Ashley and the Au Pair

 

Let me just say for the record that saying goodbye to the child that you've been Au Pairing for can in no way be compared to saying goodbye to colleagues when you leave your job. Over the past 8 months, I'd formed such a close bond with Ashley that I saw her as the little sister I never had, and my heart literally broke into pieces on Friday when I had to say goodbye.

I can clearly remember my first week back in March when I'd just started working for the family. We'd come back to the house after school, and Ashley somehow convinced me (well, almost) that there were 'bergies' living in their 3rd garage. (This garage was actually being rented to the old man next door as a place to store his prized Jaguar). There was a big sign on the garage door that said "Keep Away", and in my head I knew there was no way this family would allow 'bergies' to sleep in their garage and come upstairs for showers and to use the bathroom! Ashley kept this story up for the next 45 minutes and was so convincing that I had just about believed her. Talk about gullible! I felt so silly afterwards and of course I didn't let on that I'd almost believed her and told her that I knew it was a joke the entire time :P

And so, Ashley and I had many, many hours of those sort of jokes during our time together (some that weren't so nice and included her pretending to choke, faint, fall, get locked in a public bathroom and call security, cry, have a pet snake, vomit, bleed, etc.) I won't be surprised at all if she ends up doing theatre or working in TV one day!

I learnt a lot from Ashley and from my time with the family. I held a baby and changed a nappy for the first time - I was terrified at first, but to Ashley the 10 year old, it was almost like second nature. I never realised how much patience I could have with children, and just how far they can push me (I know now), how much energy I actually have, and how easy it is to bring myself down to their level.

My favourite memories of this whole experience were probably the times we had to just relax when we weren't rushing to get to extra murals or doing homework - but when it was a quiet afternoon and we could bake cupcakes and watch a movie together, play UNO (I could never win this game!), ride bikes together, take a walk to visit the horse down the road, play arcade games at the mall or go for an ice-cream.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to do this, and this is one of those things I will never forget and look back at fondly for the rest of my life. Ashley and I formed such a close bond during our time together and though I'm still a little heart sore to have parted ways so soon, I'm so grateful and happy for our time together. I hope that I managed to teach her a few things as she's taught me, and I have very high hopes for her.  I know that she is going to go far in life, because she truly has a heart of gold.

I now have just a little glimpse as to what lies ahead and I can honestly say that I am really looking forward to having children of my own in the near future. I truly can't wait. :)

Changes

So, here I was thinking at the beginning of the year that this would be the year that my little business would really take off. Little did I know that 10 months later I would be Au Pairing half day, close down the business and go back to full day work!

Life has a very funny way of working out....

This experience has made me realise that you really can't predict anything in life. There is fate and there is destiny, and some things are just meant to be. I'm so grateful for the experience of starting up my own business, and running it for the year and a half that I did. You learn so much about yourself when you have to put your product, service and yourself out there! I know now that the timing was just wrong, and who knows - maybe I will pursue this again in 5 years time on a part time basis, one simply never knows!

I am SO excited to be going back to full day work though! Working with people again, finishing work at a set time, taking leave and getting a salary at the end of each month...yes please! :) The strange part of this story is that I am going back to work for a company that I left 2 years ago. Things weren't great back then (which is why I left) - but having applied for so many positions over the last month or so, I heard about the open position and the agency I'm with asked if they could forward my CV through. I decided to just give it a go, you never know unless you try, right? When I went for the interview I could see that there was a vast improvement from when I left. By this I mean a brand new and bigger building, a lot more staff (they've expanded), procedures and structures in place, a recreational area with pin ball machines, etc. I couldn't believe my eyes! Was this the same company that I had so adamantly wanted to leave?!  It was then and there that I decided I really wanted to go back. I really had enjoyed my time working there, except for the reasons why I left. This past Friday I received confirmation and the letter of offer that I had got the position! Woo Hoo! A lot of people applied for this job, so I was really overwhelmed when I heard that they wanted me back.


Even stranger (or as fate would have it), the new building is a stones throw away from where Geoff is working - literally next door. So, we will both be working in Stellenbosch now and have decided to move to Somerset West as we will need to travel in two cars every day.  This is a HUGE change, as we've both lived in the Northern Subs since childhood. It's going to take some time to set in, and I know it's not that far from Durbanville - but not having my parents 10 minutes away is really going to take some getting used to.

The next couple of months are going to be very interesting, full of positive change, stability and excitement (with a little dash of stress I imagine!).

Recruitment Agencies: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

As some of you may know, I'm currently back in the job market again (a long story which I won't go into now - see the last few blogs if you're interested).  Anyway, that means getting the CV and cover letters up to date and customized for each job, applying for the type of jobs that I really want, and then trying to sell myself (which I hate) by going for interviews.

Depending on which way you look at it - fortunately or unfortunately, a lot of jobs out there are advertised through Recruitment Agencies. 

You'd be surprised as to how many of these agencies are out there today, it's a very competitive industry if you're thinking of starting your own little recruitment company. Sometimes there are two or more recruitment agencies competing to secure a candidate for one specific position.  I've worked at three agencies and I know a little about what goes on behind the scenes, and having recently been to a few recruitment or personnel agencies for interviews, I thought it would be interesting to compare a few of the best and worst in my opinion here!

The Good...

Kelly Recruitment
The only way to get your CV to this huge agency, is to apply for a job that they've advertised. You will get no where if you just send your CV and hope to get onto their database. You can fill in your CV on their website though. When I went there for an interview a few years ago, I was treated with respect, the receptionist was professional and friendly, and they had an organised centre set up for tests. The person who interviewed me was great, asked good questions and placed me with a big company.

Bridgena Barnard Personnel Group
What I like about this agency, is that you are personally met at the door with an application form to fill in. The agency is set up in a large double story house, so it is a pleasure waiting in the reception room (the lounge). Another nice thing about this agency is that they get back to each and every candidate who has applied for a position. Nothing better than getting an e-mail to let you know exactly where you stand, even if you were unsuccessful.

The Bad (Need improvement)...

West Coast Personnel
This company has a great website and I was very impressed with the way they presented themselves through it. However, this was not the impression I got when I went there for an interview recently. The reception I received was not very friendly at all, in fact I didn't even get a smile. The reception room lacked a lot, flowers would have been a nice touch, and then there was that big camera aimed at us waiting for interviews, and I had to wonder - were we being watched while we waited? Eerie. The person who interviewed me was extremely rude, he took three phone calls during the interview, was late and typed on his computer while I was speaking to him for 80% of the interview. By far the worst agency I've been to so far. Their personal attitude needs to match what they portray on their website.


Key Recruitment
Big plus to them for having a great Receptionist who offered me a glass of water, was very friendly and just the right amount of chatty. The reception room was nice, art work on the walls and magazines to read. I had a great person interviewing me and I got through to the client interview. Unfortunately, that's as far as it went - empty promises to get back to me after wards to see how it went, and after leaving a message she never got back to me. Not very professional, and quite disappointing to say the least.

The Ugly...

Now you also get the dodgy "recruitment agencies" out there who like to scam people by asking you to send in your full CV (usually by fax to an 086 number), get your details and never get back to you.  These are a few I've picked up on bestjobs.co.za and gumtree.co.za.

National Champs Services
DO NOT send them your CV. Unfortunately I think this is why I have been getting so many spam smses after I sent them my full CV a few years ago. I believe they are one of those agencies that sell off personal details...not good at all. This is not a company, they don't even have a website. You can't phone them as there is no contact number advertised, as well as no physical address. Ding, ding, ding!

RRR Link
Their adverts on gumtree come across so well, they almost seem too good to be true...and that's because they are! When they call you in for an interview,you are made to sit in a room with other people looking for jobs as well and listen as someone tells you how you can increase your chances of getting a job through them by referring more people! And then, you need to pay them a fee as well. What a joke! They advertise themselves as being an advertising agency in Durbanville mostly, located in Marais Street.


Finally, are these recruitment agencies for real?

I'm not sure about these two recruitment agencies. I've almost applied to quite a few of their jobs advertised on bestjobs.co.za - again, they almost seem too good to be true. But, take a look at the sum total of their contact details and both of them don't have websites. If a recruitment agency does not have a website, it sends off big warning bells to me. Take a look...

Reddot

Address:	P.O Box 2971 Claremont Western Cape
Contact:	Rudi
Email:

Company description:  Southern suburb Cape Town based human resource services.

Jobstar

Address:	PO Box 1815 Roggebaai Western Cape
Contact:	Judie
Email:

Company description: General personnel agency.

Doesn't say a lot about them, does it?

Don't get me wrong, I have the greatest amount of respect for legitimate Recruitment Agencies - as I've said, I've worked for three of them and I'm actually very keen to get back into the industry. I just don't appreciate the false promises most of them seem to make, the ones that are only out there for that big commission and don't care at all about the candidates, and those scam artists out there who get people's hopes up and then make a fat profit from selling off personal details.  My advise is to just be careful with who you deal with, check contact details and make sure it's a legit company before sending any details. Check out their website and phone them.  I don't even put my ID number on my CV - just my date of birth. I give my ID number out at the interview. 

We all have to make a living and it's a very high presurrised industry, but there's nothing difficult about fulfilling a promise or being as professional in person as you claim to be on your website.