Paul applies for a new job

For a long time Paul had been thinking of moving. His ungrateful charges clearly did not know quality leadership when they saw it and he was feeling very under-appreciated. Last week's incident over the 'Fit To Be Driven' form still rankled. He had been scanning the trade press for some months now looking for a suitable post but it seemed that people with his special set of qualities were not often recruited. Then, one day, he saw an advertisement for a senior management position with one of their great rival companies, the British Ultimate Passenger Association.

Until recently he had always denegrated their ways of working but now he was beginning to feel that here at last was an organisation that would value and cherish him. He downloaded the application form and began to fill it in. He had no trouble at all with the section on 'Name', 'Address', 'Education and Qualifications' and 'Current Salary' but then came upon the final part.

'In no more than 300 words outline no more than five positive contributions you have made in your current post within the last year.'

He chewed his pen and thought awhile. There were so many! How could 300 words suffice to sum up his year? The birds chirped outside his window and a cooling breeze wafted into his spacious office as he sat wrapped in reverie, composing his ticket out. Finally he wrote:


As a senior manger with the National Hire Service I have been integral in introducing many new working practices to increase responsive organisational flexibility whilst maintaining integrated management options and enabling value-added skill development.
Internal Accounting
Internal financial cash-flow scenario programming has revolutionized the company's ethos on cost-saving resulting in systematized third-generation programming of profits.
Vehicle storage
Streamlining post-event storage using a functional logistical projection model was one of the major recent projects that has resulted in a futuristic monitored environment with consequent raised morale and a strengthening of corporate identity.
Out of hours working
A parallel policy contingency enabling maximum utility of the traditional non-working week was introduced with no overall capacity loss whilst increasing compatible incremental time-phased deliverables.
Training
Non-optional career-enhancement tool-kit programmes with spin-off benefits for overall functionality yielding quantifiable data-charts have been seamlessly integrated into the work-force's routine.
Safety
The introduction of pre-task functionality checks using the latest portable digital technology has allowed the reduction of intra-journey mobility limitation with the inevitable growth of a safety culture amongst all staff.

In summary, my tenure here has been hallmarked by the introduction of a series of synchronized improvements in institutional enablement bench-marking. In the round, going forward, I envisage further such upswing with the inevitable collateral effect of augmented operations. I feel I would bring mission-critical, world-class turnkey solutions in an environment where blue-skies thinking is crucial to achieve real-time traction in the market. My interpersonal skill management portfolio would also ensure multi-level buy-in to future developments from all levels of the available human resources.


He sealed the envelope, gummed a postage stamp on it and left it in the 'External Mail' tray for his secretary to post later, confident in the knowledge that the British Ultimate Passenger Association would not receive any other applications quite like it. Then, satisfied, he leant back and waited for the arrival of his mid-afternoon tea and biscuits.

Several weeks passed but in the end Paul received a letter explaining that, on reflection, the company had decided to limit the vacancy to a six-month post and fill it with a work-experience student instead.