The inimitable UK weather and the holiday period has put paid to quite a few of my appointments over the last few weeks to the extent that I have only been out on three assessments since my last blog post over six weeks ago.
There has also been something else keeping me away from the keyboard and that has been the day job or to be more accurate, the secondment that was supposed to turn into the new day job. If working in medium to large companies over the last 31 years has taught me anything it is that change is the only thing that is permanent. In today's business world, the pace of change, often driven by technological advance, moves forward in hops, steps and jumps.
On previous occasions, I have been lucky enough to be riding along on the crest of a wave of change which has accompanied one of these hops, steps or jumps. On this occasion however I have been one of the those swept away by the wave and my department's work had been reduced so significantly in volume that it was no longer viable. Other events were in play as well, which meant that an opportunity arose where I could move roles before the wave broke.
Even as my old department entered the dreaded consultation phase of the redundancy process, I was working longer hours to support a new team, helping them prioritise their work, improve their processes and develop as individuals. I gave it a good shot (3 months), however me and the job weren't a good match, so that when I was actually interviewed formally for the role, another candidate's experience, skills and knowledge meant they performed at a better standard than me.
So on Thursday of this week, I was advised that I had been unsuccessful meaning my notice period would begin at the end of the month and I would leave the company in mid March. Now for some this would have meant blind panic, but I was in a similar position 13 years ago at this time of year and again 7 years ago, so I knew what I needed to do.
I had the choice of looking for something within the company (little opportunity without having to move a long distance away from where I live), looking for something in the same industry or same role (extremely limited and again, nothing within travelling distance, so a need would be needed) or go for something that would offer some new opportunities.
I've gone for option 3 and based on my 5 years experience of tutoring on behalf of The FA and my experience in training to deliver technical training for Barclays over 20 years ago, I am going to explore the opportunity for employment in the learning and development sector. Having asked for and been given some advice by a friend already working in that industry I'm going to put the redundancy payment and the spare time of my "gardening leave" to good use to obtain a formal qualification. So football might have to take a back seat for a little while longer. That said, I've seen enough incidents in the last 6 weeks to provide data for a few blog posts, so hopefully, I'll not be away as long again.
Continue reading...
There has also been something else keeping me away from the keyboard and that has been the day job or to be more accurate, the secondment that was supposed to turn into the new day job. If working in medium to large companies over the last 31 years has taught me anything it is that change is the only thing that is permanent. In today's business world, the pace of change, often driven by technological advance, moves forward in hops, steps and jumps.
On previous occasions, I have been lucky enough to be riding along on the crest of a wave of change which has accompanied one of these hops, steps or jumps. On this occasion however I have been one of the those swept away by the wave and my department's work had been reduced so significantly in volume that it was no longer viable. Other events were in play as well, which meant that an opportunity arose where I could move roles before the wave broke.
Even as my old department entered the dreaded consultation phase of the redundancy process, I was working longer hours to support a new team, helping them prioritise their work, improve their processes and develop as individuals. I gave it a good shot (3 months), however me and the job weren't a good match, so that when I was actually interviewed formally for the role, another candidate's experience, skills and knowledge meant they performed at a better standard than me.
So on Thursday of this week, I was advised that I had been unsuccessful meaning my notice period would begin at the end of the month and I would leave the company in mid March. Now for some this would have meant blind panic, but I was in a similar position 13 years ago at this time of year and again 7 years ago, so I knew what I needed to do.
I had the choice of looking for something within the company (little opportunity without having to move a long distance away from where I live), looking for something in the same industry or same role (extremely limited and again, nothing within travelling distance, so a need would be needed) or go for something that would offer some new opportunities.
I've gone for option 3 and based on my 5 years experience of tutoring on behalf of The FA and my experience in training to deliver technical training for Barclays over 20 years ago, I am going to explore the opportunity for employment in the learning and development sector. Having asked for and been given some advice by a friend already working in that industry I'm going to put the redundancy payment and the spare time of my "gardening leave" to good use to obtain a formal qualification. So football might have to take a back seat for a little while longer. That said, I've seen enough incidents in the last 6 weeks to provide data for a few blog posts, so hopefully, I'll not be away as long again.
Continue reading...
