This post is a bit of a departure from the norm round here, but last week I had the most bizarre, rude and down right unpleasant interview for a job I hadn't even applied for and I think it's good to share...you know being an over the hill tired out mum an all...
Last week, a week into a new job which I'm actually really enjoying, despite it being based on a rock in the middle of the sea with just a co-op for all my lunch needs... (Camden Town and Pret sandwiches this is not...) I was summoned to what can only be described as a tin box in a field, to be interviewed by a guy and his wife for a job I didn't apply for, didn't really know about or had prepared for...why did I go? I ask myself the same question, but truefully I have never been personally requested for an interview and I was intrigued.
It was 6pm, my husband had to drive me to the middle of nowhere, kids in the car an all.
I was escorted through an empty building, I made sure I had my phone on me just incase this was some weird situation I'd have to leg it from, and I was sat down and interrogated.
'Explain your A'level choices and what grades you got'
*I'm 33 and have NEVER explained my degree let alone subjects I studied 17 years ago*
'Why did your business fail'
*it didn't, I still own it*
'Explain why you are so passionate about social media and why your fit for the role'
*I'm not fit for the role, I don't know what the role is, you've stalked my social media and know what I can do, your also offering minimum wage and absolutely no incentives*
I was also asked to explain how I've juggled my kids, my husband working and running a business, I was asked to explain why did I move to Dorset, my 10 year plans, how secure my husbands job might be and any plans I have to move.....The luxury I have is that I have experience of terrible bosses and awful work environments, I also know the law and most of the questions were illegal to ask, and more importantly not relevant to the role.
I left with a handful of jelly beans (because they are desperately trying to be hip and cool and not terrible to work for) and a rage and confusion that this had been essentially a tear down of my work choices, I was annoyed with myself for not saying more in the interview and when a day later the feed back was that I just 'wasn't ambitious enough' I was pissed off. I am ambitious, I am more than my A'level choices and a decision to become a mum in my 20's, nothing has held me back except my own doubts and lack of confidence, I have never been someone who holds onto bad experiences, it's to much effort feeling sad and depressed for me to keep it up, but this has got under my skin and the lesson I have learnt from this is that there are still people who will criticise you and try to diminish your decisions and experience into a neat package of 'your not what we're looking for'
Rejection is part and parcel of life, but rejection based on bullshit isn't worth the worry.
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
17 Days and counting
It's day 17 of living more frugally and it's been a revelation, I never thought we were lavish spenders (we've never had any money!) But I knew as a family we were quite wasteful, chucking food away, always going for a coffee if we were out for the day, buying a newspaper despite having watched the news and read it all online...
Towards the end of 2016 I started to read a blog call zero waste home, I wouldn't class myself as particularly environmentally conscious but I started to look at all the packaging, piles of clothes and mountains of food we were accumulating and it didn't sit well with me.
The first thing we did was to start batch cooking, you'd think with two young kids and two parents working full time this should have been something we already did but it's amazing how many dinners consisted of baked beans or hummus because we'd run out of food or didn't have time to cook. It's pretty impressive how many meals mince beef can make, a bolgenese sauce can then be turned into a chilli with the addition of cumin, kidney beans and peppers, which can then be turned into burritos, tacos or nachos. We've halved out shopping bills but have a freezer full of food and the kids no longer have beans 4 times a week.
The second thing we did was find all the loose change scattered around the house, under the sofa, in random jars and under kids beds, and put it all in a big glass jar, then every week we set ourselves a cash budget, withdraw the cash and put our bank cards away. Each Friday whatever was left of the cash goes into the big jar to be saved for holidays, , day trips and treats.
The third (and last) things we did was to start ebaying all the clothes we didn't want, didn't fit into or didn't like (99% consisted of my 1950's phase of swing dresses apparently) uploading 10 items a week and watching as a £50-£100 a week turned up in our paypal account, again this money was transferred to our bank account, withdrawn and put into our big saving jar, there's something about physically seeing your money increase that makes me want to add more, and knowing it's not going on 'things' but experiences makes it even more satisfying.
This might be a New Years resolution I can stick with.
Towards the end of 2016 I started to read a blog call zero waste home, I wouldn't class myself as particularly environmentally conscious but I started to look at all the packaging, piles of clothes and mountains of food we were accumulating and it didn't sit well with me.
The first thing we did was to start batch cooking, you'd think with two young kids and two parents working full time this should have been something we already did but it's amazing how many dinners consisted of baked beans or hummus because we'd run out of food or didn't have time to cook. It's pretty impressive how many meals mince beef can make, a bolgenese sauce can then be turned into a chilli with the addition of cumin, kidney beans and peppers, which can then be turned into burritos, tacos or nachos. We've halved out shopping bills but have a freezer full of food and the kids no longer have beans 4 times a week.
The second thing we did was find all the loose change scattered around the house, under the sofa, in random jars and under kids beds, and put it all in a big glass jar, then every week we set ourselves a cash budget, withdraw the cash and put our bank cards away. Each Friday whatever was left of the cash goes into the big jar to be saved for holidays, , day trips and treats.
The third (and last) things we did was to start ebaying all the clothes we didn't want, didn't fit into or didn't like (99% consisted of my 1950's phase of swing dresses apparently) uploading 10 items a week and watching as a £50-£100 a week turned up in our paypal account, again this money was transferred to our bank account, withdrawn and put into our big saving jar, there's something about physically seeing your money increase that makes me want to add more, and knowing it's not going on 'things' but experiences makes it even more satisfying.
This might be a New Years resolution I can stick with.
Monday, 2 January 2017
2017 a year of Frugality
Hello! Happy New year,
Let's wave a very big goodbye to the nightmare that was 2016 (to be fair I'm not that angry with 2016, I DID get married which was a highlight)
2017 sees us as a family reflect on what we want from the next few years, we've been living in Dorset for nearly 3 years and with both kids now in almost full time education it's time to stop being permanently exhausted and broke and look at a strategy for thriving in the next twelve months.
After closing the doors of my shop and entering the job market for the first time in over seven years I realised just what everyone was warning us about when we said we were moving West, is is NOT like London at all, it really is a case of 'who you know' not what you can do, which has been a shock, but it's been a great lesson in a strange way.
For every ' your not what we're looking for' I've had to go home and look at ways to make money, short of ebaying the contents of my house, I've started an Etsy shop, trying my hand at content writing and I think I have a proper job starting (really don't want to tempt fate so will continue to try my hand at all my options just in case)
Seeing as money was thin on the ground we've found some really lovely days out that cost little or nothing at all. Here's a round up...(top three, I will do a full blog post at some point of the hundreds of things you can get up to in Dorset)
1. The Plaza cinema Dorchester
A beautiful art deco cinema showing all the latest movies all for roughly £3 or less! I know, it's insanely cheap, it took a good few visits to realise it wasn't a promotional price.
2. Thorncombe woods/Hardys cottage
In Dorchester you can't really escape Hardys heritage, there's a statue, a school and several roads named after the man, about 2 miles out of town is Thorncombe woods, it has several easy woodland walks and the occasional scout teepee or rope swing which my kids go mad for, there is also a lovely view of Hardys cottage and a tea room where you can grab a hot chocolate if you fancy, we've spent many Sunday day lunch times wandering around the woods trying to tire the kids out.
3. Burton Bradstock
This has to be my new favourite place in Dorset (sorry Lulworth cove you are off the top spot) Situated down the road from West Bay ~where they film Broadchurch~ you have dramatic cliffs, rolling waves and nice flat beaches to walk, if you want to splash out the and have lunch the Hive beach cafe serves the most amazing food, alternatively bring a picnic and enjoy the views.
Let's wave a very big goodbye to the nightmare that was 2016 (to be fair I'm not that angry with 2016, I DID get married which was a highlight)
2017 sees us as a family reflect on what we want from the next few years, we've been living in Dorset for nearly 3 years and with both kids now in almost full time education it's time to stop being permanently exhausted and broke and look at a strategy for thriving in the next twelve months.
After closing the doors of my shop and entering the job market for the first time in over seven years I realised just what everyone was warning us about when we said we were moving West, is is NOT like London at all, it really is a case of 'who you know' not what you can do, which has been a shock, but it's been a great lesson in a strange way.
For every ' your not what we're looking for' I've had to go home and look at ways to make money, short of ebaying the contents of my house, I've started an Etsy shop, trying my hand at content writing and I think I have a proper job starting (really don't want to tempt fate so will continue to try my hand at all my options just in case)
Seeing as money was thin on the ground we've found some really lovely days out that cost little or nothing at all. Here's a round up...(top three, I will do a full blog post at some point of the hundreds of things you can get up to in Dorset)
1. The Plaza cinema Dorchester
A beautiful art deco cinema showing all the latest movies all for roughly £3 or less! I know, it's insanely cheap, it took a good few visits to realise it wasn't a promotional price.
2. Thorncombe woods/Hardys cottage
In Dorchester you can't really escape Hardys heritage, there's a statue, a school and several roads named after the man, about 2 miles out of town is Thorncombe woods, it has several easy woodland walks and the occasional scout teepee or rope swing which my kids go mad for, there is also a lovely view of Hardys cottage and a tea room where you can grab a hot chocolate if you fancy, we've spent many Sunday day lunch times wandering around the woods trying to tire the kids out.
3. Burton Bradstock
This has to be my new favourite place in Dorset (sorry Lulworth cove you are off the top spot) Situated down the road from West Bay ~where they film Broadchurch~ you have dramatic cliffs, rolling waves and nice flat beaches to walk, if you want to splash out the and have lunch the Hive beach cafe serves the most amazing food, alternatively bring a picnic and enjoy the views.
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| Burton Bradstock post Christmas walk. |
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