Indeed, it is a truth universally acknowledged here in Cheesetown that the tale of the Small Boutique Counting House is becoming Dickensian in length if not in scope.

But look ye! The final instalment is here!

Yes having come through the arduous selection process for the Small Boutique etc - and who could forget the first interview, the structured interview, the test presentation, the meeting with the Finance Director, the meeting with a team member, and the battery of verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and personality tests?

I Got the Job.

Of course.

So, to bring everyone up to date here, I had a think.

And then I turned them down.

Yup. I had to.

Because the Extremely Esteemed and Revered Institution in Edinburgh (EERIE) offered me a job.

Or to re-phrase it, the Extremely Esteemed and Revered Institution in Edinburgh offered me a fantastic job, doing lots of interesting stuff, and meeting lots of interesting people other accountants. No financial services, lots of real edgy erm accounts stuff. Grand prospects. And I wanted that job.
I wanted that job so badly I told them so in the interview.

And I got it.
Yeah two jobs in the biggest baddest recession since whenever.

Let me give you the full picture. The news came by telephone whilst I was working on W's old PC. I'd gone onto his old Spotify account and was playing the last tunes we'd been listening to. Back in September I'd been trying to convince him that Beyonce was worth listening to. And there I was being told of my fantastic new job, right outside the door to "his" room. And for the first time in a month or so I was sobbing my heart out. Because it felt like karma. Call me an old hippy, call me a trivial deluded fool if you want, but it felt like karma.

So that's what karma looks like: sat on the floor, howling my eyes out, with Beyonce banging away in the background: "All the single ladies....All the single ladies... All the single ladies...All the single ladies", because you are, erm, happy?

Oh and here's a moral too: If you are running a Small Boutique Counting House, don't drag out the recruitment process so the stars go and get interviewed elsewhere in the meantime, hey?

Look!!! It only took three weeks, and about ten hours to convince them....but having called in the EXPERTS it is official.

I AM THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB AT THE SMALL BOUTIQUE COUNTING HOUSE.

And I am the only person in the Lothians who can say that.

No news is good news.
Apparently.

My recruitment consultant phoned to let me know that the small boutique counting house, which is now in possession of three test papers from myself and A N Other, has called in the experts.
Said testing experts will today be Interpreting the Results.

Anyone looking for blog updates recently might have noticed that I have been Very Busy; a small boutique counting house in Edinburgh needs a Funds Accountant. Obviously I am their girl; I just need to re-assure them on that point.

On the first working day on January I went to interview them for the first time. I met Sam and Martin. As usual in a first interview I cover the usual ground, all the years of experience managing funds, yep, and sorting stuff, yup, and looking after people, of course.

And my first interview goes so well I get a second interview. Except that this is a Rigorous Selection Process so first I will:
Meet with another fund accountant at small boutique counting house. She's pregnant. We discuss babies, men, working for them, ah , yes, we bond.
Meet with the Finance Director. He used to work at the same Big American Bank I did. He lasted three months there. We agree we don't like them. Compare notes on who we met there. Yep. I passed that one.
Do a test scenario, where I must make a presentation from a folder of information they have given me 15 minutes earlier. I ad lib wildly. It seems to go well

Finally, two hours after first entering the building, I have a structured interview. When I can see they have run out of paper to take notes, I stop talking.

My recruitment consultant phones the next day to confirm - They Like Me! I have passed the second stage!!! All four stages of the second stage in fact!!

But woah!!! Hold the celebrations....Now there will be a third stage - three test papers to test my numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and personality.

Sweet Baby Cheeses... In my own past life I've agreed to emigrate on less evidence...

Yes. There are times when it feels as if I'm living my life as a Cautionary Tale to scare young arts students ("if you insist on studying Social Anthropology you will end up like Macy, mark my words.....").

I'd been putting it off as well. Sitting in a grey/ beige office with furniture screwed to the floor, answering the standard questions - "How realistic do you feel your job expectations are..." Well look, in the past couple of months I've needed cheered up. OK? And I wasn't in a hurry to go over what I've been doing since being made redundant... Helping someone die...well I didn't feel like discussing it with some civil servant.

Anyways, since I already had a dentist's appointment to look forward to last week, it seemed as good a time as any to make an appointment to go down the job centre. Just to round the week off nicely.

Sigh

But look - it's All Different these days. The furniture still looks fixed to the floor, and the staff look like they'd rather be anywhere else, but those of us visiting on are no longer unemployed - we are jobseekers. I am appointed an Advisor. My Advisor, Allun, and I will draw up a jobseeking agreement together. Under my advisor's guidance I will find gainful employment around the Cheesetown area.
Huzzah!

Allun's guidance is fairly unique. Allun was also made redundant recently. Also from a Big Bank. We spend some time discussing Allun's redundancy after working for the Far Eastern Bank doe eight long years. We discuss the trouble Allun had finding work, started work at fifteen, never been unemployed a day in his life....we discuss the causes of Allun's redundancy, globalisation. We discuss redundancies of some of Allun's friends. We discuss the difficulty of having to rely on the partner's wages... I remind Allun I don't have a partner...

We agree we should next meet 15th January.

Memo to self. Find job to cheer Allun up....

This just forwarded from my Recruitment Consultant

Unfortunately we have decided not to bring Macy back in for a second stage interview. We felt that Macy interviewed well but wasn’t quite what we were looking for in terms of experience and fit. Having said that, she does have strong experience and so we would wish her well in finding a suitable role.

Kind regards

Yes, count them, it has been FOUR days - or as I estimate it 111 hours at time of posting - since my interview....

Yes. They were interviewing another couple of candidates at the beginning of this week.

No, of course they don't work weekends or evenings - so subtract 95 hours from that hourly total.

Well I've done the sensible thing of prompting the recruitment consultant to show my INTEREST. I've been good and not jinxed this in any way. I have thought beautiful and wonderful POSITIVE thoughts.

Well, guess what, I've had enough of the waiting. I'm jinxing it now by blogging....

Please, please please can I have a job for Christmas? I'll be good (at it), I promise....