*Perspective

As I sit here, my arm sore and my mind wondering I find myself in a state of reflection, reflecting on the events of the past 12 months. Does any of the below timeline resonate with any of you?

• 7th February 2020

The annual pilgrimage to Frankfurt is underway and the team are all set for Ambiente. There is an air of anticipation, excitement even as although this will be my eleventh time much of the team are visiting for their first, we are launching new ranges and a totally new brand. However something is not quite right, many friends and customers from The US have chosen not to attend, The Finnish are fist-pumping instead of the customary warm embrace, and The French well they are being evermore French. A vendor stand opposite is being operated by two people wearing face masks..

..Day one and I've not see halls 1.1 & 1.2 this quiet in any of my previous ten years

• 3rd March 2020

The Inspired Home Show in Chicago has been cancelled! It was obviously going to be, wasn't it? Frantic emails, calls and video links ensue as we have a container landing and plans afoot so we need to pivot, to move. After much deliberation it's decided that a couple of us keep our flights for later that month as much can be achieved on the visit outside of The IHA.

• 6th March 2020

The bi-annual SMAK show is underway and I find myself in Lillestrom supporting our newly appointed distributors and old industry friends. There is something comforting about being back in Norway, away from all the worries circulating back home, who'd have thought that -20 in an evening would have been so warming!

• 12th March 2020

Early start, en-route to T5 as flights to Chicago to catch and I want to get to the lounge in ample time to get some emails in beforehand. I take a call, "have you seen the news, Trump has banned all flights from Europe". Plans changed, I turn round, get back to the home office and begin the now customary pivot movements.

• 23rd March 2020

I have a day in lieu and it is my first opportunity of the year to get away from it all. I leave the phone off and head for the nearby Mendips hills for a gentle ten mile ramble. Boris is making a national address that evening. I get home with time to check emails before PM's address, it seems that the entire UK salesforce have been called to a Teams meeting, I wonder what for? 8pm and I watch as the first national lockdown and stay at home announcement in made. It'll all be over in time for my holiday at the end of April I am sure.

• 24th March 2020

8am and I am at it, calls made to The Netherlands, Sweden and Germany as there are deals to be done and stock to be sold. 9.30 I take a call from the office and hear the word FURLOUGH for the first time, WTF IS FURLOUGH.....???

So it seems that I like the rest of the company are now in this strange state of limbo....

• 29th April 2020

It's my birthday! However I am not in the Napa Valley as planned, I am not even in my local buying the traditional birthday boy round. We are now deep into month two of lockdown, still no word from work and I am starting to feel isolated. On the upside I am sticking to a strict diet, lost 10kilos and feeling physically fit and ready to go again.

• 11th May 2020

Another kilo dropped, another month of furlough but Spring is in full-swing, the weather is beautiful and things are looking positive. Return to work is encouraged, limitations on outdoor exercise is to be dropped and a roadmap out of this horror show is being published. Early evening and the phone goes, unknown number? It is a Headhunter, no Recruitment Consultant, no Talent Acquisition....well you get the idea. They've been retained by a US based Inc and would very much like to connect me with their client. They require an updated CV, a signed NDA and a few other hoops to be jumped through, but wait;

I am on furlough (return to work scheme), barely a year into a three year plan and part of a team that I have grown a great affinity with in such a short period of time. I conclude that now is really not the time to jump ship, now is the time to show loyalty, stay strong and bide my time ready to return stronger and better (and a lot fitter) than ever.

• 12th June 2020

I've got a message on Teams, it is my company, finally! Got a call set for the following Monday. As the weather is beautiful we set out to spend much of our weekend walking the Dundas aqueduct from Bradford on avon to Bath and back.

• 15th June 2020

Three months notice, end of contract, redundancy, the call is a blur, I am in shock.

• 18th June 2020

I receive written confirmation of what was discussed earlier in the week. My contract is to conclude the end of September and I like so many others will have to find a 'new normal' all of my own after that.

• July / August / September

Job hunting can wait, I am still contracted to my current employer and I decide to use the time constructively. DIY tasks are undertaken, charitable pursuits pursued and quality family time spent with loved ones.

• October 2020

I start my job search in earnest just as the furlough scheme is due to come to an end, what could go wrong? By mid October I already have a verbal job offer, the finer details just need to be agreed and the contract will be sent.

• 30th October 2020

Nearly two weeks later I receive a one paragraph email outlining the basic parameters of the offer already discussed but still no sight of anything resembling a contract of employment. Something did not sit right, this didn't feel like a company that wanted me or could see the value that I could bring. Moreover I already had serious reservations regarding the sector as it was closely related to the tobacco industry (you'll understand why later). After what seemed like months of deliberation (it was in-fact just a few hours) I decided to decline the offer, thanking the company for their interest I moved on.

• 18th November 2020

Christmas is just around the corner and we are now into the second week of the second national lockdown. I am still trying to stay positive, still applying, hustling and generally trying to keep physically and mentally fit. The phone rings, it is the company who's offer I declined in October. They still want me to join, will consider increasing their offer and will be happy for me to join as and when. I need to work, I want to work but still it is an offer I cannot accept, still the wrong industry, still the wrong culture. Am I crazy, should I have just taken the role and got paid whilst continuing the search or would that show a total lack of integrity on my part?

• 23rd December 2020

The hours, days, weeks and now months spent trawling through job sites may have paid off. I spot a job, but not just any job, something I am generally enthused about, something seemingly written for me. CV & covering letter duly sent and reply is forthcoming the same day! Thanks for application we will come back to you after the NY so fingers crossed it is.

• 25th December 2020

Christmas is very different this year, unemployed and feeling isolated I decide to turn things on its head. The day is spent delivering hampers and offering socially distanced company to those in a local home who like me are far from family or alone in what is now an ever bleaker world.

*Perspective

• 25th January 2021

A month into the new year and with the annus horribilis well and truly behind me things are looking up, I've been given an interview date of 2nd February; Let the preparation begin...

• 29th January 2021 @21:30hrs

Phone goes and it's the call I've been dreading for over a year. A close relative's fight with the dreaded C (not covid, the other one) has taken a turn for the worse resulting in hospitalisation and due to the pandemic visitation is not allowed!

*Perspective

• 2nd February 2021

The day of the interview I have been looking forward to and hoping I will get for over a month. The planned preparation has gone out of the window, my sleep pattern is now down to three or four hours a night and my mind is elsewhere. The interview comes and goes in what seemed like a few minutes. As I thank the interviewer for his time and end the zoom call my heart sinks as I am resigned to the fact that I have fallen at the first hurdle.

• 10th February 2021

I've received an email, first stage interview went well and I've been put through to stage two!

• 13th February

As I conclude my little post the soreness has subsided but now I am feeling a little numb as I look back over the events of the past year. I am still seeking employment yet that is put firmly into *perspective given the challenges that many others and indeed many of you are going through. Only today I have been reminded how lucky I am. I have been given a vaccine that so many dearly need and due to economic, political, social or just simple geographical reasons have yet to or may never receive!

Whilst each individuals fight is relevant I continue to try to stay positive and that positivity is helped by keeping everything in *perspective.