The return of the Strident Student

Herself has decided that a career in retail management is insufficiently fulfilling, and will not save the world in any way, shape or form, so she has opted to return to education in order to commence the path to becoming an advocate. She's been accepted onto a Law conversion course and will plough her hard-earned dosh into paying the fees whilst board and lodgings are provided Chez Frosty.

Waitrose have been a most excellent employer (as ever) and kindly sorted her out with some part-time work at our local branch so she has an income stream to pay travel to Uni.

With the momentous decisions made, and plans in place, all that was left was to transport her worldly goods back to the 'vern and try to work out where the heck all the gubbins is going to go!

Hence today it was 'goodbye' to the Steel City her home of the last four years.....

Here endeth week 3

with me trying to work out whether I have made a huuuuuge mistake - I've come to the conclusion:

1. I don't think the company recognise what they need to make the function
   
2. Sure as hell they don't want a gobby un-polished northerner to tell them! Question is; will I get to the end of my probation or not....?

Week 3, day 1

Now spent two weeks meeting people and lifting up the edge of the carpet only to find heaps of problems as well as stumbling into a stack of politics. Flipping complicated business with the most matrix structure imaginable, and now in the midst of a huge change programme as a result of a merger....confused dot com.... I don't have a clear way forward as yet, but am going to try to crystalise the 'as is' situation and tasks to get to the 'to be'... I feel a mindmap coming on! Oh heck, could I be morphing into a Consultant! ;o)

Week 1, day three

Trying not to think it's an 'un-do-able' can of worms...regularly reminding myself:

I've never worked in a Partnership;

Consultants haven't featured that much in my career to date (so I don't yet get the MBA text book vocaulary);

it's a totally new Sector (but that I'd never recruited in the Middle East 2yrs ago!);

In the next week I'm attending meetings re. specific projects in the Nuclear industry, as well as another on infrastructure in Qatar which will undoubtedly be yet more brain frying, but might get me into the nuts & bolts which is more my thing than theory and politics....

A reality check

from a friend...

Spot on, on all counts!