Summary

Today

Today I applied for two jobs. One of them called back pretty damn fast.

Their call stopped me from applying to an other agency handling the same job (this is quite common, companies use several agencies who all advertise on the same web sites).

I was actually going to make my c.v. more compelling for this second agency and had just finished tailoring it when the first agency called.

Week

This week I made 17 applications. I received five bites which, I think, is an all-time record.

I also had one interview. Yes, it was a telephone interview but it still counts.

Month

Half-way through the morning I realsised it was the 1st October.

So, last month I made 64 applications. I had 17 bites. This means that on average I get a positive response for every four applications.

Of those 17 bites I had two interviews.

The statistics are abysmal but also, relatively and taking into account IT job trends over the last few years, very good.

Luck

People who don't appreciate my skills in Karate often say that I'm lucky.

To my face.

Within striking distance.

They're lucky I'm so mild-mannered.

Their argument is that I'm lucky to have survived, and recovered so well, from my accident two years ago.

Apparently I'm also lucky because I had enough savings so that my period of long-term unemployment was financially quite comfortable (although I'm by no means rich).

Maybe I'm fortunate but I don't feel lucky. I've met people who've been luckier than me. They don't see the insides of an intensive treatment unit. Nor, do they see the insides of an outplacement consultancy.

Sure there are people who have much worst luck than me. I've met them and wouldn't want to swap places.

But I haven't been lucky in the positive meaning of the word. Not in recent years anyway.

And I have been careful. Worked hard, not smoked, exercised diligently, not got dressed, er, inappropriately then got shot and have to be taken to the ER like this footballer.

I've been to Kansas City airport. Blimey. I could have been shot; I guess maybe I am lucky after all.

Monster

I would have called the site Jobzilla myself but then again I'm just too corporate.

Everyday I look at this site. But I hardly ever apply. Either the job has already been advertised in the JobServe. Or it's advertised by the Worst IT Recruitment Agency in the World. Or it's advertised in a foreign language (and if that language is German, which I can read, then they make explicit their requirement for fluent German). And they tend to have a lot of IT jobs specialising in areas I don't cover.

But today I saw a job which wasn't covered by the above restrictions so I applied.

Point of inflection

Looking at www.jobstats.co.uk there's an unpleasant looking point of inflection in the IT jobs market just now.

My own records (based on a limited search around my skills) suggests there's near week-on-week growth. But I'll have to chart this to get a better picture.