Mandarins 'r' us

[bohemiancoast]

For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath to here the results of my promotion board, I have good news.

I will be joining the ranks of the senior civil service. Just as soon as I find myself a job.

Oh, yes, and I appear to have been drinking for four hours.

Comments

[sbisson.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

[miramon.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

Hey, I haven't forgotten you want us all put up against the wall and shot.

[adela-terrell.livejournal.com]

I'm sure we'll find a loop hole to let you through, well done!

[ajshepherd.livejournal.com]

Well done!

[hawkida.livejournal.com]

Great news. I hear the traditional way of celebrating is to run a convention over the next May bank holiday.

Oh, it was worth a try...

[green-amber.livejournal.com]

Good one. Plokta own goal!.

Anyway, congrats! (What grade is that again?)

CC

Not that I'm gradist

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

It's what used to be called 'grade 5'; the most junior rank of the senior civil service. It's still, um, pretty damn senior. While I knew that there was a good chance I'd got through, I'm still shocked and reeling.

We were all sitting around in the pub, when one of my colleagues said, 'you know, you could be a permanent secretary', and I laughed and when I finished laughing they said 'no, really, you're what, 36, do you really think you're not going to get promoted in the next 24 years, and you look just like a young (and here they named one of our youngish Grade 2s) to me". It still strikes me as unlikely. The whole way progression works is that you get promoted and promoted and promoted, and then suddenly you don't get promoted any more and that's it. And this could easily be it for me. On the other hand, I've gone from being 'decidedly superannuated for an HEO(D)' to 'by no means a high-flying G7' to 'really a rather young G5'. So I need to think about what it all means and what I might want out of life. Beyond, you know, splendid, supportive, sexy malwen, two delightful children, nice house, lots of friends, interesting hobbies.

At any rate, I'm thinking about following the lead of high-heeled fishlifter, and discouraging the use of my full 'real' name on the web. I might change my name for social purposes. I've been thinking about it for a while, and this seems a good time to precipitate it. I'll think on it for a few days, but the time may well have come.

Re: Not that I'm gradist

[redbird]

Congratulations!

Change your name? Okay, I guess. I've known you always under the same two names (come to think of it, bohemiancoast isn't one of them, though it connects to one). Expect a lot of slippage--the disadvantage of having anything like a history or past accomplishments, and a bunch of people who know you, is the same as the advantage: you're known by a name.

I assume it would still be Alison something? (I figure I can post this much, since LJ identifies you as "Alison.")

Re: Not that I'm gradist

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

It would be Alison Cain. I'd be taking my children's name.

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

So, do you out rank squaddie, yet?

Dunno

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

I'm a civil servant; I don't know how the grades compare. What rank is squaddie?

Re: Dunno

[flickgc.livejournal.com]

Ummm... Dunno. RObert Newman outranks him - I think Robert's a Major, or something...

Re: Dunno

[malwen.livejournal.com]

I thought Robert was formally equivalent to Royal Keeper of the Croydon Goate (Major-ish), and bohemiancoast was an Obergruppenführer.
Of course, SMOF/NATO rank equivalence fell into abeyance after the Glasgow Worldcon bid was filed. And besides, no bodies were ever found.

Whatever, bohemiancoast is now so senior that she will have to be formally piped on board any ship of the fleet. Brittany Ferries will never be the same again.

Re: Dunno

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

As a G5 (or whatever it is now; SCS ML5?) you equate in status to a one-star officer, i.e. a Brigadier, Commodore or Air Commodore.

So I think it's safe to say your position in the Overall Government Pecking Order is well above that of squaddie or, indeed, me (Sqn Ldr, or SEO in civil service terms).

MC, standing smartly to attention

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

(but Just as soon as I find myself a job.... not likely to be a problem, I hope?)

Getting a job

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

Shouldn't think so. How it works is that you have a promotion exercise, and they pass a number of people, who then have the right to apply for jobs in the next grade. You don't get the new *pay* until you get the job. Theoretically the promotion list lasts for a year, and it could take up to that long to find something. Except that in practice, everyone always finds something fairly quickly; I had to wait for about seven months last time, and that was *much* longer than average -- at least in part because I was on maternity leave when I got promoted.

I don't want to move until the piece of work I'm doing at the moment is finished, but that might be in as little as 3-4 weeks.

Meanwhile, apparently they're going to talk us through the range of vacancies, and then we choose one or more to apply for. My ex-boss has a job in mind for me, too, and is waging a propaganda campaign to try to get me to apply for it.

I am, broadly speaking, picky; I probably want to keep my current working hours (30 hours over 4 days) and continue to work overwhelmingly in London. But I still don't think it's going to be a problem.

Re: Getting a job

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it. Had an 'orrid thought that it might have been one of those promotion in name only things...

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Wow! Congratulations and well done!

MC