The Job Search - Part III

A tiny speck of light then broke through the darkening clouds of uncertainty – I received another voicemail message from the Prilly guy, who invited me for an interview the next day. I called him back saying I was available, and we set a time.

Gutted about being turned down for one job, I tried to concentrate my thoughts on preparing for my next interview, and spent the rest of the day thoroughly researching everything I could about this company. I wanted to make sure I could calmly and confidently speak about their line of work during the interview, and show real motivation for the job.

Dressed up for my interview

The day of the interview came, and I headed to the company’s office to meet with the HR guy. He was really friendly and we chatted briefly before we went into the meeting, where we were joined by the manager of the team I could be working for. During the interview I spoke about myself and my experiences, listened intently to their descriptions of the role and the company, and then asked them questions that I had prepared prior to the interview.

I had a very good feeling after the interview, as I thought I had presented myself as honestly as possible, making sure to explain why I would be the perfect candidate for the job. Part of the interview was conducted in French, and I did not hesitate to tell them that, while I am by no means fluent in the language, I have a good understanding of it and am improving all the time.

At the end of the interview, the HR guy asked me to email him with my feedback, so they could compare my view of how the interview went with their own thoughts. I left the building in a far more confident mood than I had in Fribourg, and treated myself to a McDonalds. My positive thoughts were doing their best to push the negative ones out of my mind, and the large Big Mac meal gave them a helping hand.

Sixty Days in Suisse - Part VI

Tests, Tickets and Triumph

Week six of Lausanne life rolled around quicker than expected. Having booked my MCTS exam for the Thursday of this week, I spent the days leading up to it frantically trying to make sure I had actually remembered what I had read in the course material, so that I wouldn't make a complete hash of the exam.

To say I was nervous about the exam would be a huge understatement - I was terrified, partly because I hate exams and never feel confident about them, but also because the exam fee is separate to the course cost, meaning every time I sit an exam I have to pay for it (therefore failing and resitting would be quite pricey).

I didn't get much sleep in the days before I was due to take the test, and when the day came I really was not confident that I would pass.

Sixty Days in Suisse - Part IV

Sunsets, Sight-seeing and Sausages

More SQL Server studying in my fourth week here, with me sat in front of my laptop for more than 5 hours each day. It certainly was not easy, although learning a brand new subject by yourself is never something that is easy to do. Undeterred by the blurry eyes I had at the end of each day, I plodded on with my studies, aiming to take the MCTS exam within the next couple of weeks.



To take a break from the learning, Nelly and I went out for a walk along the lake in Vidy late one afternoon, just as the sun was setting.^

Queue some more photography - I managed to get a few nice shots of the sun disappearing behind the distant mountains, with the last of the sun's rays reflecting on the surface of the water.

It seems so easy to take nice pictures in Switzerland, as almost everywhere you go has some sort of natural beauty, whether it's a lake, a mountain or a rolling field in the countryside. Photographers must love it here!

Sixty Days in Suisse - Part III

Learning, (more) Learning and Lunching

My third week in Switzerland was much more subdued than previous weeks, mainly because I really needed to concentrate on getting a large chunk of my course done. Although the home learning course has no deadlines (I have to book exams myself and can wait until I am ready to do so), I was eager to try and get through as much of the course material as possible as I felt I needed the certification on my Curriculum Vitae to be able to find a job here.

And so, I spent almost the entire week staring at the computer screen, trying to absorb as much information as possible. Not the most fun week I have ever had, but I made a lot of progress on my course so some good came of it.

Sixty Days in Suisse - Part II

Courses, Chills and Chestnuts

At the start of my second week here I began my course to become a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist - and spent a couple of days learning about the wonders of SQL Server 2005 and what the heck it actually is. The course material itself was very good, lots of explanations, demonstrations and interactive scenarios, all helping to explain the subject matter.

That being said, sitting behind a computer screen attempting to learn by yourself for several hours each day is by no means an easy task - so I was thankful when Nelly asked me if I wanted to go to the market in Thonon, another little town on the French side of Lac Leman.

Sixty Days in Suisse - Part I

As the title suggests, I have now been a resident here in the land of cheese, chocolate and mountains for 60 days, although it certainly doesn't feel as long as it sounds. In fact, when I checked my calendar today and realised I had just finished my 8th week here I was somewhat surprised that time had passed so quickly - I left England with a niggling fear in the back of my mind that I would struggle to adapt to life here, with each day passing so slowly that I would actually start to long for life in Stevenage (which, as anyone who has visited Stevenage knows, would be stooping pretty low).

Fortunately, I began to like life in Switzerland almost immediately, aided greatly by the kindness of my wife's family and friends, who have all made me feel very welcome here. Indeed, my first few weeks here were such a blur of activities, outings and meals that I barely had time to miss my life in England (although I obviously still missed my family and friends). I soon found that I had passed the one month mark here, and thought that I really ought to write another blog article to let people know how I'm getting on and what its like to live in Switzerland. Another month later, and I'm actually getting round to it!

It's fair to say a lot has happened in these last few weeks. So much, in fact, that this effort might take some time to read (apologies for those who were expecting a "quickie" update), although I will do my best to keep it as brief as possible. In an attempt to make it succinct yet readable, I have had to split it into different parts (this one being Part I), with different sub-sections for each of the 8 weeks I have lived here - sort of mini-blogs, if you will.