Still don't have a completed CV.

After doing the translation myself, I had one graphic designer I don't know produce a CV but it was a complete mess and my demands for corrections didn't sit well with him. So he didn't get paid either.

Now I'm working with a graphic designer I know. He is equally as incompetent but at least the fact of our friendship keeps me communicating with him in a very light manner. Even though I'm frustrated each day when he returns the document having only rectified 80% of the errors I listed and asks "is there anything else that needs doing?" The list gets shorter everyday, but it is basically the same list... usually with one or two additions of something else he fucked up whilst making those corrections.

I had the same problems when hiring British graphic designers for creating business cards and so on back in the day. There too I found it better to work with one who was a friend, just so I wouldn't lose my shit with them. The only one who ever did a good job of a project I assigned them was my ex.

Meanwhile, precious time is passing by and rare job openings are being filled as the world races towards the date my income stops.

EDIT: An hour after posting this I finally received a perfect version of my CV.
EDIT 2: Had to compress my beautiful CV to 1mb and my photo to 80kb because Spain is backward af.


Peace,

kowalski

I used to have a beautiful graphic cv (English 1 side, french the other) but unless i was giving them a copy i printed or they were looking at it on screen, it looked shit when cropped and printed on a b&w photocopier

I made a sweet text only cv using a gray and black colour scheme (Eng 1 side, fr the other) and that parses well with ats systems, prints well with shitty office printers and is a small file size to send. I left out the photo as I'm not customer facing and people often assume im 5-10yrs older without my face

It breaks my heart to submit "shit", however it plays the system... A shitty system that saves HR time at the cost of awesome applicants

Here, they insist on a photo.

Most people have it as an integral part of their CV. Usually printed in the top right corner, jaunty angle with essential fake serrated edges and fake paperclip design. This was offered to me too.

When I was used as an interviewer on British Gas recruitment days applicants had to provide a photo on the day of the interview, just before you met them. Even then it was only so you could identify them from the group because interviewing was done in a modular rotational fashion, so that each interviewer was with each applicant at some point in the process.


Peace,

kowalski

I was never aware what profession you were in before you packed up, but it appears to have been the one I'm in now, the energy industry. It's both gas and electricity in my case.

What was it that clicked in your head back in 2012/13 that made you say fuck this I'm off?

It was an idea for at least 5 years before I left and then there was a perfect storm.

For the first time in BG I missed a promotion, they employed a guy from outside instead and he became my boss and he is an idiot, so I moved out of my expensive flat and took a sabbatical, when I got back they were looking for 1,000 redundancy volunteers nationwide, I volunteered, they gave me a substantial redundancy pay off and now I'm here.


Peace,

kowalski

So what's your next move?

Going walkabout.
Brian has a passport.


Peace,

kowalski

Getting down to the last few purchases I need for my travels. Most of them are exciting to receive and practice using straight away. Like reteaching myself how to navigate with a compass and topographical map or how to tie tarp line knots or calibrating binoculars and so on.

Today though I received a military grade CAT7 tourniquet, designed to be easily and effectively deployed using only one hand because that might be how many useful hands you have. It was the weirdest thing to receive. Even the thought of learning to use it set my hairs on end. Buying and learning to use things you hope to never need because in the event you do your life will be in the balance is sombre and unnerving. It affected me.

By luck I bumped into Rafa today. I was starting to think I might not see him again before leaving. We had a few drinks and great chat. Like everyone else here he's sure I'll be back.

Maybe one day.


Peace,

kowalski

That work on Brian too?

Where are you planning on heading? just Spain? Europe? South America?

If I'm bleeding, Brian might get harvested...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catgut_suture


Peace,

kowalski