Diary Wednesday 5th April 2017

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The day of the dreaded prolonged call centre assessment test estimated at two and a half hours being a length bordering on school exam pressure. I had expected some university voluntary work earlier in the day but that was cancelled and with the assessment not starting until 5pm I felt as if I was in Limbo / Purgatory all day. The college sent me a text reminding me of my mandatory attendance at the assessment patronizing me as if I’d be too dumb to remember to go otherwise and insisting I phone them to confirm that I was going. They blocked the text so I couldn’t jut reply there – I had to phone them at my expense to tell them what they already know. Later I got a long phone interview from another call centre but when we touched on my bad credit history he lost interest in me on the spot. At 4pm, it was finally time to set off to the assessment event. Of nine of us who took the course only six turned up for the assessment. We were instructed to go for 5pm, though other applicants not subjected to the college course arrived at 5.30pm so half an hour was needlesly wasted right away. The three assessors were friendly, if anything over friendly, like a cross between happy-clappy preachers and holiday camp Redcoats. They even insisted on occasional chanting and clapping games but mostly gushed about how wonderful the company was. The final assessment exercise amounted to all of us having to prepare and present a new company chant-jingle in just fifteen minutes as a group exercise. Though promised an early finish to the 7.30pm official end time, it was actually quarter to eight when we got out. We are to expect phone call tomorrow to tell us if we are through to individual interviews on unspecified dates. so atonishingly I'm till under conideration as yet. The job start date for those taken on is now apparently May 22nd, but the interview could be much sooner. I hope my looking bored, yawning, limited attention in joining in with clapping exercises and crossing my arms a lot dampened my chances. Arthur Chappell