Its all gone a bit Pete Tong

How can I say this........to say I'm embarrassed is an understatement, how could I possibly have got it so wrong????


Yes, I got the date of my first signing on wrong and missed it by several days!  How could turning up for one simple task escape me?  There's no reason other than I got the wrong date locked in my head........  My insider with direct experience of DWP couldn't believe it!  'You've organised teams, run departments and juggled more projects than most people have had hot dinners - and you couldn't turn up for one appointment' I lambasted myself......  She advised I say I was away looking for work, but I wasn't comfortable with that - thats not something someone in my position with my experience and skills would do, so I stuck to the truth and picked up the phone for a second time....


One other thing I did learn from my insider is that the appointments system for arranging the initial interview can be changed by the call centre staff - this is not what I was told when I started the process (see first post).  Call centre staff say they can't change the appointment so they don't have to deal with the callers who don't want a 9.30 appointment as they 'don't get up till 11'.  I must admit I was gobsmacked that this is the state of play.  So rather than challenge claimants to get out of bed and stick to a routine of being available during daylight hours staff in the call centres duck the issue and pass it onto their colleagues in job centres - this can't be right.  OK enough said I'll get off my soap box.


So I phone for the second time and its confirmed my first claim is closed - I feel so guilty as it means another half hour on the phone answering the same questions with the same answers all over again.  I explain the reason but the voice on the end of the phone this time is not so warn and friendly, and like an automaton gets to the end of the questions with efficiency but nothing else....  My second 'initial interview' is organised for 9.30 and of course I can get out of bed for that so I agree it and duly programme it into my phone and laptop as well as a post it note on my desk..........I'm so paranoid now I'm thinking of the date and time every day until it happens.


This time I don't wonder what to wear, I focus on turning up (getting the basics right is important!).  I walk through the door to the reception desk say hello and give my name.  This time I don't get a smile or a hello, just a 'take a seat over there and wait to be called'.  I suspect that there was an * by my name on the list with a footnote saying I'm the ex senior well paid manager who couldn't even get her first signing on date right.  


I sit, I wait and finally (well after 9.30 I might add!) I speak with Pammy, who can't raise a smile and complains she has a cold - I shuffle my chair back a bit, the last thing I need is a cold from the Job Centre.  I explain my mistake and say I'm deeply embarrassed - she fails to empathise, so I save my breath for the the rest of the interview.  Luckily my details were on the system and all saved so it was a short monosyllabic conversation in what seemed more miserable surroundings than last time - perhaps it was because it was grey and dull outside.  Perhaps she too has the * footnote on her screen, perhaps the * footnote will follow me around, we'll have to wait and see.


With all the dates and times programmed in, I actually turn up for my inaugural signing on.  This time I get to go upstairs, the decor is cleaner and I think my * footnote hasn't reached this altitude yet!  I have a perfunctory conversation with David who explains to me that he only has 5 minutes with each applicant - I don't need 5 minutes, I'm already clear that JC+ can't actively support me.  I get the feeling that David feels he needs to pace himself and if he goes too fast he'll have to do more work than 1 applicant every 5 minutes so I play along.  Its not so easy playing along with a 20 something when I'm a 40 something with so much more experience and insight.  But its not his fault he's what he is so I resist the temptation to challenge and tease by promising myself a latte at Waitrose afterwards.  I sign David's piece of paper, and he signs mine - my record of job seeking activity.  He suggests I give myself a day off from job hunting when I explain that I'm online every day checking out recruiters and networking.  Interesting advice from someone who's most probably got targets to meet, so I don't disagree with him and say I shall try but having worked full time solid for nearly 3 decades its a hard habit to break....  I pop up the road and its latte heaven in Waitrose.  I thank John Lewis for putting a Waitrose close to JC+ at least I get a smile and hello there  - I'm sure my * footnote cannot cross the threshold of Waitrose, so sanctuary at last!  


By the way I've changed the names of the (well they aren't innocent but you know what I mean) staff.  One, because once I've finished speaking to them I don't remember their names and two it wouldn't be nice.