A new job

Cotswolds Falconry Centre, September 2012

As I mentioned in passing, I had an interview last week, for a post as a Specialist Diabetes Dietitian. Are you on tenterhooks? You shouldn't be, because by now you should know that whatever my finest qualities may be, they do not include an aptitude for the job interview situation.

The interview was fine. I showed enormous enthusiasm for diabetes, which was quite genuine - in fact, my next blog post will contain a report about the latest meeting of my local Diabetes UK group, which I attend in the evening in my own time. The Lady Shoes, however, damaged my feet to the extent of making them painful for several days, despite only wearing The Shoes to walk from the car to the HR department, then to the interview and back to the car. Those hospital corridors stretched for several miles, or so it seemed.

The interview was on a Thursday, and when I hadn't been contacted by the weekend I was fairly sure what the outcome would be - all the interviews were taking place on the same day so there was no reason for delay if I had been the successful candidate. So when I phoned them for feedback on Monday morning, I wasn't expecting any more than feedback.

But it wasn't quite so simple - I was told that no, I hadn't got the permanent job, but there was another, similar job, which was temporary, and would I be interested? I certainly would, and there it ended, because there was talk of sorting out funding, and when the f-word is spoken in the NHS context, things can move exceedingly slowly.

But they called within the week, and offered me the temporary job! It lasts for nine months, with the hope of extending beyond that time and/or making the job permanent, which I gladly accepted. It's a long commute, and I'll be truly sorry to leave my current colleagues who are all wonderful, but working on the wards isn't what I want to do in the long run, and I've thought for some time that diabetes is where I'd like to be.

Looking at my current contract, I see that my notice period is only 4 weeks. There are still some formalities to go through - the Criminal Records Bureau check and the references - but it is possible that I will be in a new job before Christmas.

What makes me smile (apart from having a new job) is the thought that in my first successful interview I came third (there were three jobs on offer) and now, in my second successful interview, I came second. Perhaps the next time I try, I'll be the first choice.