Went for the interview today. Wasn't quite what had been sold to me. Was told it was a PhD Administrator. They don't offer a PhD. It's more just helping someone out, keeping their head above water while they juggle about three different positions. And...it's not ongoing like I was told it would be - they'll only guarantee two months. Hmm. I mean, that aside it did sound interesting - and would be something I could do no sweat. Don't think I did too well in the interview though. We shall, however, see. Called the recruitment consultant (as she wanted me to do) and told her I thought I came across as a right pillock. She went back to the guy - who really liked me (!?!). He was interviewing a couple of others but was going to get back 'shortly'. This was very promising. What did I do? I jumped on the blower to the other recruitment crowd with the other two possibilities (one at £12-14/hr; one at £14/hr)...they don't think anything can happen until Monday. Hmm. Oh, well. Shall wait and see. (oh, found the building without any glitches today! ;) ).
Right - just got a call back. They want me and they want me to start at 9am on Monday. Fantastic? No! Apparently, the guy's spoken with HR or payroll or something like that and it turns out the absolute maximum I could be paid would be £11/hr - not the £12+ as I'd been told. The reason for this is that even at £11/hr, I would be on the same payrate as the person who'd be supervising me; to put me on a higher rate than the supervisor would be bad form (apparently - not for me though, I wouldn't object!). SO...I have until 2pm to decide - that's 1hr 40min away. I'm now waiting on a call from the other outfit to see what, if anything, they could possibly do to speed the process up at their end - or even whether I should just take the bloody risk and turn down this one... Meaning I could be back to square one if the other two don't come to fruition!?! ARRGH. What's worse is that no one is online to talk to! I need a sounding board (not someone who sounds bored ;) ). Bollocks! Bollocks! Bollocks! Bollocks! I hate decisions like this... £11/hr would give me around £300/wk in hand... Better than what I'm getting now... Less than what I *might* get...
Not impressed with you folk back home (I'll forgive Chris - I wanted to call her, but was waiting on a phone call!)! Why couldn't *someone* have been up at 2am. Is that *too* much to ask? C'mon. I left the country; went halfway around the world to stop bugging you. The least you could've done was be online when I wanted to run things by someone. Sheesh!
Anyway. The second crowd didn't get back to me by 2pm so I had to make this decision all on my very lonesome. I took the job at £11/hr. Mainly because it's a 9am start on Monday...and it means WORK. Getting up for a reason! Hallelujah! The money will be a help, too. When I was talking to the recruitment lady, she mentioned limited companies again. I'd forgotten all about them. Turns out they might just be a good thing after all. Called some outfit about them and, indeed, they do sound good. Once it's all sorted, my hourly rate goes from £11 to £12.88 (something to do with the agency not having to pay something so the money goes to me - too complicated to think about!). What wasn't complicated for me was the in-hand figures: £330/wk on PAYE compared with £405/wk through the limited company. Now, despite that little blip in the radar yesterday when looking for the building, I'm not stupid - I know which figure sounds better to me! (And it's the possible £14/hr one through the limited company!!! - but let's not dwell on that!). Also, as a limited company, you can claim back expenses. I said that I didn't think there would be any, but turns out they include: lunches, travel, phone accounts, software & hardware etc. How nice is that - I wouldn't have even thought of that. Guess that's what these people are paid for. The lady was also telling me that the bloke who's essentially my boss was, despite this only being for a couple of months to begin with, talking about more longer-term. Could be a good thing. This doesn't mean that I'm stopping looking - it means that I have something to do with my day, and some money coming in. It'd be nice if I could get something a bit more longer-term (i.e., permanent), but we shall see. So. Monday, nearly 4 months after being made redundant from one university, I start work at another. How thrilling for me. But at least I'm employed. BIG sigh of relief. And I'm working in a nice area - around the corner (I can hear Mum with *that* comment, "Here we go again...") from the tube station; V&A Museum; Science Museum; Natural History Museum; Royal Albert Hall; stones throw from Harrods & Hyde Park. Could life get any better? Actually...if that other crowd comes back to me with those other jobs, I might still look into them...
The sun's shining. See. It was meant to be. Tomorrow I might just have to go out and by myself an iron (since, even though I'm working in a university, I have to wear a shirt & tie every day. Damn it all!).
Even though it's Friday, and I've finally scored a job, I'm going to sit at home tonight. It's Red Nose Day, so I'm going to relax (it's been tough being unemployed!) and watch that on the tele. They have some funny skits and stuff (well, in past years they have - I've downloaded them from the Internet). Oh, bugger. Just thought about things. Even though I work ALL next week, I don't get paid until the 30th - damn being paid in arrears. Might even do a stir-fry for dinner (bought a pack with all the veges (fresh), noodles & sauce in it - only £1.50!). Mmmm - veges. Think I'm hanging out for them now - scary, huh. Bored now.
Seeyabye
Right - just got a call back. They want me and they want me to start at 9am on Monday. Fantastic? No! Apparently, the guy's spoken with HR or payroll or something like that and it turns out the absolute maximum I could be paid would be £11/hr - not the £12+ as I'd been told. The reason for this is that even at £11/hr, I would be on the same payrate as the person who'd be supervising me; to put me on a higher rate than the supervisor would be bad form (apparently - not for me though, I wouldn't object!). SO...I have until 2pm to decide - that's 1hr 40min away. I'm now waiting on a call from the other outfit to see what, if anything, they could possibly do to speed the process up at their end - or even whether I should just take the bloody risk and turn down this one... Meaning I could be back to square one if the other two don't come to fruition!?! ARRGH. What's worse is that no one is online to talk to! I need a sounding board (not someone who sounds bored ;) ). Bollocks! Bollocks! Bollocks! Bollocks! I hate decisions like this... £11/hr would give me around £300/wk in hand... Better than what I'm getting now... Less than what I *might* get...
Not impressed with you folk back home (I'll forgive Chris - I wanted to call her, but was waiting on a phone call!)! Why couldn't *someone* have been up at 2am. Is that *too* much to ask? C'mon. I left the country; went halfway around the world to stop bugging you. The least you could've done was be online when I wanted to run things by someone. Sheesh!
Anyway. The second crowd didn't get back to me by 2pm so I had to make this decision all on my very lonesome. I took the job at £11/hr. Mainly because it's a 9am start on Monday...and it means WORK. Getting up for a reason! Hallelujah! The money will be a help, too. When I was talking to the recruitment lady, she mentioned limited companies again. I'd forgotten all about them. Turns out they might just be a good thing after all. Called some outfit about them and, indeed, they do sound good. Once it's all sorted, my hourly rate goes from £11 to £12.88 (something to do with the agency not having to pay something so the money goes to me - too complicated to think about!). What wasn't complicated for me was the in-hand figures: £330/wk on PAYE compared with £405/wk through the limited company. Now, despite that little blip in the radar yesterday when looking for the building, I'm not stupid - I know which figure sounds better to me! (And it's the possible £14/hr one through the limited company!!! - but let's not dwell on that!). Also, as a limited company, you can claim back expenses. I said that I didn't think there would be any, but turns out they include: lunches, travel, phone accounts, software & hardware etc. How nice is that - I wouldn't have even thought of that. Guess that's what these people are paid for. The lady was also telling me that the bloke who's essentially my boss was, despite this only being for a couple of months to begin with, talking about more longer-term. Could be a good thing. This doesn't mean that I'm stopping looking - it means that I have something to do with my day, and some money coming in. It'd be nice if I could get something a bit more longer-term (i.e., permanent), but we shall see. So. Monday, nearly 4 months after being made redundant from one university, I start work at another. How thrilling for me. But at least I'm employed. BIG sigh of relief. And I'm working in a nice area - around the corner (I can hear Mum with *that* comment, "Here we go again...") from the tube station; V&A Museum; Science Museum; Natural History Museum; Royal Albert Hall; stones throw from Harrods & Hyde Park. Could life get any better? Actually...if that other crowd comes back to me with those other jobs, I might still look into them...
The sun's shining. See. It was meant to be. Tomorrow I might just have to go out and by myself an iron (since, even though I'm working in a university, I have to wear a shirt & tie every day. Damn it all!).
Even though it's Friday, and I've finally scored a job, I'm going to sit at home tonight. It's Red Nose Day, so I'm going to relax (it's been tough being unemployed!) and watch that on the tele. They have some funny skits and stuff (well, in past years they have - I've downloaded them from the Internet). Oh, bugger. Just thought about things. Even though I work ALL next week, I don't get paid until the 30th - damn being paid in arrears. Might even do a stir-fry for dinner (bought a pack with all the veges (fresh), noodles & sauce in it - only £1.50!). Mmmm - veges. Think I'm hanging out for them now - scary, huh. Bored now.
Seeyabye
1 comment:
Congrats on getting the job!!!! Good place to start, and a bit of moolah coming in, well done!! :)
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