Welcome all to my first posting on the CDC Blog.

For those of you currently going through the application process for either 2008 or 2009, I feel your pain, as I was in your shoes exactly 2 years ago. Oh the fun I had with the application form, and of trying to squeeze answers down into 50 words or less. Just what you fancy doing after coming back from work. The fact that I was working at the time meant that the whole process was trickier than it otherwise would have been. You face the conundrum of do you tell your boss and colleagues that you’re looking for a new job? If you don’t tell them, then there is the question of how you get time off for the interviews. My boss quickly became suspicious when I started trying to take holidays on random days of the week!

Having cleared the application form I was through to a decidedly short first interview of around 30 minutes. Lots to ponder on the three hour journey home, as I concluded that it must have gone exceedingly well or really badly.
A month or so later I was back in Soho for the assessment centre. Having a quick read through of my notes on a park bench before the event, I somehow managed to get chewing gum stuck all down my trousers. Great, just the professional sort of look I was trying to achieve! Chewing gum aside, it was a fun day, and after waiting in anticipation over the weekend, my grin was even cheesier than normal when Capgemini rang to offer me the job on the Monday.

So for those of you who are struggling to cram just 50 words into the boxes on the application form, do stick with it. The hard work will definitely be worth it in the end, I can testify to that. Just watch out for the chewing gum on the benches at the park down the street.