Living in London

I am in the second week of my new job and it is every bit as interesting, challenging and rewarding as I had hoped. I am working with a great group of people. My re-entry into the working world is going well.

My only challenge is that I am in the northwest of England which appears to be a bit of a technological backwater. I have no access to personal email or web sites during the work day (probably a good thing) but I wasn't prepared for the lack of WiFi or other high-speed internet access after work. There is no Starbucks and the Internet café that I found is actually in the office of a local real estate agent who put a folding table in the corner of his office and hooked up three PCs to his broadband connection. He calls this the CyberCafé. Unfortunately, the CyberCafé closes each evening at 6:00 PM — when the real estate agent goes home for the evening. I have managed to find only two hotels in the area with WiFi access and I am not currently staying at either of them.

Each evening I make a 10 minute walk to the neighbouring hotel for a fix of broadband. I get 2 hours or 75 MB of downloads for £5. By the time I retrieve my 80 - 90 emails and download a few of my favourite podcasts, I use up the 75 MB limit long before my 2 hours are up. To make it more challenging, there is a convention of senior citizens in this hotel the last couple of days. At the moment, someone is crooning Why Do Fools Fall In Love over a makeshift sound system in the lobby and encouraging people to join in the sing-a-long. Alas my voice just isn't up to it this evening.

It is difficult to keep up with the blog posts while sitting in a hotel lobby and with such limited access to the world. If all goes well, I will be staying at a hotel next week with high speed access. Ahh, to be reconnected again.

Get a job, she said! That is your primary task. Since last September, I have spent 20 - 30 hours a week networking and looking for a job.

Today I am proud to announce that I can mark the task complete. On Tuesday April 19 I will begin an interim position as the Head of Corporate Infrastructure Management with a large Civil Service employer. It promises to be a very challenging job as the organisation is undergoing a significant transformation over the next few years and I will get to help drive that change.

I also will have the opportunity to see a vast amount of England as I work in various cities throughout the country. I will spend a good amount of my time in the northwest of England but will travel to many other cities as well.

The position also feeds into my long term goal of becoming a turnaround specialist and someone who can quickly get up to speed in a challenging situation, helping organisations to move ahead.

Stay tuned for further reports from the road.

I haven't mentioned much about my career search lately but I continue to work diligently to find a job in this great country.

A few weeks ago the media was abuzz with the news that Google was going to digitise some of the world's largest libraries, including material from the New York Library, Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford.

It would appear that Google and Oxford have signed an agreement and are moving forward with their plans. I have been energized by a job posting I found yesterday in the London version of Craig's List. They are looking for a Manager of Business Operations, Production and Logistics to lead the conversion of the Oxford library. This position is tailor made for me and I am moving forward with an application.

The commute to Oxford will be a bit brutal but I have already researched my options. I can catch an express bus called The Oxford Tube for a reasonable rate each month. The long bus ride each day will give me plenty of time to catch up on work and stay current on my podcasts .

Wish me luck!

After my interviews with Netflix back in August and September, they offered to put me on their beta program to help test the new UK systems. It was wonderful to have a steady supply of DVDs again.


Today I received an email from Netflix saying that they had decided to delay their UK launch for another year. Current operations would be closed and I was welcome to keep the DVDs that I had at home.


This is a sad day. I was very excited that Netflix was coming to the UK. The only consolation is that we got a free copy of Monster and Secretary. We are nothing if we are not eclectic in our taste for movies.



-HrH

I had an excellent interview yesterday at a company called Servista. They provide billing and back end services for UK companies that want to enter into the newly deregulated energy and Telecom markets. Lloyds TSB, Tesco, and the Post Office are able to offer gas, electricity and/or telephone service with the help of Servista.

The position is for the head of the Programme Office. They have many programs that run multiple projects to manage the installation of new customer services. The company has about 140 employees and is at the stage of growth where they are realizing that they need to start building processes into their culture or they will not be able to scale. This is the perfect environment for me and one of the ideal scenarios that I have been trying to find.

They are interviewing other candidates and will not get back to me for a couple of weeks but I will keep my fingers crossed.

-HrH

My first job prospect in the UK is with Netflix. They are currently expanding into the UK and expect to launch to the public in Q4.

Previously, I had submitted my resume through at least 4 different people. I even had Tom Campbell, the Dean of the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, forward my resume to Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix. Yesterday, I met with the Managing Director of the UK expansion.

They hava a financial/marketing analyst position available that I am considering. The position is very junior for me but it may lead to other things within the company. Stay tuned . . .

-HrH

Yesterday we were up at 4:00 AM to catch a flight to LA. We were headed to the British Consulate to get our work permits so that we can work in the UK. To our pleasant surprise, the entire operation went rather smoothly. We arrived at the Consulate at 8:45 AM and waited about 2 hours. The agent processed our applications very quickly and without significant questions.

We then had to keep ourselves busy until 2:00 PM when our entry visas would be ready for pickup. After a leisurely lunch and some light reading at Starbucks we were on our way home with our newly minted visas.

We have passed a major milestone in our adventure. We can now both work in the UK!!

-HrH

I had my first interview in the UK today. I met w/ Kevin Elderfield of Quorum International, an Executive Search firm. We met at the Goring Hotel, just a stone's throw away from Buckingham Palace. Rumor has it that the queen likes to visit the dining room at the Goring for lunch.

The interview went well. Kevin was enthused by my capabilities and promised to search through their client base for a possible fit. He understand my quest to find a company, not just a job. When I find the right company, I can wait until the right job opens up. Or, more likely, I will create the job at the right company.

Tomorrow it is off to Lee Hecht Harrison to learn how to find a job in the UK.

-HrH