I WON'T BORE YOU WITH THE NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS

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BAHRAIN'S BEAUTIFUL OUTDOORS
Whilst looking for work, regular walking helps maintain routine,
motivation and health. The 4 images below, taken on some of these
walks between Muharraq, Bussatein and Kharbabad is why I always
carry a small camera.

ON THE JOB FRONT
Ok, so the above might be seen as avoiding the reality of finding a suitable job, but they certainly make the drudgery of not having that monthly injection into the bank account more tolerable. While Bahrain's weather has yet to overheat, the outdoors are still a nice place to be. Especially when you are staying confident that you'll be office and desk bound again before too long.
Really appreciating the support of family and friends at the moment and I'd like to thank all those who are keeping me posted on job offerings and regular calls and emails.

Basically, no firm offers just yet, keeping fingers crossed for some good news this week. In an ideal world (which we certainly are not in), I was hoping to secure something by July end, then have a short 2 week trip back home to Australia.

GETTING THE WORD OUT
If I can ask you all to forward the blog (including the email intro) to others in the business world, I would really appreciate it. I have just installed a Stats application which will be interesting to see who is reading my blog, when and from which countries. Total views are now up to 260 with 21 Followers. Please let me know if you have any difficulties logging on, commenting or becoming a Follower.

Thanks again all, and I'll blog you next week (maybe earlier if there is any good news)


Greg Millard
+973 3946 4123

Bahrain beckons but Qatar is calling

STAYING MOTIVATED
I have returned to morning squash and swimming (as busying schedule permits) and really felt like last week was a success. The blog is working for me (I have now had 130 people view it and 19 Followers.) Watching these figures grow is very motivating.

LEFT: Staying on the front foot - a morning solo squash session. I won!

On weekends I've enjoyed several walks along the Bussattein corniche. If you haven't walked it, give it a go. You can walk along the paved walking track, then continue through the boat sheds and all the way to the very end, and walk back. It takes about 40 minutes. At 5.30 in the evening it is very pleasant.
LEFT: Views from Bussattein corniche show Bahrain's humble fishing beginnings and our burgeoning cityscapes

BAHRAIN JOBS
It has been a busy week. I left you all dangling last week after a call came in from Clarendon Parker just before I pushed the 'publish button' on last weeks blog. Well, Cara and James at CP have been looking after me and after a screening interview on Monday I had a meeting with the client on Wednesday. It went well and the fit would be excellent. An Arabic speaking contender is my only stumbling block. It is a premium job, premium company and will have its premium headaches in the short to mid term.....but a challenging and satisfying role none-the-less. CP placed me in my last position and they are very confident in pushing me for this role. I should hear something by mid this week.

LEFT: Going in for the interview. Tell 'em how good you are Greg!

Daniel at Talent Partners International has been helping me with some leads and advice and he is following up for me on another job in Qatar which is being handled by his Dubai office. I am registered with Bayt.com, Monster.com, GulfTalent.com and Al Jazeerajobs.com - I have a couple of suitable opportunities a week come in, but often find little success on cold applications on-line.

QATAR JOBS

I had a very funny phone interview for a position in Qatar this morning. The client had the MD and 2 people from HR on the line and they couldn't quite agree what questions to ask. They were all firing questions. I talked them through my CV, focusing on my most recent 4 years Bahrain experience and after that they had no more questions. The HR head was basically asking how soon I could start. It also seems like a great job, but I am concerned living in Qatar will not provide the same sense of community and freedoms that Bahrain offers. I am flying there tomorrow to meet with them and gauge the cost of living etc as an acceptable package will be determined by this.

LEFT: Dress rehearsal for tomorrow. Unsure of the custom in Qatar, but believe a more relaxed male business dress is acceptable

Both jobs look excellent, both quality companies, although each has a slightly different marketing timeline and priority focus, so in the short term they will each have quite different agendas until we get through this unsettling economic downturn

ON THE SOCIAL FRONT
Had a great night out at Bambu on Thursday night with Cindy Lee and co. We kicked on until pretty late. I think we drained Bambu of both food and liquid as we were the last to leave. Lots of fun though.

LEFT: It was a hot and we were thirsty. Good job by the Bambu team

SERENDIPITOUS OCCURRENCES

They say strange things happen - well I had 2 this week. Apart from a couple of job opportunities, I had 2 different people contact me to see if I was interested in getting involved in some creative projects. One is to write a song and conceptualise a corporate video and the other is to play in a band. The band offer came from an email that had gone around Bahrain and back and eventually landed in my Inbox. These are certainly the fun things that make the hard times much bearable. I think there are some stars in alignment at the moment. Thanks for the invitations guys. The band may fizzle out as these days, the acoustic guitar has replaced the feedback and drones of the old electric.

SIGNING OFF

Slightly differnt format this edition. I hope it is keeping you interested. I may do a mid week update if there is any news on the job front. So until then......bye for now.

Remember to forward this blog to anyone you think could help me get my next marketing communications, business development, advertising role.

I sent a small gift to all my 'Followers', so become a 'Follower'....it does pay. The 'Guess the Beach Competition' from my last entry is still open, so have go at winning the dinner for two.

Regards,

Greg Millard

+973 3946 4123

IS 8 HOURS TOO LONG A DAY FOR THE UNEMPLOYED?

FILLING IN THE DAYS
The photo to the left shows me entertaining my old work mates at our sales gallery in Seef last week . The property market is still slow, so a chance for a coffee and a tune with Greg was well received. Oh yeah, I had to finally hand my lap top back.

I bought a new lap top during the week. It is so amazing how quickly you can arrive home with a computer these days and be on-line so quickly; 15 minutes I think it took.

JOB HOAXES
If your are applying for jobs on-line, beware of the hoaxes. After receiving an on-line interview questionairre from one of the sites about 10 days ago. I answered the questions with great clarity, confidence and professionalism. Last weekend I received a job offer letter. The company had a web site, I spoke with the HR guy when I rang their office in Abu Dhabi, the offer was very good...start date, travel arrangements..............HOAX

MOTIVATION
After the high of a lucrative job offer, the let down when you confirm that it was all a hoax is quite immense. So last week, the early morning squash and swimming seemed to get later and less regular. I also started getting into the habit of staying up later, watching movies, checking emails etc. I plan on bringing this back into a more regimented structure this week.


MY BLOG
The blogging experience is full of learning, frustration and love. I have sent out about 75 invitations to view the blog via email and yesterday placed it on my facebook page. I now have 12 followers, 4 comments and 44 people have viewed it. I think a few of those views might be me) I have had one early notification of a new Bahrain job opening (thanks P). Some people think it is unprofessional, some are in 2 minds and others think it is sensational. It is like a micro web site, and reviewing the stats is always an exciting task and part of the appeal to new media vehicles.

This week I plan on sending it to numerous other contacts from my social and business network. I believe those that have become 'followers' will get an automated notification once I post the new blog. Please let me know if this is the case.

JOB PROPSPECTS

QATAR & ABU DHABI
Most of the jobs that are coming up to apply for on-line seem to be in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. So if you are looking for work in the region, these two places seem to be fairly active. I have some friends that have already moved over with better job prospects. It would be ashame to leave Bahrain though.


BAHRAIN
Unfortunately, not a lot of openings in Bahrain and sadly will diminish further over the next 2 months of summer. As mentioned previously, one early alert has been kindly sent to me about a future opening. I am hoping this blog will continue to unearth these early and as yet unadvertised jobs...so come on, there has to be more out there you can be telling me about - this blog is a two way street.

I am meeting Daniel from Talent Partners tomorrow morning for a chat and see what they have on the books that might be needing the Greg M> touch.

I am in talks with the most lovely of Bahrain business families about a part time partnership with a new business venture. This is very exciting and will hopefully lead to revenue and profits some time down the track. At the moment it is still at refinement of the business plan stage.

SOCIAL
I had a great afternoon yesterday with some freinds. He a photographer, she is a modelling, talent and events director who studied fashion in London. I mention this because it has aroused in me, one of my grand plan ideas to re-invent the male dress code. That's another story, but I think males are so limited with what they can wear compared to women. So I would love to instigate an exciting collection of male fashion concepts. Anybody interested in working with me on this? Yes I know I currently have too much time on my hands - but from little things, big things grow.

Jane and I watched the moon shimmer on Bahrain's calming waters while having dinner on a beach in Bahrain on Friday night. If anyone can guess which beach, they win a dinner for two with Greg and Jane. POST A COMMENT OR RING ME TO WIN. (RAYNER, you cannot enter this competition, you already get enough free meals)

So keep the word out, that Greg Millard is looking, become a 'follower' by clicking the 'follow blog' button and post comments if you have got something to say.

Thanks and bye for now
Greg M>
+ 973 3946 4123

PS = Just had a call from Clarendon Parker for an interview tomorrow. So more on that next time.

NOT TAKING THIS UNEMPLOYMENT THING LAYING DOWN

This is my second blog and still at the testing stage. My initial blog on the 1st of July had some problems. The photo I added didn't appear, so I have uploaded another one here which I think will work once published. It's of a recent trip I did with some friends to Jaradah Island...let's wait and see. Still at the testing stage, so the picture is not relevant in any way to the purpose of the blog. There were also some spelling errors - more care this time.

If you didn't read the previous blog where I outlined the purpose of my blogging adventure, you are probably wondering why I have invited you to read this one. I will progressively invite more people once the structure and content is more in line with the objective. What is the objective you may well be asking yourself? It is to share my period of unemployment in Bahrain(which recently came about when my contract was not renewed last month) with friends, industry players, family, colleagues, contacts, potential employers, decision makers and influencers. So if you have been invited to subscribe to my blog, congratulations - you are indeed an important person.

I hope to provide you a light hearted and fun documentary of what Greg Millard is doing to move from unemployed to employed (or at least again, to an income producing being). I will be sharing a warts-and-all account of the trials and tribulations of the journey. At some point, I am confident that my attempts to entertain you with this blog will be seen as a fun, creative and hopefully engaging pursuit of communication and will lead to the next big job offer. I will be sharing photos, poems, summaries of attended interviews, songs I may write from time to time and daily activities I am utilising to maintain drive, motivation and creativity.

If you think you could use a marketing communications and advertising professional to enhance your market share, profitability and brand management or know someone who is looking, I'm hoping you feel confident in pointing them in my direction.

I will always appreciate comments from you, so please make them.



Greg Millard
+973 3946 4123

Blog Test for Greg Millard Newsletter sort of thing

Well, here it is. The first tinkerings from Greg Millard using the newest media of them all - blogging.

I want to be able to insert pictures and have some control as to page layout. I want to be able to customise the header of the blog into a magazine style masthead. I want to be able to have an audio file play when they first open the blog...like an intro theme song.

I will be inviting people to read it on a weekly basis. I am wanting to engage potentail employers, influencers and people who could help me land the next big gig.

This blog will be used to showcase the creative attributes of Greg Millard and to create a Top of Mind Awreness of Greg Millard by following his journey from unemployment to landing a job.

I will be using creative licence and some story telling techniques to engage the reader. Photos by Greg (some staged) , poems, cartoons, jokes, news and reviews will be included