Been for an interview OR Don't judge a company by the building they work in

Gosh! Two posts in one day! Don't get excited, it won't last.

My bright idea about signing on now I am job hunting has bit the dust. Because I haven't paid any NI contributions (and my Home Responsibilities from claiming Child Benefit don't count) for the past 2 - 5 years (try over 17) I can't claim contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA). Because of A's salary there's no way in hell I'd get means-tested Allowance.

To claim either of the JSAs you need to apply for at least 2 jobs per week, use the Job Centre's database to find jobs twice a week, plus buy the local papers on Thursdays when the Jobs section is in. And you HAVE to take the evidence of this in when you go to sign on.

It was whilst I was waiting to find out if the Government were going to sponsor my job hunting that I applied for a full-time position as a Trainee International Shipping Clerk. Now, full-time is not really what I am after at the moment but, having previous transport experience (albeit out of date) that it intigued me. Imagine my joy when they offered me an interview.

I was concerned to discover that the office was upstairs above a shop in the main shopping street. Not the big haulage yard I was expecting. However, all my worries evaporated once the interview started. The job is varied and definitely enough to keep my brain out of mischief. I won't have time to die of boredom, that's for sure. I would start out on the export side of the business, preparing the necessary paperwork, keeping the customers informed of expected arrival dates (and grovelling when the smelly hits the whirly). There is so much to it that I didn't absorb all of it. Everyone is on first name terms with everyone else. Everyone does their share of tea-mashing and running to the post office. The directors in head office are quite happy to chat to whoever answers the phone (the company has offices/warehouses in various cities nationwide).

The salary's not bad either - £15,000. There are pay rises, bonuses, profit shares, performance related stuff, etc to go on that. Plus after a period of time there is private healthcare and a company pension scheme where the company pays in 5% of your salary and you aren't obligated to pay any more in, unless you want to.

I should find out by the end of the week if I've been lucky.