I was very nervous this morning as I had an interview for a Court usher job and I had to be in town for 9.30am. I left at 8.30am as I wasn't sure how the traffic was going to be and I was also a bit worried about parking.
However, I arrived at 9am and parked easily, paying for three hours just in case. I walked to the court in the drizzle and had my bag checked. As usual I set the buzzer off and was then directed to Security who didn't know of my appointment!
The man I saw did then go and find out and ticked me off a list, asking me to go up a ramp to the top and sit down on some wooden benches - the most uncomfortable I've ever sat on! I waited a fair while as I was early and noticed a woman go into the conference suite opposite. I wondered whether it would be this lady interviewing me but then I was a bit shocked to see another man go into the room as well. Perhaps there was a meeting going on? I hoped so!
When another woman went into the room I started to get really worried! After a couple of minutes she emerged and called my name, asking if I'd brought any documentation with me. I gave her my passport, my DBS letter and a P45 with my National Insurance number and she took these away to photocopy them. I then faced the prospect of being interviewed by three people, not the one I had imagined (and hoped for!).
The woman returned with my original documents and told me to wait for a couple of minutes. I was really nervous now and couldn't believe that I was being interviewed by three people for a job that wasn't paying that much! Sophie's interview the other week had been conducted by just two people and that was for a job paying far more, and in a much more prestigious organisation!
I was perhaps naive, but I'd imagined having a little chat on the way to the room and some small talk, but the reality of this interview was very different to what I'd been expecting. Sophie had warned me and had asked me some questions beforehand but I wasn't prepared for the type of questions they were asking - all of them about "behavioural" situations in the past. They didn't seem to know what I'd been doing in my working life for the last twenty-five years and really didn't know anything about me at all. I suspected that two of them didn't even work at the court, but had been brought in to oversee the interviews.
They each took it in turns to ask questions and although I managed to answer them all, I had a feeling that they were looking for more specific answers and I certainly don't think I played their "game" very well. It was a horrible experience and I left after forty-five minutes feeling like a failure. I know I would have been good at the job but I wasn't given a chance to explain why I'd applied for the job or to give them any information on what sort of person I was.
I drove home and had a chat with Sophie over a cup of coffee. Keith had gone to Kettering to get the puncture in my tyre fixed after taking Mike to work but I think Sophie had told him how I'd got on when I called her from the car. I worked out that the court job was paying less per hour than my call centre job! Even in the unlikely event that I get offered the job, I will turn it down!
In the afternoon Sophie and I went to Beckworth for a treat. Sophie bought lunch and she chose a barbecued pulled pork panini while I went for a peri peri chicken wrap, both served with chunky chips, salad and coleslaw. The restaurant was busy as always and we were seated inside this time, not in the conservatory. The earlier grey drizzle had been replaced with sunnier skies, which was a bonus!
After picking Mike up from work, Sophie and I cooked the Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole, but we ate a little later than usual. We were still full from lunch!
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