The hard part is keeping it…
After a soul-destroyingly long hunt, and possibly the most botched-up example of a job interview I’ve ever given, I’ve been offered a job for the next few months working with a division of the NHS on one of their websites, based at London Bridge. Yey!
I can’t go into details about *why* I botched the interview – just believe me when I say I couldn’t have stuck my foot much further into my mouth if I’d tried. Still, I got the job, so it can’t be too awful… Unless they employed me with the sole intention of punishing me for the next few months. Stranger things have happened…
All I’ve got to do now is keep the job. Sure, I’m qualified to do it, but that doesn’t mean I’ve not got any nerves about the position.
Anyway, have something random: here’s an example of a Nice Rejection Letter – yup, they do exist…
Posted by Alex on Thu 27th November 2008
Embarrassment: when your portfolio says all the wrong things about you… ;o)
(Geeky stuff ahead) When you’re applying for jobs as a web designer, it would seem logical to make sure that it shows you in a good light. For example, when you’re telling people you can design websites which work well in all the common web browsers, most potential employers would be justified in shredding your CV when your portfolio actually looks more like a broken Etch-A-Sketch than a web page on Microsoft’s favourite internet mangler, Internet Explorer.
Oops.
Anyway, lesson learnt – my portfolio now doesn’t look a *total* mess in Internet Explorer, although I’ve had to do a bit of simplification to make sure it’s working (I don’t have all day to rebuild it, unfortunately), and hopefully I haven’t missed out on too many good positions as a result of not testing in Internet Explorer.
Life goes on :o)
Posted by Alex on Fri 21st November 2008
Ross/Brand – how not to let a molehill become a mountain (version 2,137)
This thought-provoking blog entry by the BBC’s Steve Bowbrick on how the BBC might have been able to avoid the media storm is well worth a look:
This is interesting for me: in my last job at Portsmouth students’ union, I remember trying – and failing – to express as eloquently as Steve has exactly why openness in a crisis is A Good Thing, and this school of thinking – be open and honest with your stakeholders and always maintain a dialogue – is one I really do believe in (uhhm, unless you’re MI5…).
Well worth a read, especially if you’re in a position of power in any company. Or if you’re bored ;o)
Posted by Alex on Tue 18th November 2008
Faceberk: you need this in your life
… or, more accurately, on your back – click through the image to buy the Very Reasonably-Priced (and possibly abuse-causing) hoodie:
Posted by Alex on Tue 18th November 2008
Tuneage for sale!
I’m slowly listing my whole vinyl collection for sale on discogs.com. If you’re into your house, trance, hard house or progressive from 1990-ish to 2006-ish, please take a look here.
There’s 40-something vinyls up for sale at the moment, and more will be added over the next week (the plan is to have all 1,000+ vinyls online by the end of the month – scary…).
Another shameless plug: I’ve also knocked together a “stuff for sale” page which I’ll update with new randoms as I put them up for sale. Go on, take a look – you know you want to… :o)
Posted by Alex on Mon 17th November 2008
Ok, wtf – is Facebook taunting me now? ;o)
Look, just because…
… doesn’t mean this is fair:
… especially the second “get a girlfriend” one – I mean, c’mon! That’s just targeted advertising at its most cynical ;o)
Posted by Alex on Tue 11th November 2008
Random: fireworks wallpapers for download
Fancy some new wallpapers? Since some of the photos I took at the Alexandra Palace fireworks display last Saturday weren’t *toooo* massively appalling, I’ve knocked some of the best ones out into desktop-friendly sizes and uploaded a zip file with them all in.
Download the zip file here:
- Fireworks wallpapers – clicky here :o) (9MB download)
(Info for non-geeks: to get the pics out of the zip file, find the zip file on your computer in Explorer (if you’re on Windows) or Finder (if you’re on a Mac). Often all you’ll have to do is double-click the file and your photos will either be “extracted” automagically, or a new window will open asking you if you want to extract the files. See your computer’s help file for more help, or you can Google for info on zip files or Google for info on changing your desktop wallpaper).
Posted by Alex on Mon 10th November 2008