More colleagues

In December we had job interviews. There was a teaching and research job to give away! I went to the presentations. As the job involves teaching, the candidates have to do a 10 minute mini lecture, pretending we are 2nd year students.

The job went to a bloke we already had. He had come in, I think, as a maternity cover, and then got another contract covering some someone on a long sabbatical. Now he has a permanent job! And some time soon the person on sabbatical will come back and then it will feel real that we have a new lecturer.

In January we interviewed for a teaching-only job. That was more exciting for me! This will be a closer colleague. And it could well be a familiar face. I had heard from the grapevine there were three internal candidates! And that made it a bit painful; there was only one job to give away and that meant we would have to disappoint at least two colleagues.

When the day came it turned out that a fourth candidate had done his PhD here in Bangor too. I recognised the face! And the fifth candidate had done a maternity cover here so they all were at least a bit internal. Oh dear!

I bumped into a colleague who had been on the interview panel when I left the office. They had decided! And on Tuesday we got the email: the post had gone to the bloke who had done his PhD here. He’ll start in March. I look forward to getting a new colleague!