In at the deep end!

So after a rather long road of job hunting...I finally got offered a new role!!!

After a few weeks off - and many lovely lie ins - I embarked on a new journey on Monday - and boy do I have lots to learn!!!

I woke on Monday and put on my freshly pressed suit - after working in a company that operated a casual dress policy I felt a bit like I was putting on my new school uniform (no comments boys) ready to go to big school. Will the big kids like me? Will they steal my lunch money or make me undergo some weird initiative training to test me? Luckily none of the above occured but I was so nervous as I walked into my new office for the first time. I had to do the usual introductions;

"Hello, I'm Polly Tronic and I'm an alcoholic"

Oops, wrong meeting!!!!

Anyway, the rest of the week has passed in a blur - I've gone "HUH" alot and stared blankly at lots of people. I've said "I'm sorry, can you just run through that again" quite a lot and I've come home most evenings thinking 'oh dear lord, what have I done' but on a whole all is going well and despite the above, I'm feeling positive!

But it dawned on me...how long in a new role do you have to be on your best behaviour for? A week? A month? The whole duration of your employment? Anyone who has ever worked with me (and you all know who you are because the majority of you are now close friends, drinking partners, confidants and general all round rocks) knows that I'm pretty much the same in and out of work - although a little more responsible and occasionally sensible in the office...sometimes!

I've always been ambitious, always wanted the best I can get and wanted to offer the best I can but over the last 6 months I kind of lost my way. I was in a job that wasn't inspiring me, I let a few personal issues cloud my efficiency and I was basically bored. My work was no longer stimulating and it posed no challenge so to be faced with this incredibly steep learning curve is actually a huge positive in my life. I miss the people I worked with of course - some much more than others - and I miss my 'celebrity gossip' mate - who has also been my shoulder to cry on, moan on,laugh on, bitch on......etc etc but I'm hoping I'll find that in my new place - I'm a strong believer in building strong working relationships - work has to be enjoyable and fun as well as productive!!! Its true that you spent more time at work than you do with your friends, family or other halves - you just don't have to wash your colleagues socks or remind them to put the bin out!

So I need to join the tea rota, I must remember who takes it decaf, no sugar - who takes the full fat with 3 sugars and who just drinks tea and coffee every 20 minutes so needs their drip feeding every time you walk past the kettle - like I said, so much to learn!

'Workin' 9 to 5,
What a way to make a livin'
Barely gettin' by
It's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy
If you let it
9 to 5, for service and devotion
You would think that I
Would deserve a fat promotion
Want to move ahead
But the boss won't seem to let me
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me'

Me, Me, Me!!!!

Well I do apologise for not having written for well over a week - I've been having an E number frenzy since lent finished on Easter Sunday!!!!

Actually, I've not JUST been sat stuffing my face with Haribos and mini eggs (although I admit a large portion of this week has been dedicated to just that!), I've also started 'Operation Job Hunt'. I've been attending interviews and searching the job sites for the elusive perfect job and so far its looking good.

Now most people get incredibly stressed about interviews, they can't sleep the night before, they get the shakes through nerves and they can't string a sentence together, and although I understand that it can be a nervous experience, the only thing I've gotten that worked up about was my driving test (all 3 of them) - and that's just because I was a terrible driver! Interviews however don't faze me in the slightest, in fact if I'm totally honest, I quite enjoy them, after all I get to talk about my favourite subject................ME!

There's not a single question anyone could ask me about myself that I wouldn't know - and since I'm a natural chatterbox that often struggles to actually STOP talking, I quite relish the experience. I'll always remember my interview for university when my course leader said

"You'll make a great student here.....as long as we can shut you up for long enough"

What a cheek!

Now imagine my shock when I was called to an interview and I found out that it was going to be a group interview - and it was going to last for 5 hours!!!! Even I can't talk about myself for 5 whole hours - well I probably could but even I need to take a breathe from time to time!

So I arrive at the interview venue nice and early so I can suss out the competition. Nothing to be too frightened about but certainly some strong contenders - and to be honest, I got on with them all which makes it harder when your all fighting for the same thing!!! We got handed a timetable for the day and at that point I actually experienced nerves. It was like being back at school - spelling and grammar tests, psychometric testing, preparing proposals and doing presentations! There was a moment when I thought 'its not too late to run to the toilet and escape out of the window' but I thought 'what the hell, lets just get on with this'.

As it happened it wasn't as daunting as I thought it'd be and they threw in a free dinner so I was happy! And luckily I got called back to the next stage - a normal interview where I can talk about myself to my hearts content!!!

"So Polly, tell us about yourself.............."

"Well, where do I begin................."!!!!