This is getting hard, I am getting into trouble, I need a job. Why is it so hard to find one? Not just the current “crisis” excuse, what happened to the job market, what is happening to my career, what is happening to my life? I’m almost out of money, I have only one more month to find a job, then I won’t get any more unemployment insurance money. I feel helpless, this is worrying me a lot, even though I’m looking for a job very actively and even though I will now accept almost any office job, temp, interim… just to be able to have an income, it’s like everything I do is useless as there is no result. No wonder nightmares are invading my nights.

Because today is my last day, this week has been kind of exhausting for me. I want to leave with the whole handover completed, all things I do documented and everyone informed of the next steps. I am preparing my way out since the start of the month, I want to make sure everything is fine before I leave. I went to the osteopath on Tuesday because my back, neck and shoulders were hurting, that's what always happens when I am under pressure. He said it was quite bad and that I should really take some rest asap.

I am in Zurich since Wednesday, to finish up the handover, thanks to Silja everything went fine and on Thursday evening we had the end of the year party and the cream cake. The party was fun, the cream cakers were good, the dinner was nice dinner and we danced until 4am.

On Friday, I went back to Geneva in the afternoon, I still had to empty my clear my desk and I was invited to the last drink of the year that Tulika organized so I could say goodbye to everyone. It was a great evening.

For the end of the year party of the MP Geneva office we went to a castle in France. Everyone was dressed up for the occasion. A gift exchange was organized, we all picked a name in a box and had to bring a present for that person, I brought champagne glasses for a new colleague and received a very big cup-style bowl from one of the receptionists. The evening was very nice but missing a little more animation.

Today I had a talk with my Director and had to accept to leave the company. It seems Michael Page is restructuring IT, the main system is going to change and there won't be any more projects per country but global projects for all, so the IT Project Leader (me) is not needed any more next year. They are letting me go. My last working day will be Dec. 21st and I will still be paid in January 2008.

Last night, I was invited by Colt for a special evening with a presentation about leading projects, quite interesting. Interesting also was to meet new people, I guess that was something I needed to do for a long time, this meeting did me good.

Just returned from Paris. I spent the week there for work, it was interesting and I felt like many projects were finally finding their ways. I also felt part of a team which is completely not the case when I'm in Switzerland, my real team is in Paris, all developers, business analysts, project people are there, they helped me and it was positive. I do not know what my director will think about what I have achieved in Paris, but I hope he will understand that my going to Paris regularly is necessary to be able to follow up and go ahead with important projects.

Today is the 10th anniversary of the death of Lady Diana, I remember the song: Goodbye England's rose, may you ever grow in our hearts, you were the grace that placed itself where lives were torn apart... And it seems to me, you lived your life, like a candle in the wind... Your candle's burnt out long before, you legend ever will...
This song is so true, even 10 years later... Good night...

My new colleagues are great and it seems there's a reason to party every week at Michael Page. The job itself is brand new to me, I have to learn many things. I need to get some training on their internal application, it is the basis of their business. I have already had a short overview of it with Eve, I should have an intensive training in Paris next week.

They don't work with computers but with small clients (called Wyse) in which you plug the screen, mouse, keyboard and network, then you open a Windows session on a server located in Paris. Not working with a computer is very frustrating for me, I can't control anything, no access to a Control Panel, no personal configuration possible, no way to read a CD or USB memory stick, it's kind of difficult to get used to that... The other thing that I will have to get used to is the huge open office and being so close to my colleagues, we don't have much space for ourselves and no privacy.

I know I don't have any excuses for not writing in here the last few weeks, but do you really find job hunting any fun? Do you really think this is interesting? I don't think so, so I did not bother...

Well, I applied for a lot of jobs but most applications came back saying they chose someone else. The thing is that the kind of job I was looking for is not the kind that's advertised in the newspapers or on internet, even my counselor from the unemployment office said that I would most probably find my new job by word of mouth or be found by a head hunter...

And it happened... I was found. Everything went very quickly. I was called by a recruitment consultant of Michael Page International (MP) who found my CV on monster.ch. He told me he wanted to interview me ASAP as he might have a position to offer me. Wednesday, March 28th, I had an interview with this consultant and a manager of MP, after about 40 minutes they said something like "you're ok for us, you're seeing the general director for Switzerland in 2 hours". So I came back 2 hours later and had second interview (that was more of a discussion than an interview). After 2 hours, he said something like "I have a good feeling with you, you are suitable for the position", then he showed me the offices and the open space (which I think is not something you do before the person is hired). He asked me to come a few days later in Zurich to meet the IT Director Europe. My only concern at that time is that I was made very clear that I would have to move to Zurich. Even though Zurich is still in Switzerland, it is very seldom that someone from the French part of Switzerland moves to the German part, the language barrier is big as we learn High German at school but they speak Swiss German dialects there. Anyway, I went to Zurich and after the interview with the IT Director, he asked the Office Manager to show me around the 2 offices and I met the staff already. I was almost feeling like one of the team already. It was nice. On Thursday, April 6th, I got the news in the evening, I was offered the job. Yahooooo!

Sunday, my mother drove me back to Morges and on Monday I went by train to Geneva to see the surgeon. I felt very weak in the train and could barely walk to the clinic. The doctor's assistant was really very kind with me - she had been very kind during the surgery as well - I got a sweet tea, then a soup and felt much better when I left the place than when I arrived.

Today I had an interview in a placement agency. I was prepared to meet again with a previous colleague from Expo.02, but she phoned me to let me know she was sick and could not meet me (hope she gets well soon). One of her colleague would meet me instead if I liked. I accepted since I really needed to start getting new work opportunities. The interview went fine, I felt understood and confident. What a nice way to start job hunting :)