And the job hunt continues...

Part of making a change in my life and making myself happy this year involves finding my first teaching job. Last year I really messed this one up - I spent so much time waiting and hoping that something in London would materialise that I completely ignored any and all other opportunities. By the time I got my act together and realised that London wasn't going to happen for 2007-2008, it was too late. This year I'm determined not to do the same :).

"Job hunt season" for teachers actually begins really early - January, in fact. Who would have thought it? I always assumed that teachers were hired over the summer or...actually, I don't know what I thought. In any case, it never occurred to me that schools would start hiring in January, but they do.

I've already said that I've decided to move to London this September. I feel like I need to try it before I get too much older and get settled here in Canada. This seems like the perfect time because I don't have a job, I don't have a boyfriend, and I don't have anything to tie me down at this point. I know that I'll regret not having done it if I don't at least try, so it's settled - I'm going to try :). With that decision comes various stresses, however. Right now, the major stress is that I need to figure out how to get myself over to London with the proper visa, etc. I've got an 8 step plan right now, which I'm sure is incomplete. First of all, I need to get myself a new passport - that's the only part of this plan that has been completed so far. lol. Then I need to get my bank to issue me a bank statement (I bank online), which shows that I've got enough money to sustain myself in England for a couple of months. After that, I need a police check, then I apply for the visa online, book myself a biometrics appointment, and then wait with bated breath to see if they'll accept my application and issue me a visa. Then comes buying myself a plane ticket for August, finding myself a place to live in London, setting up a bank account in England (which is apparently harder than it sounds), getting myself a National Insurance number, figuring out taxes and, oh yeah, finding myself a job O_O.

So, here's the plan. I'm going to quit my job at the library at the beginning of June, making my last day at work June 20th. I quit tutoring the same day and, hopefully with visa in hand, make my way over to London for a month on the 22nd. I'll spend that month job hunting and trying to work out some details, then I'm back home to Canada for July 22nd. July 25th I leave for Vancouver with my family - I won't get back until August 5th. That leaves me with a couple of weeks to pack and tie up loose ends before moving to London around August 18th.

In the interim, I sort out all the things I mentioned before...while still working at the library, taking my online course for Junior Education (which, so far, has involved completing 4 assignments in the first 3 days of the course), and tutoring.

Right. This is going to go well....if my head doesn't explode first :).