Ever so slightly

Avid readers (are there any other sort?) will know that yesterday I broke my pledge and applied for a job via The Worst Recruitment Agency in the World.

It was a job in Paris, and it was via the agency's Paris office but still there was no excuse.

This morning they phoned.

Although they did call at 9:20 am it was no good as it was 9:20 am their time. I don't turn on my phone until 9 am my time.

Eventually we got through to each other. The agent heard what I had to say and thought that, really, I wasn't that keen to work in France. She based this on the fact that I've been applying for jobs in a mix of European countries and quite a few in the UK (like over 100).

Here I was at a point that a lot of sales people would recognise. But I persisted. I explained that it's much easier for an English person to get a job in Britain and ultimately I need a job. I also explained that I'm keen to live and work in any decent European city. Not being tied down by mortgage, family or pets I can be quite flexible.

She eventually understoond. This was despite her not having fluent English (I don't have fluent French, far from it, but this job only requires English). She emailed a form for me to fill in and a few hours later asked if I could resend my c.v.

Quite a bite then. Not bad at all as I hadn't even got out of bed.

Actually, I am very keen to live and work in Paris. It would be near ideal: a foreign capital, but close to the UK (a train ride away), with a cheaper but often better standard of living. The reason I haven't applied for more jobs there is that most require fluent French.