Job interviews are horrible but waiting to hear whether you have got the job or not is probably even worse.
I managed to get up when the alarm went this morning although I would have loved to go back to sleep, get myself ready, and then leave the house in the time frame that I had set for myself. It seemed very strange getting myself dressed in a suit for the first time in about four years and I felt the cold as soon as I left the house to walk to the bus stop. During this cold winter I have been wearing thick tights and thick trousers on my bottom half and a T-shirt, jumper, and fleece on my top half and on top of all that wearing a nice thick padded jacket when I went out of the house. This morning it was just a blouse with my suit, although I did have some thickish tights on under the trousers, and my padded jacket. I forgot to pick up my gloves as I left the house so it didn't take long for my hands to get really cold and waiting for the bus, the cold really got to my core.
I knew the way to the GP practice where the interviews were being held having looked at the Transport for London website, but I find that it can still be very difficult to judge how long it is going to take you to walk from the bus stop to wherever you are aiming for. As it turned out it didn't take as long as I thought to walk that last bit of the way and I arrived at the practice building at just after 8.30am for my 9am interview. As usual I was there early, and after having reported to the reception, explained that I was there for an interview and then taken a seat in the waiting room, the extra time did mean that I could start to thaw out a bit before I was escorted upstairs by 'B' to the room where the interviews were being conducted.
As we climbed the stairs, 'B' told me that there were a couple of problems. The first was that 'M' who was supposed to be doing the interviews with him (she was from the PCT) was unable to be present so he had seconded a member of staff from the practice to be the second interviewer. that didn't seem to be much of a problem to me. The second problem could have been far more of a concern. 'B' said, "Have you brought your presentation on a memory stick, by any chance?" Well, of course I had. Didn't I say that I was a belt and braces person the other day? I was able to reply in the affirmative and 'B' was not at all surprised because he knows that I usually have my presentation on a memory stick when we go anywhere, even if we had already emailed them to wherever we were doing our double act.
The interview involved lots of questions, but then that is obvious. They ranged from what was your last/current job, what did you enjoy about it most and what did you like least. These were pretty easy for me seeing as I have really had only one job during my working life because I did the same thing both in the RAF and the Civil Service. Then the questions started about the job that I was being interviewed for. I have to be honest and admit that the questions probably played to my strengths and even the one about what I would do if I was at a practice and all the GPs except one were in favour of giving their patients online access to their medical records but as it was the senior partner who was against it they wouldn't say anything to try to persuade him to change his mind. This is where the gentle art of persuasion comes into play and I said as much. But if such an occasion was to arise, the final thing that can be used to persuade the recalcitrant senior partner is the fact that patients actually have a legal right to see their medical records and it would actually be easier to allow this to happen online than it would be to have patients regularly turning up at the practice to see them.
After about 20 minutes of questions I was asked to go through my presentation. This was the easy bit as far as I was concerned because I was only having to present to two people something that was a lot simpler than I would normally have to present. The fact that I am actually quite passionate about the subject probably helps, so at the end of it all I was reasonably pleased with how things had gone. As is normal at the end of an interview, I was asked if I had any questions for the interviewers, but I couldn't think of anything at the time, and I'm not sure that even now I can think of anything that I could have asked. The interview ended with me being asked if I was to get the job when I would be able to start. That was the easiest question of the lot. I said that I had psychotherapy on a Tuesday morning and that I was already booked to do the lecture at one of the London universities at the beginning of March, but really I could start any time that was acceptable to both parties.
'B' accompanied me back downstairs to the waiting room and we chatted a little about our visit to the House of Commons next week for the round table discussions. We still have not heard anything more about this so I may have to contact the Shadow Health Secretary's research assistant for details of where and who we have to report to.
After leaving the practice building, I made my way to the bus stop so that I could get the bus to the hospital for my psychotherapy appointment. I had time for a cup of tea before my appointment and I really enjoyed it as I was rather dry in the mouth after all that talking and nervousness. When my psychologist came to collect me for the session I commented on being a bit overdressed (in comparison to how I am normally dressed for my appointments) because of having just attended a job interview. When I saw him last week I hadn't received the invitation to the interview so he didn't know anything about it.
What was really great about today's session was that instead of dealing with my emotions and getting me to let them out as is the normal pattern of the session, we talked about how the interview had gone, about the fact that it is only a 6-month contract and if I got the job how I would feel when it was over, about my previous psychotherapy and how I had felt when it ended, and lots more things about my life and my feelings of abandonment. It was a good session and I think that it was just what I needed after the interview. I think that it allowed my psychologist to learn a lot more about me and how I can best be helped. He definitely feels that I need to be referred back to the main hospital where I had the earlier psychotherapy because I need long-term psychotherapy and if this is successful that it is likely to reduce my relapses into depression and should mean that I will never need to be be hospitalised again.
I guess that the only way that I can finish this post is to say a very big thank you to all of you who have sent me good luck wishes for the interview. I truly appreciate your comments and wishes and it only remains for me to say what a truly nice bunch of people bloggers are. I'll let you know whether I have got the job as soon as I hear anything.
Showing posts with label job interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job interview. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Fingers Crossed
I'm just about to set off for the most terrifying day in my life for a very long time.
Monday, 25 January 2010
Ready For Bed
I went off to the CMHT this morning via the local Tesco Express so I could buy plenty of tissues for my cold. My nose seems to be constantly running one minute and then a few minutes later I am completely bunged up. And I don't think that I have sneezed so much for a long time. This is a real humdinger of a cold and it couldn't have come at a worse time.
I arrived at the CMHT at 9.45am for my 10am appointment, and was told that the HTT team were running a bit late and that I wouldn't be seen until about 10.15am. It wasn't anything more than a bit of an annoyance as I didn't have to do anything else today. A member of the HTT that I had not met before came to see me in reception and said that he just wanted to read through all my notes before we had a chat.
Normally there are only one or two other people with appointments at that time on a Monday morning, but today there were about a dozen and it meant that rooms were at a premium. We went in one and were then asked to move out of that so we had to go to another room, this time in the annex at the back of the main building. We settled down for our chat and talked quite a bit about my interview tomorrow and what the job will involve. Most of my appointment ended up being on the subject of patients having access to their medical records and how this should and could be achieved. Then we discussed all of the other presentations that I have done on this subject and who they were for and then passed on to my trip to the House of Commons next week. We did eventually get on to the real subject of my appointment, which of course, relates to how I have been over the last week and how I am coping with life in general.
The end result of all this is that I have been discharged from the HTT/Crisis Team and I now have an appointment with my new consultant psychiatrist next Monday. I haven't met him yet but I have been told that he is very nice and quite young. So next Monday morning I shall be making my way over to the CMHT again, but this time not to see the HTT, it will be the first of what I am told will be regular meetings with my new consultant psychiatrist. So watch this space.
When I had set out from home this morning it had been a very grey morning. By the time that I left the CMHT a fine drizzle was falling and it was sufficient for me to get cold and damp on my walk to the bus stop. Fortunately, almost every bus stop in my part of London now has a shelter associated with it so I could at least stand in the dry while I waited the few minutes before the first of my buses home arrived. When it became time to change buses it was raining even more but the stop that I alighted from was also the stop where I had to wait for the second bus for my journey home. I had to wait about five minutes before my bus came, but again I was under a shelter and by the time that I arrived at the bus stop nearest home, the rain had stopped, so the short walk home didn't mean that I got any wetter.
Once home, I slapped a pasta ready meal into the microwave, zapped it for the required four minutes and then sat down to enjoy my nice hot meal. then I wrapped myself up in a couple of blankets and laid down on the settee to half watch television and play Mah Jong on my Nintendo DSi. I may have dozed off for a few minutes a couple of times, but other than that I have been awake all day, which is a bit of a surprise as I only had one hour of sleep last night.
Now I am ready for bed and I plan to get myself snuggled under the duvet and read for a while before trying to get to sleep. I'm not sure how successful I will be as I am definitely suffering with this cold and my anxiety level is very high. Having a job interview, followed shortly afterwards with a psychotherapy session is not what I would normally plan for my day, but it has to be done and I'll have to do my best. The alarm is set for the indecent hour of 6am so that I can get myself up, showered, dressed and make sure that I have everything that I need for the day, before leaving the house between 7.30am and 7.45am. Whether I have the time, or the inclination, for any breakfast remains to be seen.
I shall report on how my day went tomorrow evening, when I may even resort to an alcoholic drink or two to get over my taxing day.
I arrived at the CMHT at 9.45am for my 10am appointment, and was told that the HTT team were running a bit late and that I wouldn't be seen until about 10.15am. It wasn't anything more than a bit of an annoyance as I didn't have to do anything else today. A member of the HTT that I had not met before came to see me in reception and said that he just wanted to read through all my notes before we had a chat.
Normally there are only one or two other people with appointments at that time on a Monday morning, but today there were about a dozen and it meant that rooms were at a premium. We went in one and were then asked to move out of that so we had to go to another room, this time in the annex at the back of the main building. We settled down for our chat and talked quite a bit about my interview tomorrow and what the job will involve. Most of my appointment ended up being on the subject of patients having access to their medical records and how this should and could be achieved. Then we discussed all of the other presentations that I have done on this subject and who they were for and then passed on to my trip to the House of Commons next week. We did eventually get on to the real subject of my appointment, which of course, relates to how I have been over the last week and how I am coping with life in general.
The end result of all this is that I have been discharged from the HTT/Crisis Team and I now have an appointment with my new consultant psychiatrist next Monday. I haven't met him yet but I have been told that he is very nice and quite young. So next Monday morning I shall be making my way over to the CMHT again, but this time not to see the HTT, it will be the first of what I am told will be regular meetings with my new consultant psychiatrist. So watch this space.
When I had set out from home this morning it had been a very grey morning. By the time that I left the CMHT a fine drizzle was falling and it was sufficient for me to get cold and damp on my walk to the bus stop. Fortunately, almost every bus stop in my part of London now has a shelter associated with it so I could at least stand in the dry while I waited the few minutes before the first of my buses home arrived. When it became time to change buses it was raining even more but the stop that I alighted from was also the stop where I had to wait for the second bus for my journey home. I had to wait about five minutes before my bus came, but again I was under a shelter and by the time that I arrived at the bus stop nearest home, the rain had stopped, so the short walk home didn't mean that I got any wetter.
Once home, I slapped a pasta ready meal into the microwave, zapped it for the required four minutes and then sat down to enjoy my nice hot meal. then I wrapped myself up in a couple of blankets and laid down on the settee to half watch television and play Mah Jong on my Nintendo DSi. I may have dozed off for a few minutes a couple of times, but other than that I have been awake all day, which is a bit of a surprise as I only had one hour of sleep last night.
Now I am ready for bed and I plan to get myself snuggled under the duvet and read for a while before trying to get to sleep. I'm not sure how successful I will be as I am definitely suffering with this cold and my anxiety level is very high. Having a job interview, followed shortly afterwards with a psychotherapy session is not what I would normally plan for my day, but it has to be done and I'll have to do my best. The alarm is set for the indecent hour of 6am so that I can get myself up, showered, dressed and make sure that I have everything that I need for the day, before leaving the house between 7.30am and 7.45am. Whether I have the time, or the inclination, for any breakfast remains to be seen.
I shall report on how my day went tomorrow evening, when I may even resort to an alcoholic drink or two to get over my taxing day.
Not At My Best
I've managed about an hour of sleep and I'm feeling rather rough this morning. I now have a streaming cold and my first port of call this morning, before I even go to the bus stop, is to call into Tesco Express to buy a box of tissues.
My nose is bunged up and constantly streaming at one and the same time and it really couldn't have happened at a worse time. It is probable that I have been feeling so down over the last few days because this cold was developing. Knowing my luck it will be in full flow tomorrow morning when I have my interview.
I shall have to get myself out of bed soon and the thought of getting out of a nice warm place so that I can get myself dressed and go out into the cold morning is not one that is particularly appealing but it needs to be done. My trip to the CMHT to see the HTT will be about all that I can manage today. Fortunately I only have to get the paperwork that I need to take with me to the interview together when I get back home and then I shall probably just wrap myself up in the duvet and climb into bed for the rest of the day.
I shall dose myself with paracetamol, find a book to read (something that is not too taxing) and hopefully drop off to sleep for a few hours. My clothes are ready for tomorrow, and all I will have to do is make sure that I set the alarm so that I am up in plenty of time and then get myself ready to leave the house by shortly after 7.30am to walk to the bus stop to get the bus to the GP's surgery where the interviews are to take place.
Having a streaming cold is not what I would have wanted when I am about to undergo this ordeal, but it will hopefully elicit a little sympathy from the interview panel. The rest is up to me.
My nose is bunged up and constantly streaming at one and the same time and it really couldn't have happened at a worse time. It is probable that I have been feeling so down over the last few days because this cold was developing. Knowing my luck it will be in full flow tomorrow morning when I have my interview.
I shall have to get myself out of bed soon and the thought of getting out of a nice warm place so that I can get myself dressed and go out into the cold morning is not one that is particularly appealing but it needs to be done. My trip to the CMHT to see the HTT will be about all that I can manage today. Fortunately I only have to get the paperwork that I need to take with me to the interview together when I get back home and then I shall probably just wrap myself up in the duvet and climb into bed for the rest of the day.
I shall dose myself with paracetamol, find a book to read (something that is not too taxing) and hopefully drop off to sleep for a few hours. My clothes are ready for tomorrow, and all I will have to do is make sure that I set the alarm so that I am up in plenty of time and then get myself ready to leave the house by shortly after 7.30am to walk to the bus stop to get the bus to the GP's surgery where the interviews are to take place.
Having a streaming cold is not what I would have wanted when I am about to undergo this ordeal, but it will hopefully elicit a little sympathy from the interview panel. The rest is up to me.
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Presentation Prepared
I had another one of those nights where I didn't need medication to help me sleep; what I needed was something to wake me up this morning. It took me until nearly midday to get to a state where I knew what I was doing. I popped round to the local Tesco Express to get a few essentials and then came home and heated up my lunch in the microwave.
This afternoon I have spent my time moving from one computer to another to get the screen shots that I needed for my presentation. It's a real pain when you don't have the same applications on each computer and this is something that I must remedy in the near future.
I have now managed to get everything together on one computer (thank goodness for USB memory sticks), completed the PowerPoint presentation, including adding a couple more slides to round up the presentation and I have emailed it to the person indicated on the letter inviting me to interview. I have also loaded it on to one of my USB memory sticks and put it in my handbag so if there are any problems with the emailed version I still have a copy of it that can be loaded on to a computer.
Tomorrow I just have to finish getting all the paperwork together and then I will be ready. Well, as ready as I can be.
I am now thinking about getting myself something to eat again. I have decided that soup fits the bill with a bread roll to dip in it. I've decided on soup because I have got a cold starting and a nice big bowl of mulligatawny soup, which is both filling and spicy will hopefully help to drive the cold away. I just don't need a runny nose at the moment.
Tomorrow I have to go to see the HTT first thing in the morning, well 10am actually, so I should be home by midday and I aim to have a relaxing afternoon before having an early night in preparation for the dreaded interview.
This afternoon I have spent my time moving from one computer to another to get the screen shots that I needed for my presentation. It's a real pain when you don't have the same applications on each computer and this is something that I must remedy in the near future.
I have now managed to get everything together on one computer (thank goodness for USB memory sticks), completed the PowerPoint presentation, including adding a couple more slides to round up the presentation and I have emailed it to the person indicated on the letter inviting me to interview. I have also loaded it on to one of my USB memory sticks and put it in my handbag so if there are any problems with the emailed version I still have a copy of it that can be loaded on to a computer.
Tomorrow I just have to finish getting all the paperwork together and then I will be ready. Well, as ready as I can be.
I am now thinking about getting myself something to eat again. I have decided that soup fits the bill with a bread roll to dip in it. I've decided on soup because I have got a cold starting and a nice big bowl of mulligatawny soup, which is both filling and spicy will hopefully help to drive the cold away. I just don't need a runny nose at the moment.
Tomorrow I have to go to see the HTT first thing in the morning, well 10am actually, so I should be home by midday and I aim to have a relaxing afternoon before having an early night in preparation for the dreaded interview.
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Taking A Nosedive
I didn't write a post for this blog yesterday. Okay, so that's not a big thing but since the start of the year I have been trying to write something every day. I have been trying to finish the eighth part of Tackling The Mental Health Minefield this afternoon and I hope to have it published some time today, but it isn't easy as my mood has taken a bit of a nosedive over the last couple of days.
I went to bed early Thursday night as I found that I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I was asleep by 8.30pm, woke again at about 12.30am and took my night-time medication (minus sleep medication because I didn't think that I was going to need it), fell asleep again almost immediately and then didn't wake until about 10am. I got myself something to eat, took my morning medication and went back to bed again. I then managed to sleep again although this time it was only for a short time.
I didn't get much done during the afternoon and while I was playing Mah Jong on the Nintendo DSi I actually managed to drop off without being aware that I was feeling tired. It was only momentary because I woke with a jerk when my head fell forward as I was sitting on the settee. I was finding it difficult to focus on anything for longer than about five minutes so I settled down to spend the evening sitting watching television but by 9pm I knew that I would have to head back to bed again.
I woke today at 11am having slept for more than 12 hours. This is often the pattern that occurs when I am starting to sink into depression again and having had a few days of feeling reasonably well I am rather annoyed that I seem to be sinking into depression again so quickly.
I'm not sure what has caused this to happen. It may be that the anxiety about the interview on Tuesday is causing it, but I hope not. I don't need the additional pressure of feeling absolutely sh*t through depression on top of the anxiety about performing at my best. I know that I can do this job, after all what I will be required to do is something that I have been doing for some time already. I am quite passionate about patients having access to their medical records and I believe that a patient is the best person to persuade the doctors of the benefits that can accrue from this, particularly when it is done online.
So, this afternoon I am not going to think about the interview. I still need to put the finishing touches to my presentation but that can be done tomorrow. Instead I am going to spend time completing another post for this blog about my time in hospital and then do a bit of reading before going to bed at a reasonable time. Then tomorrow I shall get up early, finish the presentation, get all the paperwork together, get my clothes ready for Tuesday, and when I have done all that I shall spend some time doing whatever I want to. Maybe it will be some knitting (I haven't done any for quite a few days now), perhaps it will be playing a game on the Nintendo, perhaps it will be a bit of reading.
I just need to stop thinking about the interview and concentrate on making sure that I am feeling as good as possible for Tuesday. Easier said than done, I know, but I shall do my best.
I went to bed early Thursday night as I found that I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I was asleep by 8.30pm, woke again at about 12.30am and took my night-time medication (minus sleep medication because I didn't think that I was going to need it), fell asleep again almost immediately and then didn't wake until about 10am. I got myself something to eat, took my morning medication and went back to bed again. I then managed to sleep again although this time it was only for a short time.
I didn't get much done during the afternoon and while I was playing Mah Jong on the Nintendo DSi I actually managed to drop off without being aware that I was feeling tired. It was only momentary because I woke with a jerk when my head fell forward as I was sitting on the settee. I was finding it difficult to focus on anything for longer than about five minutes so I settled down to spend the evening sitting watching television but by 9pm I knew that I would have to head back to bed again.
I woke today at 11am having slept for more than 12 hours. This is often the pattern that occurs when I am starting to sink into depression again and having had a few days of feeling reasonably well I am rather annoyed that I seem to be sinking into depression again so quickly.
I'm not sure what has caused this to happen. It may be that the anxiety about the interview on Tuesday is causing it, but I hope not. I don't need the additional pressure of feeling absolutely sh*t through depression on top of the anxiety about performing at my best. I know that I can do this job, after all what I will be required to do is something that I have been doing for some time already. I am quite passionate about patients having access to their medical records and I believe that a patient is the best person to persuade the doctors of the benefits that can accrue from this, particularly when it is done online.
So, this afternoon I am not going to think about the interview. I still need to put the finishing touches to my presentation but that can be done tomorrow. Instead I am going to spend time completing another post for this blog about my time in hospital and then do a bit of reading before going to bed at a reasonable time. Then tomorrow I shall get up early, finish the presentation, get all the paperwork together, get my clothes ready for Tuesday, and when I have done all that I shall spend some time doing whatever I want to. Maybe it will be some knitting (I haven't done any for quite a few days now), perhaps it will be playing a game on the Nintendo, perhaps it will be a bit of reading.
I just need to stop thinking about the interview and concentrate on making sure that I am feeling as good as possible for Tuesday. Easier said than done, I know, but I shall do my best.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Preparing For The Interview
I know that I still have to finish my presentation, and it's still quite a few days until my interview but worrybones that I am means that this afternoon I have been making sure that I have done all the things that I need to do.
Over the last hour I have managed to confirm that I will be attending the interview. This was relatively easy in that it just required me to go to the NHS Jobs website, login to my account on it, and then mark the confirm interview box. Not exactly rocket science but it needed to be done. I have made a list of the documentation that I need to take with me. Tomorrow I will have to fire up the printer so that I can get my academic summary from the OU website because I am not going armed with my framed degree diploma, and I must sort out three items for identification. This seems a little bit silly as one of the interview panel knows me so I couldn't send someone in my place if I wanted to.
I have also logged on to the Transport for London website to check how I get to the place where the interview is being held. I knew which bus I needed to get already but I needed confirmation of where I had to go when I got off the bus. I will have to make an early start from home on Tuesday morning so that means that I will have to make sure that I get to bed early on Monday night.
Tomorrow morning I will sit down at the computer again to finish the slides for my presentation and write the notes. Then I shall print the relevant pages out so that I have them to refer to if necessary. I also have to email the PowerPoint presentation to one of the interview panel by 3pm on Monday, so if I am happy with everything I will do that tomorrow too.
That leaves just sorting out what I am going to wear. This should be fairly easy as I have just invested in a new suit for the occasion so I should only have to check that it is pressed and ready for me to put on, that I have all the necessary other items (shoes, blouse, handbag) placed conveniently, and this is something that I shall do on Sunday.
I think that covers all that I need to do and by having made sure of what was necessary a few days in advance I shouldn't be running around like a headless chicken when Monday arrives. I have to go to see the Home Treatment Team on Monday morning for my weekly appointment with them and it is important for me to have as easy a time as possible for the rest of the day so that I don't get more anxious than is necessary. I am reasonably calm at the moment because I have taken it easy over the last few days; now I just have to maintain that level of calmness until Tuesday. The only problem is that it is easy for me to say that but how things turn out in reality could be something completely different.
Over the last hour I have managed to confirm that I will be attending the interview. This was relatively easy in that it just required me to go to the NHS Jobs website, login to my account on it, and then mark the confirm interview box. Not exactly rocket science but it needed to be done. I have made a list of the documentation that I need to take with me. Tomorrow I will have to fire up the printer so that I can get my academic summary from the OU website because I am not going armed with my framed degree diploma, and I must sort out three items for identification. This seems a little bit silly as one of the interview panel knows me so I couldn't send someone in my place if I wanted to.
I have also logged on to the Transport for London website to check how I get to the place where the interview is being held. I knew which bus I needed to get already but I needed confirmation of where I had to go when I got off the bus. I will have to make an early start from home on Tuesday morning so that means that I will have to make sure that I get to bed early on Monday night.
Tomorrow morning I will sit down at the computer again to finish the slides for my presentation and write the notes. Then I shall print the relevant pages out so that I have them to refer to if necessary. I also have to email the PowerPoint presentation to one of the interview panel by 3pm on Monday, so if I am happy with everything I will do that tomorrow too.
That leaves just sorting out what I am going to wear. This should be fairly easy as I have just invested in a new suit for the occasion so I should only have to check that it is pressed and ready for me to put on, that I have all the necessary other items (shoes, blouse, handbag) placed conveniently, and this is something that I shall do on Sunday.
I think that covers all that I need to do and by having made sure of what was necessary a few days in advance I shouldn't be running around like a headless chicken when Monday arrives. I have to go to see the Home Treatment Team on Monday morning for my weekly appointment with them and it is important for me to have as easy a time as possible for the rest of the day so that I don't get more anxious than is necessary. I am reasonably calm at the moment because I have taken it easy over the last few days; now I just have to maintain that level of calmness until Tuesday. The only problem is that it is easy for me to say that but how things turn out in reality could be something completely different.
Creating A Presentation
I have been good. I have actually sat down to work on the presentation that I have to give at my interview next week. Talking for 5-8 minutes is not normally a problem for me once I get started but that is when I know the subject well. The subject for the interview is not one that I would normally tackle.
I could create stunning PowerPoint slides but fail to get my message across. So I have decided to go for something fairly simple. Some of my slides will have screen shots on them of things that I want to talk about; others will consist of words alone. It's always a problem trying to get the mix just right but I hope that I will achieve this with the presentation that I am creating.
One mistake that many people make when creating presentations is that they fill the slides with words. No-one can take in the information if it is given in this way; it's always easier to understand something that you have heard in a presentation rather than trying to get the information by reading a slide that will have gone from the screen before you have finished reading it.
The old saying 'a picture speaks a thousand words' can be very true when you are trying to get information across to an audience in what is usually a time frame that is not long enough for you to do the subject justice. I am used to having at least 20 minutes when I am doing my presentations about patients having online access to their GP records. This means that I can tailor my presentation to the audience. If I am talking to an audience of doctors I know that I have to spend far more time telling them about the benefits that I believe accrue from having this access. If the audience is made up of practice manages then I have to emphasize the time that can be saved through not having phone calls asking if test results are back yet. If I am talking to an audience of patients the emphasis is on what online access can mean to them; an example would be that links could be available to take you to relevant, reliable, good quality information about a condition that they may suffer from.
It is never possible to create a presentation that will sort every audience, but if you know your subject well that need not be a problem. I often do my presentations live. By that I mean that I use the online access system that my GP surgery uses, not as a series of screen shots but by using the Internet and a real patient record (mine). The benefits of this can be amazing because it allows you to show your audience that it is not difficult to use and that it does not require doctors to change what they are already doing when compiling your medical record at an appointment.
Creating a presentation is not a 5-minute job. It requires you to have some idea of what you are going to say during the presentation so that you can ensure that your slides are relevant. There is no point in creating a lot of slides and then not being able to use them because they don't 'answer the exam question'. So with that in mind I have looked at what I have been asked to talk about; I have selected what I think are the most important points to make on the subject; and all I have to do now is finish creating the slides and write the notes to accompany each of the slides. With a bit of luck I can manage that today and then I can relax a little knowing that it is done.
But I will still be worrying about the interview itself!
I could create stunning PowerPoint slides but fail to get my message across. So I have decided to go for something fairly simple. Some of my slides will have screen shots on them of things that I want to talk about; others will consist of words alone. It's always a problem trying to get the mix just right but I hope that I will achieve this with the presentation that I am creating.
One mistake that many people make when creating presentations is that they fill the slides with words. No-one can take in the information if it is given in this way; it's always easier to understand something that you have heard in a presentation rather than trying to get the information by reading a slide that will have gone from the screen before you have finished reading it.
The old saying 'a picture speaks a thousand words' can be very true when you are trying to get information across to an audience in what is usually a time frame that is not long enough for you to do the subject justice. I am used to having at least 20 minutes when I am doing my presentations about patients having online access to their GP records. This means that I can tailor my presentation to the audience. If I am talking to an audience of doctors I know that I have to spend far more time telling them about the benefits that I believe accrue from having this access. If the audience is made up of practice manages then I have to emphasize the time that can be saved through not having phone calls asking if test results are back yet. If I am talking to an audience of patients the emphasis is on what online access can mean to them; an example would be that links could be available to take you to relevant, reliable, good quality information about a condition that they may suffer from.
It is never possible to create a presentation that will sort every audience, but if you know your subject well that need not be a problem. I often do my presentations live. By that I mean that I use the online access system that my GP surgery uses, not as a series of screen shots but by using the Internet and a real patient record (mine). The benefits of this can be amazing because it allows you to show your audience that it is not difficult to use and that it does not require doctors to change what they are already doing when compiling your medical record at an appointment.
Creating a presentation is not a 5-minute job. It requires you to have some idea of what you are going to say during the presentation so that you can ensure that your slides are relevant. There is no point in creating a lot of slides and then not being able to use them because they don't 'answer the exam question'. So with that in mind I have looked at what I have been asked to talk about; I have selected what I think are the most important points to make on the subject; and all I have to do now is finish creating the slides and write the notes to accompany each of the slides. With a bit of luck I can manage that today and then I can relax a little knowing that it is done.
But I will still be worrying about the interview itself!
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Now I Can Get REALLY Anxious
I haven't written in this blog much about it, but I have applied for a job. It's just a temporary one on a 6-month contract. I'm not sure that I could, or even want to, work for longer than that. That may sound a strange thing to say but I live on pensions (four actually, two for my service in the RAF and the Civil Service, and two widow's pensions from the same organisations for my husband's service) and if I had a permanent job with a decent salary the tax man would take so much money from me that I would need to consider whether it was worth the effort to work.
But this job is different. It was tailor-made for me mainly because I am the person what actually suggested its creation. If I get it, then its mean being paid for 6 months to do something daily that at the moment I do on an irregular basis for free. That is, talking about why it is important for patients to have online access to their medical records and the benefits that can be accrued by it.
This morning I received an email inviting me for interview for the post. I have to go armed with a mass of paperwork proving who I am and that I have the qualifications that I claimed on my application. I can't really go armed with my degree diploma because it is framed, but fortunately my home page on the OU website gives me access to my academic achievement with the OU detailing what I studied for my degree and the qualification that I have as a result of that study.
That part doesn't worry too much, but I also have to dream up a 5-8 minute PowerPoint presentation to give at the interview and which has to be submitted the day before the interview. The subject of the presentation is obviously geared towards the job and worries me a lot more. It's not something that I have thought about and so I am going to have to put on my thinking cap over the next few days so that I can create something that shows off my talents with PowerPoint and that covers the question posed for the presentation.
Perhaps the thing that worries me most of all about all of this is that I have only had two job interviews before. The first was nearly 38 years ago when I applied to join the RAF, and the second was 18 years ago when I applied for a job with the Civil Service. I had a couple of promotion interviews while I was in the Civil Service, but that is not quite the same. So you can see that I am not exactly experienced in the job market and I don't deal with interviews very well.
I become a physical wreck. I get so nervous that I become nauseous and have been known to have to make a dash to the loo to throw up before an interview. I physically shake and the anxiety of what is to come builds daily while I am waiting for the interview to happen and then it doesn't dissipate until I have had the results. The thing that is making me anxious about it already is that the interview is next Tuesday, that I am the probably the first person to be interviewed because it is at 9am, and that after the interview I have to go for my psychotherapy session.
So, readers of this blog, I am asking a favour of you all. Will you all keep your fingers (and toes) crossed for me and send me positive vibes so that I can win this job? I really would appreciate it.
But this job is different. It was tailor-made for me mainly because I am the person what actually suggested its creation. If I get it, then its mean being paid for 6 months to do something daily that at the moment I do on an irregular basis for free. That is, talking about why it is important for patients to have online access to their medical records and the benefits that can be accrued by it.
This morning I received an email inviting me for interview for the post. I have to go armed with a mass of paperwork proving who I am and that I have the qualifications that I claimed on my application. I can't really go armed with my degree diploma because it is framed, but fortunately my home page on the OU website gives me access to my academic achievement with the OU detailing what I studied for my degree and the qualification that I have as a result of that study.
That part doesn't worry too much, but I also have to dream up a 5-8 minute PowerPoint presentation to give at the interview and which has to be submitted the day before the interview. The subject of the presentation is obviously geared towards the job and worries me a lot more. It's not something that I have thought about and so I am going to have to put on my thinking cap over the next few days so that I can create something that shows off my talents with PowerPoint and that covers the question posed for the presentation.
Perhaps the thing that worries me most of all about all of this is that I have only had two job interviews before. The first was nearly 38 years ago when I applied to join the RAF, and the second was 18 years ago when I applied for a job with the Civil Service. I had a couple of promotion interviews while I was in the Civil Service, but that is not quite the same. So you can see that I am not exactly experienced in the job market and I don't deal with interviews very well.
I become a physical wreck. I get so nervous that I become nauseous and have been known to have to make a dash to the loo to throw up before an interview. I physically shake and the anxiety of what is to come builds daily while I am waiting for the interview to happen and then it doesn't dissipate until I have had the results. The thing that is making me anxious about it already is that the interview is next Tuesday, that I am the probably the first person to be interviewed because it is at 9am, and that after the interview I have to go for my psychotherapy session.
So, readers of this blog, I am asking a favour of you all. Will you all keep your fingers (and toes) crossed for me and send me positive vibes so that I can win this job? I really would appreciate it.
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