Gainful Employment

I had three interviews for three very different organisations in a one week period recently. One was for the BBC -- three people, took about two hours, was structured very much like an oral exam, where they were obviously trying to figure out if I actually knew anything about building and managing websites, and if I could talk to crazed executives in a manner that would not belie the fact I thought they were insane. That went quite well. It was the last interview of the three.

The first was for an upstart web-design company that was growing too fast for its britches. It was basically six twenty-somethings in a garret near London Bridge building web-sites for major corporations. They were looking to add three web gurus to the company and seemed a bit frenzied and dis-organised. That interview also went quite well, but at last report they still hadn't made up their mind. I think they might spontaneously combust from overwork before they can bring anybody in.

The second was for an extremely posh company whose name is immaterial. It was obvious they were an offshoot of Universal Exports (James Bond's old firm). Their office is on Cavendish Square just North of Mayfair in London. After going through an elaborate security regime, I was whisked into the bowels of an enormous mansion in the heart of the most expensive real estate in London by a severely attractive middle-aged woman in a raw-silk suit. Once safely deep within our nuclear-proof bunker we sat down in enormous leather chairs on either side of an ancient 40 foot long conference table and she proceeded to pepper me with questions such as "Have you ever had to kill a Prussian spy?" "What do you think of the Queen?" "What is your preferred brand of caviar?" and "Can you build a nuclear submarine out of old kit-kat wrappers?".

They haven't called either.

But the beeb has. And so, I'm off this weekend to try to find a cardboard box somewhere above the high-water mark of the Thames for less than half my salary. Based on preliminary investigation, this will not be easy.

Hee! Hee! Hee! I'm working for the BBC!