Fifty Days on....

The memories of the final hours of the 4th July and the early hours of the 5th July are firmly burned into the memory. The flurry of messages, emails, texts, cards and letters has now abated. Redundancy notices have been issued to the hard working team who supported me. The office in London is emptied, the flat in London is handed back, and the constituency office looks a little more bare as each day passes. ?

The wheels of the new Parliament turn and computers and iPad are handed in, the election expense returns are filed and each day you get a little more used to fewer emails, fewer calls and far far fewer whatsapp messages. Speaking with a close friend over coffee on Monday he remarked how unhealthy the rate of work I had been operating at over the last few years must have been, and it is only the stepping back that you realise how intense it was. ?

I’m certainly sleeping better, managing to get a proper 7-8 hours a night compared to the 5-6 I got over the last five years. Taking time to spend more of it with my partner, my family and my friends has been a great joy. My brother has remarked that in the last five years even though I was present at times, I really wasn’t. Glued to my phone, juggling constituent cases, managing my team, updating social media almost hourly and constantly about to head north or head south, never quite knowing which bed I was going to be sleeping when I got up each morning. Sounds awful doesn’t it – but I did love it, and yes naturally when you love something that has gone you miss it. ?Taking time to savour successes, achievements and experiences is part of the process of moving on, and I do reflect on a period where I have given it my all. ?

Parliament has organized coaching and mentoring to help the record number of MPs who have left at this election. I’ve met my coach and already think she is marvelous. A straight talking talented Scot who has been incredibly helpful. I asked her what the perception of MPs is in the world of work and recruitment. ‘Lazy’ was her description of how we might be perceived. As thick as my skin has become, ?that is one description that does make me angry. I know it is used by the trolls to provoke and is often used from a lack of understanding about an MPs working life, particularly in a marginal constituency. The drive to prove?and visibly demonstrate I am not remains as strong as ever. ?

CVs have been drafted, edited, redrafted, and proof read, multiple times by trusted advisers. My hours on social media have pivoted from Facebook to Linked in. My extensive connections in the legal world have been put to good use in a consultancy role for a firm of professional indemnity Insurers. The embryo of a small public affairs business with a couple of former colleagues has secured its first client. My legal practice consultancy role also continues to bring in a small amount of income – and hurrah I no longer need to disclose those earnings to the Parliamentary Registrar of Financial interests – every cloud! ?

August 1998 seems a long time ago, my last job application for my first legal job. The world has changed. That job was advertised with a small classified advert in the Yorkshire Post. Now everything is online and able to be applied for at the click of a button. Dipping my toe into the process of applying either direct or through agencies is a huge learning curve. What hasn't changed is the power of networks. I’m enjoying lots of ‘Coffees’ which means lots of great catch up conversations with amazing people I've worked with and connected with and worked for and provided services to or supported over my last 28 years of working life. I have been touched by a number of people who have reached out to me and offered their help and support too. ?

The secret ingredient, so I am told, is to put your energy out there. You don’t know who they know, and what opportunities their networks might have. So my list of ‘coffees’ grows by the day, as does my applications and my ?considerations of sectors that I can apply my skills to. Just this week I was invited to a business networking meeting by a long standing business contact, back up at 5am to make the start of the meeting, and it was invigorating to be back out there and see business happening. ?

So whether you are looking for some law firm expertise, some marketing experience, need some guidance on parliamentary procedure then lets grab a coffee. ?

#Coffee #Jobs #Applications #Consultancy #Non-Executive #lawfirm #recruitment #ExMP #PublicAffairs #Politics

?