london life, 2006 - part three - finding a job

I had forgotten just how difficult the UK job market could be, especially for an mechanical engineer in London. I was lucky last time to have a good contact provided by a friend. Not so this time. Victoria wasn’t having much of a better time as a project manager, but at least she got a couple of interviews. I had nothing. It seemed that every engineering job that was advertised was for building services or refrigeration or somesuch, and nothing in mechanical design, composites, testing, or anything I was experienced in. If there was a role going as a design engineer, it required x years of experience in CATIA, a package I have never come across before. It got to the point where I started looking for CATIA courses, but at around £2000+ I decided against it. I did try to look in other areas, but it was so hard to come up with any possibilities that fit my skills. In hindsight, I probably should have registered with more (ugh) agencies. If we do it again, I'll do my utmost to get a job before we get there.

Checking the free papers for jobs outside the flat in Pennard Road. Obviously not finding anything.

I did get a couple of interviews, though. The first a design and testing role with a company called Norma (!) that manufactured pipe connectors in a town just outside London, close to Reading I think. This didn’t get off to a good start when my train was delayed. Seems to be a theme for me. I managed to call the agent and get him to contact the interviewer, but knew I was going to be on shaky ground. The interview was OK, but I never really established a great rapport with the interviewer, and I knew it wasn’t going to happen as soon as I walked out. Still, it was a very pleasant journey home on the train watching the English countryside whiz by to the tune of ‘Black Holes and Revelations’.

Fast forward a month or two, and the second interview came through EPCJobs, the recruitment firm for Bechtel, and was for a project admin-type person working on the new station/interchange for the London Olympic village. It was pretty junior, and mainly involved checking compliance and chasing up contractors, but at least it was work. This time everything went very smoothly, I got to the venue on time, and the interview was excellent. The one kicker was that Vic had been for an interview the same day, and we had agreed that if she didn’t get that job, we’d head home. I was offered the job, she wasn’t and within the week we had booked our tickets home. Don’t think I’d been sitting on my hands otherwise, though – I’d been applying for dozens of jobs independently of the recruitment agents, most of which had met with resounding silence or rejection. The worst though, was the third interview I was offered, but never went to, with Jaguar, in Coventry. Dream job. Why, you ask? Because the invitation came after we had already been back in New Zealand for a week.