End of the line

I have been thinking about this post for a while and have finally found the time to actually get on her and write it. This is even more the case since today is the 6 month-a-versarry since I became unemployed. It is also the day after I received an email about the post I most recently applied for at the University of Warwick.

Where to start?
To understand this story better you have to go back to January of this year. You may remember I mentioned that I graduated back in January of this year. Over lunch my PhD supervisor popped in to see me and the family and asked how the job hunting was going. He suggested a few places to try for jobs and then I also mentioned that I had talked to a couple of academics about the possibility of working part time for the chemistry department looking at things on the electron microscopes - a sort of specialist that would look at samples a few days a week My supervisor said that he would be interested and that it had come to his attention that there was a lack of this sort of thing in the department and indeed the university, especially as I an my boss at the time were both due to leave. He said he would talk to a few people he knew and then get back to me. In fact he did talk to the head of department who was so enthusiastic he contacted the head of biology to insist that I be kept on. Sadly this was not possible and so as I understand it there were a number of high level discussions that went on about this topic and what to do. Additionally the post-doc in physics was also leaving meaning there was really nobody to man the scopes other than a few technicians. I don't know the whole storey but after much promising that a post was being created and that the job description was being written a job advert did eventually come out. According to my man on the inside the position fit my CV perfectly and there was support from those I knew in Chemistry and Biology departments. Unfortunately this was being run by physics. Prior to its publication was personally emailed by one of the professors in the physics department who asked me if I would be applying. I told him yes and then when the advert came out sent in my application. 6 weeks went by and then on the 6th June I received a letter stating that due to exciting developments in microscopy they were advertising a higher post and suspending the experimental officer post in favour of the senior research fellow post. I was informed that I could apply for the higher post but must meet the eligibility criteria. Well I did apply after trying to get a little more information from the inside sources I have, however they were stunned at the news and said they would look into it. Eventually at a meeting it became apparent that there was something afoot at a higher level and that this had determined the physics departments decision to act in this way. It seemed that after 4 months of patient waiting for a near perfect job it was not to be. I sent in my application and left the rest up to fate, hoping to get an interview at which I hoped to prove myself. That never happened and yesterdays 'Sorry, but no' email brings the whole sorry saga to an end.
There is however hope on the horrizon as I found out on Thursday that I have an interview on Monday 11th for another microscopy job... news to follow!