that. Start with how much you like her and respect her, then reiterate what you have said before and why you have problems. If you keep repeating yourself surely she must have her ears syringed at some point and actually hear you.

She isn't starting to lip read is she, because that would be a sure excuse for not hearing you before.

B

MrsMoo2U

Nic, I can only repeat what Butti and KC have said so I wont

Even if they did offer you the job, would you need to take it? Could part of the discussion with your boss be that you want to move forwards and sometimes you need to take a sideways step in order to do that and, as you dont see it happening where you are, you saw this as the only option open to you at the moment (might make her think about promotions or moving you sideways there away from difficult supervisor perhaps?).

Cranberry oatcakes.... never had those (adds to shopping lists)

niccatw

The cranberry oatcakes are actually wild berry oatcakes, I love them. Like having biscuits without he guilt because you can say "yes but these are slow release." And they come it little packs of 6 so you can kid yourself it's ok to eat 6 oakcakes in one sitting.

Not sure how meeting with boss went! Same old, same old I think. But I did make it clear to her that I was thinking of the long term options because realistically the NHS cannot stay the way it is and there will not be opportunity for me to get a job at the next level up becasue they are all currently being downgraded.

Saying that, she then sent an email around for a 4 week VSO placement and told me not to dare think about it! At which point I told her NHS Scotland have a contract with VSO, they used to continue to pay our pensions and that NHS trusts were supposed to encourage such placements with secondments. So, unless she's really daft, she must know I've done my homework on that too!

Hohum!

So, plan is still 12 months to pay of the debt and look into learning about setting up a business, with perhas some short term VSO placements rather than a long term placement and take it from there.

Still seem a bit vague but I think that's just my impatience at having to wait until the debt is paid off! It's like walking home, that last stretch always seems the longest because your so close you just want to be curled up on the sofa and you're annoyed your not. That's possibly where I am with my debt. I never thought I'd see the day it was under 10k and now it is, I feel like it should be gone already and it's annoying that it's not.

But it's probably annoying because I want things to change and I can't do that until the money is more sensible. Pah!

If you've got me in the Secret Santa, can you get me some patience please...? The biggest amount you can buy. I'm sure you must get money off if you buy in bulk...

niccatw

PS Didn't get the job. Didn't have one of their essential skills which some-one else did and was needed for the post. Or at least, that's what they said. Though they did say they'd like me to apply for any future posts and that they be happy for me to liaise with the manager of the area I would be working in. (my manger was "delighted". Her words! :cool:)

And 495.57 winging it's way to that RBS, which will take down to £697.01...

Repeat after me:
"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time" Tolstoy

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time