Go for it!

Thanks for the compliments everyone, it looks like I'm going to have to go for it then! To be fair, I half wrote the application at lunchtime at work before checking back in here, so I think the decision was pretty much already made. There's nothing to be lost by applying, and I can decide whether I want to do it (a) if I get the job (a big if) and (b) when I find out the exact salary. There's just a salary range in the advert ranging from wouldn't pay the mortgage to a cut but not too bad. If I get an offer at the higher end, it would probably be a no-brainer decision to take it, equally to reject if it was at the lower end. In the middle, well I'd have to see where it falls and how the benefits and quality of work/life issues work out to balance out the pay cut. I can't really make a decision based on a salary range, so I'd need an offer to decide in any sensible way.

The benefits look good from what I've seen though. I don't have full details, but 35 days holiday and gym membership for £45 per year look fairly tempting to me! Plus I think the pension is a cracking one, and thre would be opportunities to do other work "on the side" like writing, marking, moderating etc. Oh, and the job satisfaction too, mustn't forget that one of course, which is the whole reason for applying in the first place.

The interesting thing about writing the application is that the words and the reasons are just flowing. For the first time in my life I really know why I want to do it, and I know what to put in there. I'm not just putting what I think they want to hear, I'm putting what I want to say. I don't have to put all the corporate bollocks in (like my last appraisal - where do you see yourself in 5 years? My original answer - I have no idea. My answer as edited by my supervisor - Working towards partnership) and I am just explaining my motivations, in the belief that they finally match up with the job description.

I've been a bit pre-occupied by the whole job idea over the past couple of days since I saw the ad, so no real thoughts on weight loss today. The good news is that 3lb of the holiday weight disappeared overnight making the temporary gain slightly less horrific. Let's hope that another 3lb disappear before tomorrow, should we? (well, I can dream!). I ran again this morning, and am really trying to work up to this 10k at the end of the month. My cheerleading squad is coming together nicely with Kylie and a colleague who is hoping that her application got lost in the post so that she can cheer rather than run. Is she afraid of being beaten perhaps?