Catch up, but not ketchup

It's been a loooong time since I've posted anything here. I haven't had the ambition because I've had no luck with finding employment.  Let me see if I can summarize the last 3 months...

In my post from January 7th, I mentioned that I had two interviews. One was at the Savoy in London and the other was at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin.  It was about two weeks after that post that I had heard back from the Savoy, and they kindly let me know they went with another candidate, I was sort of ok with this, as I've been trying to concentrate on Ireland anyways.  So the Shelbourne is another story. The entire process with the Shelbourne took about 4 months from start to finish.  I applied there in the beginning of December.  My phone interview was on January 7th.  I was asked to fill out an application and provide references about a month later.  A few days after that, I was asked to take their online personality test.  You would think with all of this going on, my chances were pretty good and they were seriously considering me.  Well, I had not heard anything for quite some time ( I was working through a recruitment agency in Dublin, so I couldn't really contact the hotel directly.).

 I decided to take a huge chance and travel over to Ireland for a few days.  I figured this would show them that I was definitely serious about moving there and finding employment. This trip will be a separate post, as to not take up too much space here.  I had an interview scheduled for the afternoon of my arrival.  I had not gotten any sleep that day/night due to the time the flight left NY and the time I arrived.  I wasn't tired, though; I was too excited to be tired.  The interview was actually a fairly short one, lasting no more than about 30 minutes.  I left the hotel and kept my fingers crossed.  The day after I returned home to the states, I heard that they decided on someone else. Drats!

So, what was one to do at this point since I was really thinking I was going to get this job after they strung me along for 4 months?  Start looking locally (and by local I mean the east coast of the U.S.)
Oh, let me mention here that I did have a phone interview with a resort in County Donegal before I went to Ireland, but I did not get that job either. 

I started looking in any city north of where I live here in NC, as I do not care for NC to begin with.  I have had a couple of interviews with properties in Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and as of right now, nothing has come from any of them.

So, needless to say, I've been very discouraged as of late.  I continue to apply to any position I feel I'm qualified for, both in Ireland and the UK and the east coast of the U.S..  I have also put my house up for sale, as I'm no longer able to make the payments.

On Friday, I applied to three new positions posted on Jobs.ie, and I quickly received a response from a nice chap at another recruitment agency.  We arranged to speak on the phone so that he could gauge my talents. So, we spoke this morning at 9am for about 30 minutes.  It was a very pleasant chat, and he was quite confident that he'd be able to find me a position.  He stated that the market is really on the upswing in Ireland and that my experience would be a benefit to any employer.  He asked for a list of references which I quickly emailed to him.  I know one of my former co-workers has already responded to his request. Yay!

I'm trying not to get too excited, as my excitement has been dashed before, but it's hard not to, especially when someone tells you point blank that they think they can find me a position.  So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and really hoping I hear some good news in the next few weeks. 

My ultimate plan, as long as it all works out the way I want, is to take the profit from the sale of my house and buy a one-way ticket to Dublin.  I'll look for cheap accommodation via airbnb and I'll be in the city I want to live in.  Hopefully, again, fingers crossed, being in the city will allow me to find work much easier.  The chap from the recruitment agency confirmed what I suspected, and that is companies are hesitant to hire someone from a foreign country as the distance makes it a logistical challenge.

Anyway...fingers crossed.