Everybody has a hobby however most people have lots of hobbies, you know those things we put time aside to follow, bore other people about and develop friendships started firmly on the fact we share the same interest. One of the things I devote a lot of my time to is sport but in particular I'm focusing on football today and I for one am so relieved its back. This has been one of those endless summers we remember from childhood that went on forever with one small problem - no World Cup or European Championships to see us through till August.
I know there are various friendlies, leagues around the world that play during summer and various Champions League / Europa League games to tide you over but we all know deep down inside that the season doesn't begin until your team kicks off. I find myself going into this season with a degree of hope and optimism which is a nice change from the past two seasons. A sexy first half, a closing moment penalty save from Mignolet the Merciless and a stubborn performance from Asmir Begovic saw my team Liverpool get a 1-0 win at home against Stoke. Reasons to be optimistic and pessimistic were to be found, good performances from a lot of players, new signings fitting in although same old problems we didn't convert to many of our chances but a wins a win and the first half was particularly sexy.
Its not just about results and scores I follow football because its one of the best drama's going, there's so many stories and characters vying for attention - with plot developments around the corner. The seasons just started and the transfer window hasn't closed yet, there'll be players both expected and unexpected heading out the door or coming in. That's where the first twist of the season is going to happen or so says this blogger. Good luck to everyone and I hope you all have a good season (except when you play us in which case that'll be three points please and don't let the door hit you on the way out) and come out of it with some cracking memories.
Have a good one...
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
Friday, 9 August 2013
Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
For the past few months dear readers I have been unemployed and just between you and me - I don't like it. Like myself I'm sure some readers will have experienced unemployment and there may even be some of you who have enjoyed it. While I'll admit the hours are cracking everything else is an absolute soul destroyer and all things considered I can't wait to see the end of it - which brings us to the theme of this blog: getting out of unemployment. Lets call a spade a spade, this isn't rocket science (unless your an unemployed rocket scientist) and there are a number of simple steps to follow. You look for a job, you find a job, you apply for the job and then its a case of either getting the job or going back to square one then starting again. I'm sure you'll agree it looks very straightforward, however there is an element to getting out of employment I have yet to touch upon, ladies and gentlemen I present to you the bane of my life the recruitment industry.
Over the last few months I have seen ineptitude from recruitment consultants and HR people that would make David Brent look like a candidate for Mensa. I'll probably touch on aspects of this in future blogs but there's one particular event I want to vent over at the moment. The tale begins last month one morning where I happened over this job advert:
Nothing to worry about there as you pretty much interact with people from birth (although some might say during) and it would be a chance to see who I was up against. Suitably attired that Tuesday morning I set off for CCS Review (also known as Consortium Technology Ltd), I'd done my research on the company, planned some questions and planned a few positive things about myself to slip in during the interview. I was expecting a number of things from the interview: a group exercise, typing/intranet system test, a bit of role play and one on one with the HR person in which to enquire about the company and put myself over to them as a prospective employee.
A quick train trip into Swansea and bracing walk found CCS placed just off Wind Street, for Who fans its quite close to where the exteriors to The Unquiet Dead were shot. A few of us interviewees turned up at the same time and we were led into the building. As we walked through the contact centre floor I dropped to the back of the group and took a few moments to examine my surroundings. The company seemed to exist in the basement of a quite impressive building and was full of the mixture of cocksure, stressed twenty somethings that populate the call centres of the country. In all honesty I wasn't impressed there seemed to be a lack of decorum, in particularly one team leader was busy moon walking instead of taking a call from an agent - it took him three minutes to get around to helping out the agent by which time I'd imagine whoever was on the other side of the phone would be fuming at having been kept waiting. I looked to the sales charts which showed they had a mixture of the impressive salespeople and people struggling who would soon be showed the door.
We were shown into the interview room which consisted of a large central table and some forms. The HR person said we would fill in the forms, then tell the group about ourselves including our favourite films (and if we had a super power what would we have) and could ask questions about the job afterwards. I don't know about you reader but that sounds a bit crap and lacking to me, on top of that the forms would end up regurgitating the information we'd given in our applications. Assuming HR person would go around the table clockwise I positioned myself on the far left of the room, this way I would be able to find out more about them and be in good position to mention something or ask questions other candidates hadn't covered. As we went around the room I found out more and more about the other contenders...
The first contender, was experienced in sales and had worked in a variety of Swansea call centres, had worked at team leader level and conducted himself well. He was a dead cert to get through and from his delivery and description of himself I could tell he'd be one to watch and I suspected when we were put on the training academy he was most likely to be my closest rival.
The second contender was No 1's goofy sidekick and appeared to be joined to him at the hip. They had worked together throughout Swansea's call centres but this guy was far from the talented one of the pair. It was 50/50 weather he'd get through.
No 3 is what we in South Wales call a "shunk" and stood no chance whatsoever. If he had turned up in clobber he was wearing on casual Friday he still would have been sent home, on top of that he couldn't string a sentence together and may have been hung over.
No 4 seemed only interested in the job because it was in staggering distance from her flat, didn't seem to care and was one of those people who think they are a "character" because they once wore orange on a Wednesday.
No 5 was a very nice chap fresh out of university with a Physics degree, had never worked in his life and looked like he had been dressed by him mum. I firmly placed him in the "nice guy but no chance" category, if he got through he would be gone within the month. If this had been for customer service he'd have a chance but in sales he was out of his depth.
No 6 was a competitor, like myself he appeared to have managed sales departments and was coming into the company like myself at a level lower than he would like. His demeanor showed that while he was professional I didn't think he'd do to well at entry level. I think he'd get in but I think he'd get stuck at entry level.
No 7 was a shop worker and had no sales experience. Despite this I think she'd get through as she put herself over very well in the interview.
No 8, Jesus bloody Christ where the hell did they get this guy from? Apparently he was some sort of weekend club manager who did pole dancing in his spare time.
No 9, was me.
As we went around the table telling our life stories and what super powers we wanted I grew more confident. By the time it was my turn to speak I had my speech planned out, I was able to mention that as well as lead generating I had experience of closing - something a few others kicked themselves for not mentioning, took them on a verbal tour of my work history and finished up by saying I'd like Wolverine's healing power so if I got injured I'd still be able to talk to the customers while I healed - I was the only person to link the power to the actual job. We finished off quizzing the HR person about the actual job then left to go about our different merry ways with a promise we'd be called back by the end of the day. I was full of confidence and had a skip in my step after a well done (albeit lacking from CCS Review) interview. However a few hours later i opened my email to find this:
Over the last few months I have seen ineptitude from recruitment consultants and HR people that would make David Brent look like a candidate for Mensa. I'll probably touch on aspects of this in future blogs but there's one particular event I want to vent over at the moment. The tale begins last month one morning where I happened over this job advert:
Company confidential
Out Bound call centre operatives
Job description
Due to expansion Our client is looking to employ new Call Centre operatives within their busy outbound call centre.
You will be making outbound calls offering a variety of services to the general public. You must be driven and sales focused and have the following skills and attributes:-
Excellent telephone skills
An ability to assess customer needs and discuss options combined with an ability work to deadlines and targets.
Excellent communication skills.
Confident and enthusiastic
Friendly and approachable
Persuasive and sales driven.
In return for this we offer a very competitive salary of £300.00 a week plus an enviable commission structure.
After a quick perusal I decided that this job my name on it, I have the sales skills having done door to door at the age of 16, I'd done telesales for a number of companies successfully and had even run a telesales team for a loan broker. Admittedly it was an entry level job and paid a lot less than my previous jobs however with my experience and background it was a case of being awesome at entry level for a month or two and then take the inevitable promotion. Checking the person spec it also looked like it was aimed at me so I sent off my CV and within the day I received a reply saying I'd been shortlisted. I phoned them up and had a brief chat with the HR and Recruitment Manager and arranged a suitable time and date for what I was informed would be a group interview.You will be making outbound calls offering a variety of services to the general public. You must be driven and sales focused and have the following skills and attributes:-
Excellent telephone skills
An ability to assess customer needs and discuss options combined with an ability work to deadlines and targets.
Excellent communication skills.
Confident and enthusiastic
Friendly and approachable
Persuasive and sales driven.
In return for this we offer a very competitive salary of £300.00 a week plus an enviable commission structure.
Nothing to worry about there as you pretty much interact with people from birth (although some might say during) and it would be a chance to see who I was up against. Suitably attired that Tuesday morning I set off for CCS Review (also known as Consortium Technology Ltd), I'd done my research on the company, planned some questions and planned a few positive things about myself to slip in during the interview. I was expecting a number of things from the interview: a group exercise, typing/intranet system test, a bit of role play and one on one with the HR person in which to enquire about the company and put myself over to them as a prospective employee.
A quick train trip into Swansea and bracing walk found CCS placed just off Wind Street, for Who fans its quite close to where the exteriors to The Unquiet Dead were shot. A few of us interviewees turned up at the same time and we were led into the building. As we walked through the contact centre floor I dropped to the back of the group and took a few moments to examine my surroundings. The company seemed to exist in the basement of a quite impressive building and was full of the mixture of cocksure, stressed twenty somethings that populate the call centres of the country. In all honesty I wasn't impressed there seemed to be a lack of decorum, in particularly one team leader was busy moon walking instead of taking a call from an agent - it took him three minutes to get around to helping out the agent by which time I'd imagine whoever was on the other side of the phone would be fuming at having been kept waiting. I looked to the sales charts which showed they had a mixture of the impressive salespeople and people struggling who would soon be showed the door.
We were shown into the interview room which consisted of a large central table and some forms. The HR person said we would fill in the forms, then tell the group about ourselves including our favourite films (and if we had a super power what would we have) and could ask questions about the job afterwards. I don't know about you reader but that sounds a bit crap and lacking to me, on top of that the forms would end up regurgitating the information we'd given in our applications. Assuming HR person would go around the table clockwise I positioned myself on the far left of the room, this way I would be able to find out more about them and be in good position to mention something or ask questions other candidates hadn't covered. As we went around the room I found out more and more about the other contenders...
The first contender, was experienced in sales and had worked in a variety of Swansea call centres, had worked at team leader level and conducted himself well. He was a dead cert to get through and from his delivery and description of himself I could tell he'd be one to watch and I suspected when we were put on the training academy he was most likely to be my closest rival.
The second contender was No 1's goofy sidekick and appeared to be joined to him at the hip. They had worked together throughout Swansea's call centres but this guy was far from the talented one of the pair. It was 50/50 weather he'd get through.
No 3 is what we in South Wales call a "shunk" and stood no chance whatsoever. If he had turned up in clobber he was wearing on casual Friday he still would have been sent home, on top of that he couldn't string a sentence together and may have been hung over.
No 4 seemed only interested in the job because it was in staggering distance from her flat, didn't seem to care and was one of those people who think they are a "character" because they once wore orange on a Wednesday.
No 5 was a very nice chap fresh out of university with a Physics degree, had never worked in his life and looked like he had been dressed by him mum. I firmly placed him in the "nice guy but no chance" category, if he got through he would be gone within the month. If this had been for customer service he'd have a chance but in sales he was out of his depth.
No 6 was a competitor, like myself he appeared to have managed sales departments and was coming into the company like myself at a level lower than he would like. His demeanor showed that while he was professional I didn't think he'd do to well at entry level. I think he'd get in but I think he'd get stuck at entry level.
No 7 was a shop worker and had no sales experience. Despite this I think she'd get through as she put herself over very well in the interview.
No 8, Jesus bloody Christ where the hell did they get this guy from? Apparently he was some sort of weekend club manager who did pole dancing in his spare time.
No 9, was me.
As we went around the table telling our life stories and what super powers we wanted I grew more confident. By the time it was my turn to speak I had my speech planned out, I was able to mention that as well as lead generating I had experience of closing - something a few others kicked themselves for not mentioning, took them on a verbal tour of my work history and finished up by saying I'd like Wolverine's healing power so if I got injured I'd still be able to talk to the customers while I healed - I was the only person to link the power to the actual job. We finished off quizzing the HR person about the actual job then left to go about our different merry ways with a promise we'd be called back by the end of the day. I was full of confidence and had a skip in my step after a well done (albeit lacking from CCS Review) interview. However a few hours later i opened my email to find this:
Hi .........,
Thank you for attending the interview of Telesales Advisor earlier today. Unfortunately, you were unsuccessful in your application.
We wish you the best in your future endeavours.
Kind Regards,
****** *******
"That's it?" I asked myself on reading the email, applied for a job I've previously excelled at, done excellent in the interview and all I get is future endeavoured - who the hell did they think I was, Chris Jericho? This rejection had a bad affect on me, I'd been unemployed after previously doing a job with little prospects and seen a chance to get back into the industry I'd previously excelled at and I get future endeavoured. Naturally I asked for some feedback, so if I'd done anything on I could work on it for my next application but heard nothing back.
I feel badly let down by CCS Review IMO they showed a complete lack of professionalism. The thing that gets me about unprofessional recruiters is nobody wins, I don't get employed, the company don't get the benefit of my experience and the recruitment personnel will just go about doing the same thing bringing down their own value getting found out when they move onto a new employer. I'll bounce back as I always do, someone else will employ me, CSS will continue with their poor recruitment policy and they'll be the ones that suffer long term.
Anyway that's that and as said earlier its time to move on, or in my case back to square one...
Monday, 5 August 2013
12th Knight and Nostalgia Isn't What It Used To Be
Unless you've been living under a sound proof rock you can't have failed to notice the hoopla coming out of the BBC during the last few days as they built up and announced the latest tenant to take up residency in the TARDIS none other than Peter Capaldi. For those not familiar with him he's best known for playing Malcolm Tucker off of The Thick of It. Which is a firm favourite with this blogger and highly recommend it if your looking for a series to work your way through. A look through his CV will reveal he's been in more things than that though, he's what I'd call a proper jobbing actor who appears to have been around forever and has been in virtually everything over the years.
Of note is the fact Peter will be the first oscar winner to play The Doctor although truth be known I'm more impressed by the fact we have another actor playing the Doctor that appeared in Minder. I fully enjoyed having a snoop of his wiki page and remembering the things I'd seen him in that I'd forgotten which included The Comic Strip Presents..., Prime Suspect, Neverwhere, Sea of Souls, My Family, Peep Show and Waking the Dead. Statisticians will be pleased to know that Peter also keeps up the tradition of all the Scottish Doctors having appeared in Rab C. Nesbitt. I haven't been this excited by the announcement of a new Doctor since Chris Eccleston got the gig. I'm really optimistic about where the show can go and what Peter can do with the part so its a hearty welcome to the show from this blogger and I hope you'll have loads of fun.
I don't know about you but this "New Doctor" malarky doesn't half make me feel old. Being a fan of the show I've gone through it a few times although no where near as much as the fans who've been around since the show started. When I was a kid my doctor was Peter Davison and it was during his time I had my first experience of regeneration and as a toddler I didn't have a clue what was going on. In short my first experience of regeneration was the story "The Five Doctors" during which most of the previous Doctors rocked up for an anniversary story. I was surrounded by adults saying "Oh he's aged" "I'd forgot he was Doctor Who" "That not the real him" and "where's the mad one with the scarf" in short I didn't have a clue what was going on but then again I was three. I can distinctly remember an uncle trying to explain it to me and every time Peter Davison appeared me yelling "there he is, there's the doctor!" It was like the world had gone mad and I was the only one who had noticed.
I still hadn't got my head around the concept when Colin Baker turned up on the scene. I can remember thinking that as viewers we weren't meant to notice (which admittedly sounds daft in hindsight) and that I was in on some kind of secret because I noticed. When Sylvester McCoy stepped aboard the TARDIS I had clocked on although I wouldn't fully understand the off screen aspect of this change until later, plus say what you want about season 24 but at least it provided a proper explanation of regeneration in the dialogue.
Sadly at this point the TV show would come to an end, it had been on borrowed time for a few years after an hiatus but after three Doctor's in a short time I soon found myself without a Doctor and without a TV show to go along with him. During this time I discovered previous Doctor's through the Target Novelisation's in libraries, there was an early 90's repeat season and I started getting VHS's - as well as acquiring a collection of Targets. By the time news of the show making a comeback in 1996 surfaced I was a full on fan with experience of all the Doctors. This was my first time experience of the build up to "who the new Doctor would be" during the earlier changeovers they kind of "just happened" but there was a lot of buzz around this with names such as David Hasselhoff being mentioned. Paul McGann would eventually get the part and prove to be a good choice in a shaky production but sadly a series didn't materialise.
Fed on a diet of the series continuing since McCoys time in book form and later audio's I remained cautiously optimistic that it would return. In 2003 the news broke that it would be coming back and it would be under the helm of Captain Russell Tiberius Davies. I found out early that he would be played as a soldier but it was an infuriating few months before we would find out who it was, I was hoping for a name like Alan Davies or Ian McShane but was pleased when Chris Eccleston who like Capaldi is someone who I'd put in the category "proper jobbing actor whose done the rounds." He was a strange one was Chris as no sooner had he done the media publicity circuit as the series was about to start it announced he was off. I wasn't really fussed or paying attention to the media over who would be next as there seemed to be a general acceptance in fandom that David Tennant would be next and he was.
A few years went by and Tennant proved to be successful then after a strange period where it was announced we'd have a string of specials in 2009 it was announced that not only was Tennant leaving but so were the heads of the production team. There were a shedfull of names banded about for the Eleventh Doctor including the usual suspects and some newer names. The BBC announced that The Doctor would be revealed on a TV special and speculation sky rocketed in the weeks leading up to the unveiling. A largely successfull unveiling saw releative unknown Matt Smith unveiled with him having blown away new Executive Producer Steven Moffat at the auditions. Being a youthful Doctor this brings us neatly back to where my regeneration journey began with Peter Davison. Blimey that ain't half a lot of regenerations, knowing my luck I'll probably get another one for Christmas...
Of note is the fact Peter will be the first oscar winner to play The Doctor although truth be known I'm more impressed by the fact we have another actor playing the Doctor that appeared in Minder. I fully enjoyed having a snoop of his wiki page and remembering the things I'd seen him in that I'd forgotten which included The Comic Strip Presents..., Prime Suspect, Neverwhere, Sea of Souls, My Family, Peep Show and Waking the Dead. Statisticians will be pleased to know that Peter also keeps up the tradition of all the Scottish Doctors having appeared in Rab C. Nesbitt. I haven't been this excited by the announcement of a new Doctor since Chris Eccleston got the gig. I'm really optimistic about where the show can go and what Peter can do with the part so its a hearty welcome to the show from this blogger and I hope you'll have loads of fun.
I don't know about you but this "New Doctor" malarky doesn't half make me feel old. Being a fan of the show I've gone through it a few times although no where near as much as the fans who've been around since the show started. When I was a kid my doctor was Peter Davison and it was during his time I had my first experience of regeneration and as a toddler I didn't have a clue what was going on. In short my first experience of regeneration was the story "The Five Doctors" during which most of the previous Doctors rocked up for an anniversary story. I was surrounded by adults saying "Oh he's aged" "I'd forgot he was Doctor Who" "That not the real him" and "where's the mad one with the scarf" in short I didn't have a clue what was going on but then again I was three. I can distinctly remember an uncle trying to explain it to me and every time Peter Davison appeared me yelling "there he is, there's the doctor!" It was like the world had gone mad and I was the only one who had noticed.
I still hadn't got my head around the concept when Colin Baker turned up on the scene. I can remember thinking that as viewers we weren't meant to notice (which admittedly sounds daft in hindsight) and that I was in on some kind of secret because I noticed. When Sylvester McCoy stepped aboard the TARDIS I had clocked on although I wouldn't fully understand the off screen aspect of this change until later, plus say what you want about season 24 but at least it provided a proper explanation of regeneration in the dialogue.
Sadly at this point the TV show would come to an end, it had been on borrowed time for a few years after an hiatus but after three Doctor's in a short time I soon found myself without a Doctor and without a TV show to go along with him. During this time I discovered previous Doctor's through the Target Novelisation's in libraries, there was an early 90's repeat season and I started getting VHS's - as well as acquiring a collection of Targets. By the time news of the show making a comeback in 1996 surfaced I was a full on fan with experience of all the Doctors. This was my first time experience of the build up to "who the new Doctor would be" during the earlier changeovers they kind of "just happened" but there was a lot of buzz around this with names such as David Hasselhoff being mentioned. Paul McGann would eventually get the part and prove to be a good choice in a shaky production but sadly a series didn't materialise.
Fed on a diet of the series continuing since McCoys time in book form and later audio's I remained cautiously optimistic that it would return. In 2003 the news broke that it would be coming back and it would be under the helm of Captain Russell Tiberius Davies. I found out early that he would be played as a soldier but it was an infuriating few months before we would find out who it was, I was hoping for a name like Alan Davies or Ian McShane but was pleased when Chris Eccleston who like Capaldi is someone who I'd put in the category "proper jobbing actor whose done the rounds." He was a strange one was Chris as no sooner had he done the media publicity circuit as the series was about to start it announced he was off. I wasn't really fussed or paying attention to the media over who would be next as there seemed to be a general acceptance in fandom that David Tennant would be next and he was.
A few years went by and Tennant proved to be successful then after a strange period where it was announced we'd have a string of specials in 2009 it was announced that not only was Tennant leaving but so were the heads of the production team. There were a shedfull of names banded about for the Eleventh Doctor including the usual suspects and some newer names. The BBC announced that The Doctor would be revealed on a TV special and speculation sky rocketed in the weeks leading up to the unveiling. A largely successfull unveiling saw releative unknown Matt Smith unveiled with him having blown away new Executive Producer Steven Moffat at the auditions. Being a youthful Doctor this brings us neatly back to where my regeneration journey began with Peter Davison. Blimey that ain't half a lot of regenerations, knowing my luck I'll probably get another one for Christmas...
Friday, 2 August 2013
Hello
Hello people, having read various blogs over the years I have decided to join the ranks of the bloggers.
Some of you may be familiar with me from my twitter feed and some may. If you are you'll know I like to shout at the world and explain where its going wrong.
Anyway look out for my rantings, witterings and various adventures which will be blogged about here on a semi irregular basis.
Some of you may be familiar with me from my twitter feed and some may. If you are you'll know I like to shout at the world and explain where its going wrong.
Anyway look out for my rantings, witterings and various adventures which will be blogged about here on a semi irregular basis.
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