I recently had two wonderful work opportunities within my grasp -- and before I knew it, they had evaporated. What went wrong, and what have I learnt from the experience?
The first was a request out of the blue from a training organisation. They emailed me to say that someone had recommended me to them (thanks, if it was you!) as someone who could deliver a course under the heading "Innovative Use of Technology within the Curriculum".
Yes! I could. I've given talks along these lines to conferences run by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the Training and Development Agency and others. Only last week I gave a 5 minute talk to the Westminster Forum on the subject of "The potential of technology in the classroom".
(And notice the use of the plural: talks. I always tailor my presentations to the audience rather than simply rehash the same old stuff in the same old order. Obviously there is always going to be some overlap, but I do try and make each talk fresh and new.)
Anyway, I picked up the message on my phone, and responded to say I was just heading into a conference, and asking for more details. A week later there had been no response, so I checked. They said they had not received my message (strange, that, because I did a Reply to All and I received it), and that they had now allocated that work to someone else. Dang!
Lesson learnt: I should have followed up by phone. It's becoming increasingly clear to me that, for a whole variety of reasons, phone beats email 90% of the time. A phone call is often quicker, less prone to misinterpretation and just easier. And, in this case, less costly.
The second was another offer, out of the blue. Would I like to earn some money writing guidance notes about integrating the personal learning and thinking skills (PLTS), Functional Skills and the new National Curriculum? What a silly question! I love writing, and I know about all three of those things. Months before the new National Curriculum Programme of Study for ICT was unveiled, I had access to it as part of my work with the National Assessment Agency looking at material for the ICT onscreen test. I also had access to it as a contributing author to the latest incarnation of the series ICT for Life. I live and breathe PLTS and Functional Skills as part of the work I've been doing training teachers for the new Diploma. This was my job!
And then it disappeared. Why? Because of the recession, the company had decided to review its situation and to do as much in-house as possible, and to cut back on outsourcing. I have to say I think that's not necessarily a wise economic decision, as opposed to financial one. Outsourcing can be extremely cost-effective once you look at how long someone takes to produce the goods and the quality of the output. Yes, I know I would say that, but it also happens to be a valid argument!
Lesson learnt: I suppose a philosophical one really: given that economic fortunes seem to change by the day, nobody is quite safe from the vicissitudes of financial life at the moment. At least I have other work commitments. I can't imagine how awful it would be to lose one's sole means of support.
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