I am in a dilemma.
I have recently been headhunted for a role in to be Dean of the law school that trains all the barristers in a certain small wet celtic nation. I was very interested when they called, being more than usually pissed off with work and GNF, so agreed to be interviewed. It was a long journey – 12 hours each way by taxi, tube, train, ferry and taxi (and then taxi, ferry, train, tube, train, taxi to get back home). Sadly I couldn’t fly as I found the country concerned was too wet and too celtic for any business class flights to travel to (seriously). And in any case the volcano blew up that weekend.
So I finally arrived, stayed over 2 nights had 1 day sight-seeing and an hours interview. The interview panel was amazing – two High Court judges (both ladies), the under secretary of the attorney general’s department, a professor of economics from their top university, and a senior counsel. It is a very senior post, reporting into a standing committee of judges and senior counsels, and involving much collaboration with a whole variety of legal big wigs. The interview went well, though the lady judges frowned at me most of the time – possibly because I wore a skirt with frilly ruffles (deliberately as a symbol of non conservatism) and when asked about my management style declared that I liked change and development and promoted it with my teams (I had to make this clear as I had only discovered that day that the motto of the law school is “we shall not change”). I also had to make it clear I was not a barrister and when asked if I had a criminal record I said “Yes, 11 convicts in my direct line of ancestry – you should see my family tree”.
Despite all this, they have asked me back for a final round interview and I get the distinct impression that I am the favoured candidate.
The buildings of this place are amazing – built about 500 years ago – and the office of the Dean is literally about 30 feet long and 25 feet wide and is used as a room location for period films sometimes.
Tempting!
But … that motto “we shall not change” when I saw it I turned to the CEO and said “Are you sure you want to interview me?” Also as an institution it is a monopoly and elitist and possibly …. a bit dull and maybe not that challenging
5 staff, 500 students, being completely in charge v the chaotic minefield of ABC with its 10000 students and hundreds of staff
So – a dilemma.