London, you fit me like a glove.

I am so happy. In February of this year I made a decision. A decision to make a big change in my life. A decision to move to London. To date, it’s by far the best decision I have ever made. Four weeks in and I am still loving it. The city, the shopping, the sights, the lifestyle, the Olympics, the handful of amazing friends who support me, it all just fits.

After a whirlwind of meetings with recruitment companies in my first two weeks here I managed to nab myself my first real interview with a University in London looking for a management accountant in a temporary role. After the tube ride and the brisk walk to their offices in the London heat (yes, it’s HOT here) I felt like a sweaty, tired mess. I was in the interview for just 15 minutes. I thought the shortness of the interview would be to my detriment. I got a call the next day, while out shopping with Miss Em, they wanted to make me an offer. I put on my negotiating cap and managed to bump up the pay rate by an extra £1.50 an hour. I was thrilled. One interview: one job.

So off I went on my first day to be a Senior Management Accountant at UCL. One thing I’ve noticed about London, they love a fancy job title. I didn’t really think about my role with them too much, I just turned up and did what was expected of me. There was a lot of numbers work and systems I didn’t understand, but hey – I’m working in London! The very idea of having a job in under a month amazed me. After all the horror stories I’d heard from people who were either still here, or fleeing back to NZ or Australia, I was just excited to be in an office being paid.

On the second day on the job I received a phone call. It turns out the Senior Management Accountant role at UCL was not the role for me, there was something better on offer…