The Process

I've been thinking about doing something a little different with a blog post for a while now. 

The idea here is to map the progress of an application. From first seeing the job advert to either being successful or unsuccessful. I've had to wait for an opportunity that had some legs in it. The vast majority of my applications end after the first interaction. And that wouldn't make for much of a read now, would it?

With that said, getting a job is bloody hard. So I'm well aware that this may well ultimately end in disappointment. 

Context

Firstly, some context. About a year ago when I got the first pangs of wanting to get a new job I sat down and spoke to a good friend who is a couple of years ahead of me in life, career, etc. Always a wise person to speak to, Charlotte recommended this new website she'd come across called FutureLearn - a provider of free courses online. 

I quickly signed up to a few 4-6 week programmes, one on innovation in business, another on brands and it got my mind ticking over again after three years completely out of the learning game post-MSc.

We always felt it would be an amazing place to work and, as such, kept an eye open on their Twitter and the careers page on the website.

The Process

Friday 10th April 

Another week done, and we're now firmly in to the second quarter of the year with each month seemingly going quicker than the last.

My phone lit up with a message on WhatsApp.

"FutureLearn want a marketing executive!!"

Bingo.

This was perfect. 

The application required my CV, a cover letter and asked for 500 words on my favourite marketing campaign and why.

If you are a regular reader of these pages you'll remember I was asked this question during a phone interview and it absolutely stumped me. 

NOT THIS TIME! Playstation 4 and Oreo. 

Thanks very much.

I applied within an hour and felt pretty good about things.

Wednesday 15th April

In the midst of seemingly endless applications, this had slipped from the forefront of my mind.

Then I received an email from FutureLearn inviting me for a phone interview with them on Friday later that week.

Good news.

I felt with my CV, the storming answer to their question and, arguably more importantly, my background of working for a leadership development company that I had a good chance of getting through the first stage of the process.

And I had. 

Now, the hard part.

Friday 17th April

Now that it's got to this point I will start adding entries to this in an almost 'live' sense, shortly after today's telephone interview and anything that occurs after that.

***

Well I think that went well.

You can never really tell for sure during a structured telephone interview but I had answers for everything they asked and I managed to ask a few good questions which showed my existing knowledge of the company and desire to know more about them and the role.

We'll see.

They said next step would be during the week commencing Monday 27th April so it sounds like they have a lot of people to interview.

Monday 20th April

Interesting.

They've got back to me a week early to invite me to come down to London for a face-to-face interview.

Now I either ticked all the boxes on the phone, or there wasn't as many other people being interviewed as I expected.

Train tickets booked for a week on Friday.

Friday 1st May

I'm currently sat in the cafe at the British Library.

Yep, quite impressively, FutureLearn have their offices at the British Library.

I've never been here before and it is amazing. It's also a stones throw from St. Pancras station so no tube drama for BQ yet today!

The interview went as well as I could have hoped for. Interestingly, the interviewers (Head of Marketing and Marketing Manager) weren't even present for the first half an hour. Instead, I was introduced to the social media person first, and then the copywriter. I had a nice conversation with both and I think I positioned myself well for the inevitable 'what did you think?' question that they will have been asked when I left the building.

The interview proper was basically an extended version of the telephone conversation, and again I am pleased with my responses. I don't think I could have done much more to persuade them that I am the right person for the job.

It sounds like I will hear from them on Tuesday next week... so we'll see.

Whilst I think I have a good chance of a positive response, I also don't know who else they interviewed. As this process has reminded me on countless occasions so far, there is almost always someone with a little more experience or who is a little more suited to the job spec than me.

Que sera, sera.

Tuesday 5th May

D-Day.

(Probably).

09.29 am - Been at work an hour now and checked my email about eight times. No word. I'm very aware that I'm heading quickly towards a crossroads with this whole job thing. In the last few weeks I've barely applied for anything, my daily emails from job boards send a shiver down my spine and my motivation continues to drop off. If, as the odds would dictate, I don't get this one... what next?

10.06 am - My money is on an email between 2 and 3 pm.

11.46 am - Haircut.

1.51 pm - Powercut. Bloody hell. 

2.58 pm - After a good hour, we're back. And as predicted, I had an email at 2.36 pm. Immediately my eyes don't read the message as they would a normal email, they scan for word like 'unfortunately' and 'sorry'. 

Sure enough, the second word of the second paragraph is 'regret'.

Balls. 

***

So that's that. 

I really felt I had a chance with this one.

I go again.

EDIT: Friday 8th May, 4pm

The much vaunted feedback!

"Dear Ben

Sorry for the delay in coming back.  The over arching feedback was really positive from both xxx and xxx and you would have been a great fit for the team.  You were just pipped to the post by the successful candidate as they had more relevant experience in the education arena."

Valuable.

Cheers.