Changes afoot

So for those of you who are not on Twitter and might have missed my news...

I have a job!

It all happened kind of suddenly and was a little bit out of the blue and I haven't really had time to process it all myself because it is going to mean some big changes for me but I will try and tell you as much as I can as well as anticipating some of the questions people might have about me.

I am basically going to be starting a new job as a PA to the Group Directors of the company my sister works for. This position doesn't currently exist in the company and when my sister happened to be talking to the big honcho about my current employment situation he asked if she thought I would be interested in the position.

So on Friday I went down to see my sister where she lives in the Midlands and go and have a bit of a chat with said big honcho. It was a strange situation because it was a job interview and yet not a job interview at the time - I went in and talked about what I've done and what I thought I could offer and he talked about the role a bit, and 10 minutes later  I was back at my sister's desk and being told I had a job.

Odd.

It's a strange feeling because I haven't had all that build up of applying for the job and waiting to hear about an interview and attending an interview and then wondering if you'll get the job. It just doesn't feel quite right at the moment and even though I've signed the contract, it still feels a little unreal.

And now I will attempt to answer questions...

Wait a minute. I thought you wanted to do research, how have you ended up as a PA?

I do/did want to do research. However my experience over the last 6 months, couple with talking to a couple of people has made me realise that it's just really unlikely/never going to happen. I'm stuck in a catch-22 where universities won't hire me because of my lack of academic experience, yet are unwilling to give me a job that will allow me to get that experience. Plus, universities are notorious for hiring from within which means I wasn't standing a chance from the get go.

And although I won't be doing research, I will be using all of my very best anal organised skills to do my job.

When do you start and where will you live?

My first day will be 2nd January 2013 and I will be moving in with my sister's family on New Year's Day. For the first time in my blogging life I'm going to be coy about where exactly I'll be living because it's pretty tiny. It is in Leicestershire though - will that do you?

The thought of moving in with my sister's family is a mildly terrifying prospect. The last time I lived with my sister was when I was a very small person, she left to go to uni when I was 5 and I've never lived with her since. Plus she will also be one of my bosses, as she is one of the Directors of the company. And obviously I'm also moving in with my brother-in-law, 2 teenage nephews, 2 Irish Setters and a cat* which is equally daunting.

I'm actually not really thinking about that aspect of my new life.

Woah woah woah. What about The Person?!

Aah yes. As you may have guessed from my answer to the last question The Person will not be moving with me at the beginning of the year. He will be staying in Preston for the time being until he can find a job in the vicinity and we can get our little selves back living together. The good thing about being in the Midlands is that, you know, you're in the Midlands which should mean a few more options work-wise. We will just all have to keep our fingers crossed until he finds a new job.

I know that some people might find me making the decision to take this job and move away from The Person I bit strange, but we're still young and this an opportunity I couldn't turn down, I wouldn't be able to get this kind of job anywhere else without proving I had experience.

He's happy for me too. It's not been easy for him having to watch me be so miserable in a job I truly hate and I think that given the choice between having a girlfriend who is miserable who lives with him and a girlfriend who's much happier but has to live away from him for a little bit, he's happy to go with Option b.

Plus it isn't like we haven't done the long distance thing before - and when I move we'll be pretty much the same distance apart as when I was in Hull and he was in Preston.

Ewww don't you feel a bit grubby that you got this job through nepotism?

Yes I do a little bit. It's not something that makes me feel particularly comfortable and it's not how I necessarily wanted to get a job. But at the end of the day, it's an opportunity and I think I'd be a little bit tapped in the head if I turned it down - I've heard that there's no point cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Also this is not a company that I will be able to stay in purely because my sister is a Director. I'm on a 6 month probationary period and if I'm not up to scratch then I won't be allowed to stay on. If anything I'm more determined to prove myself - plus it helps that I don't look anything like my sister and we don't share the same name so not everyone will necessarily know the deal.

What about your current work - why don't you sue the bastards for constructive dismissal?!

Things have been pretty unpleasant for me at work since I tackled my bullies head on. They have taken it seriously and the main protagonist was moved to a different team but there is still bad feeling there. (On her part I hasten to add.) This has also spread to the team - goodness knows what she's told them - so for pretty much all of last week no-one has been speaking to me. Not good.

I have contemplated and even spoken to some people about whether it would be worth taking them to a tribunal and there's probably a chance I would do well out of it but I'm not going to. At the end of the day, that job was never supposed to be permanent so I can't a get a bee in my bonnet about leaving. I've fought the battle I wanted to fight and it's enough for me that someone will now be watching Her and won't allow Her to do the same to others in the future.

Handing in my notice today was one of the best feelings ever. I've given them my 4 weeks notice so I'll be leaving on Friday 14th December. Yes this means I'll be short of cash for the next couple of months because I won't be paid again until the end of January but there is nothing on this planet that could persuade me to stay for longer. In fact technically I could have left on Tuesday 11st December, but my need to have things neat means that the prospect of leaving a job mid-week hurts my brain a little. So a Friday it will be.

Are you excited?!

It's probably fairer to say I'm absolutely shitting it. This job is a huge challenge and I'm really terrified about it - for a while now I've not been challenged in the jobs I've been doing and especially for the last 6 months being unemployed and then in a brainless job I'm pretty sure I've lost any skills I might have once had.

But yeah, I'm excited.


Did I do it? Did I answer all of the questions?!


*I know! I'll be living with a cat! How exciting. But wait. No it isn't, because Blinky is officially the meanest cat in the history of mean cats and hates everyone and won't let you near her. For god's sake!