五色鳥和飛魚的旅英札記

因為老婆每天要通勤三小時上班，實在是太遠了，而且我們想要有自己的空間，不想在和別人分租房子，所以決定搬家！
下週六(3/18)就要搬到照片中的房子，搬過去後，老婆每天通勤可以省一個小時，我上班也只要20分鐘。 所以，我還是會比老婆早回到家(大概六點就到了吧)， 所以還是由我負責煮晚飯，看來我的廚藝還會再精進。要搬過去的房子有一間雙人房，客廳，廚房和衛浴。 空間雖然不是非常大，但是已經足夠兩個人住了。 房子是兩層樓的公寓，在住宅區內，我們住在二樓， 所以很安靜(英國的房子都是木頭隔間，很容易聽到樓上的聲音)。 採光通風也都很好，木頭地板而非地毯，方便清理， 也是吸引我們的地方。
雖然房租的支出會比現在住的貴一倍，連同其他水電開銷， 一個月快要一千鎊(約台幣五萬七)，大概是台灣房租水準的三倍， 但是為了提昇生活品質，這筆錢還是免不了的， 只能說服自己習慣倫敦的物價。
因為電話和網路都要自己再重牽，所以可能會有好一陣子不能上網， 希望能在三個禮拜內把網路重建起來，再和家人朋友恢復聯絡。
相關文章：
搬好新家，裝好網路，生活漸漸上軌道
更多閱讀建議：
初次來訪，請看 關於五色鳥和我的旅英札記
熱門文章，請看 全站和每季人氣 Top 10 文章

工作到二月底剛好滿三個月， 也到了核定試用期的時候了。
我本來還有點擔心自己在試用期的表現， 因為三個月的時間內， 我只出去做了五天的專案（但就幫公司賺了我兩個月的薪水）， 比較自己以前在台灣的工作環境， 覺得自己在這家英國公司裡似乎沒有作很多事情。
結果，在試用期滿的當天，我和主管面談試用期的表現， 主管卻說我表現的很好，超過一般同事的水準， 因為我會主動學習並找事情做， 也順利完成了專案（雖然是小專案）， 不像其他很多新進的同事只是在浪費時間。 她要我繼續保持現有的心態和努力， 也積極地幫我安排工作和專案。
我很驚訝主管對我工作的評價！覺得英國人做事情的態度和方式真的和台灣很不一樣， 英國人通常沒做什麼事也說自己很忙很忙， 總是告訴別人自己有多忙， 但是我都看得出來他們其實一點都不忙。
我為了試用期表現的評斷，特別設計了一個表格， 詳細的紀錄了針對試用期目標所完成的所有工作， 這樣我和主管討論時才有一個依據， 他也可以一目了然我究竟做了哪些事情。 並在試用期結束前一個月就主動向主管報告並討論還要加強些什麼。 可能是這樣的方式，讓我主管覺得我做事還蠻有組織的吧～
總之，順利通過了試用期了！我應該還會在做一陣子， 看看英國人究竟有什麼本事，為什麼薪資水準和收入可以這麼高。 多學學歐洲人做事的不同方式～

果然不出所料，我老婆今天面試一舉成功！ 老闆自己看不懂她畫的設計稿， 就找了兩位設計主管來評斷， 她們都說Brilliant(非常好)， 還當場就討論起來那一款可以用呢～
薪水是有比台灣的多， 但是扣去所得稅和倫敦三倍的生活費， 真的能存下的錢也有羨， 不過能有機會邦歐洲流行服飾的大牌子設計衣服， 這樣的經驗才是最好的資產。
明天老婆就要去上班了！ 老婆加油！

面試之前
雖然說與部門主管的面試最為重要，通過了與主管的面試，幾乎就可說有80%的機會可以得到工作，可是接下來和HR及Senior Manager的面談也大意不得，特別是這裡與HR的面談問題屬於 Competency 的問題（稍後詳述），HR可對員工將來可能的表現及是否能適應公司文化進行專業的評估，決定是否錄用。
進入了第二階段也是最後一次去公司 面試的機會，我心想除了一般的面試問題之外，應該是到了談薪水福利的時候了。可是，我對英國職場的薪資水準完全沒有概念，也不了解當地對Pension, Tax, and National Health Insurance 應該有的一般標準是什麼，要我在一無所知的情況下，和公司談薪水真是困難，爭取更多的薪資福利更是不可能。所以，我聯絡了那位藉由朋友介紹才認識，在倫敦 某外商銀行工作5年的台灣朋友，像她請教與HR面事實應該要注意些什麼，薪資福利的部份應該怎麼談比較好。她真的很好心，熱心告知我她的經驗，和她又同是在銀行業工作，有一種惺惺相惜的感覺。

我們很有可能會在英國度過我們的2006。
在2006的新年過後， 我們花了兩個小時腦力機盪出下面的新年新希望。這也是我們對未來家庭生活的規劃， 希望2006年我們能過的更健康而豐富。
Daily
 Eat health and organic food
 Read a book for an hour from 23:00 to 24:00
 Improve our English by taking courses or self studying
 Go to bed no later than midnight
Weekly
 Take exercise on Tuesday and Thursday evenings
 Go shopping on Wednesday evening
 Clean house at the weekend
 Family fun day at the weekend
Monthly
 Dinner out on Friday evening once two weeks
 Social activity with friends once three weeks
Quarterly
 Short travel for 2~3 days (March, June, August and October)
Annually
 Go on holiday for 7~10 days
 Go back to Taiwan for the Chinese New Year

此刻的我，是坐在認真畫稿的老婆旁邊寫日記。
在分隔三個月，結束幫大陸服裝公司到西班牙拍目錄的專案後，我老婆終於回到倫敦和我團聚。樂在服裝設計工作的她，也和我一樣，開始嘗試在倫敦找工 作。花了一個月的時間，把她自己的履歷表(CV and Covering letter)準備好，等到一月份職缺增加的時候才開始投遞履歷。
開始投遞履歷的頭兩週，完全沒有回音，所有的履歷都石沉大海。老婆也開始有點擔心，我則是繼續鼓勵她，畢竟我投遞履歷的經驗也是少有回應，等了兩個月後才有第一次面試。

這是我們第二次在英國過年了！
今年的除夕和初一剛好是週末，所以有放假，還有點像在過年。
除夕當天，我們找了其他六位台灣同學來我們家一起吃團圓飯慶祝，大家一起包了130顆水餃，過年吃水餃，像是把元寶吃下肚，希望來年大家都平安健康順利。

In the first week of 2006, I got my first project after I joined the company for one month. I thought I was joining a project team to give a hand on project, but surprisingly it was my own project.

I was asked to assist an auditor from a major global bank to check whether internal controls and workflows in their back offices comply with the US regulation SOX. It was interesting for me to sit in its London office and to work for a major European bank to read through a lot of documents provided by its overseas branches mainly in the Far East including my home country Taiwan. It gave me a real chance to see how small the global village is at this century.
It was not difficult for me to look into their workflows in the back offices, but I did not have enough training for their trading and settlement system Murex. Hence, I was unable to answer many questions about functions and controls in the system. On the third day of this five days project, the client told me that his supervisor was coming to review our progress in the project on the next day. I knew that it was the time to escalate the issues and problems of the project to my manager. I listed about 20 questions which I could not solve for the auditor, and sent an email to asked my supervisor to help. I said “We may need more experts and experienced people to assist with the problems. I don’t want to risk the project.”

A system expert came to help me later. We sat down in front of my question list and the system to sort out all problems for five hours from 15:30 to 20:30 without any break and dinner time. It is not common to work overtime in London. It was also the first time for me to see how a British works very hard.

The project was finished on time with many helps from my colleagues, but I still have no idea why the company sent me alone in this small and time limited project. Is it a kind of test or the project not important? The thing I am sure is that I did learn a lot on the job and gained a valuable experience to deal with the client. I believe that I can learn more from joining a project team later especially for a starter in the consultancy firm.
更多閱讀建議：
初次來訪，請看 關於五色鳥和我的旅英札記
熱門文章，請看 全站和每季人氣 Top 10 文章

在工作簽證申請被拒絕三次，花了約台幣70,000的申請費之後， 我終於在公司的幫忙下，在新年第一個工作天拿到我的工作簽證！
幾個月來忐忑不安的心情，也安定了下來。也可以開始規劃未來的生活。 就在同一個禮拜，我也開始我的第一個專案。在荷蘭銀行裡做一些流程 分析，看看有沒有符合美國的法令。坐在倫敦的辦公室裡，我幫荷蘭的 銀行看他們台灣，印尼，日本，韓國，香港分行的作業流程，這樣的過程讓我體會到什麼是地球村。蠻有意思的。
希望接下來的一年，工作上能越來越順心。 

As all starters did before, I was assigned a performance manager to assist and monitor my performance to meet objectives during my probation period. Normally, the objectives are initially given to starters by their performance managers, and discussed and agreed between the starters and managers later. Unlike other junior analysts, I was asked to set up my objectives on my own by my performance manager and discuss them after she comes back from a long Christmas holiday.

The request to set up my own objectives sounds fair and reasonable to me, because I have got some managerial experience before. However, it is still the first time for me to write down my objectives in English. Thanks to the Google. I found a very helpful article about how to write good work objectives. I read over the article carefully and followed its steps to set up my objectives.
The draft of the objectives for my probation includes four points after considering the company’s business goals and needs and my current existing skills. First objective is “Contribute more than 15 men days with good feedback of organising, communication, and teamwork from team members and clients in external or internal projects”, which consists with the company’s core business and expectation of a professional consultant. It is not easy for a starter to achieve the objective especially during the low business season in December. However, it is still achievable for me because I have joined an internal project to test the company’s training framework and may start my first external project in a major global commercial bank in January.

My second objective is “Identify and pass at least two possible opportunities to sales team to follow up”, which I have achieved by passing three sales leads in Taiwan to our sales team. The third and fourth objectives are related to training and self studies in some necessary skills and knowledge required for the job.

Before my performance manager comes back to the office in January, I still have some time to refine my objectives for the last six weeks of my probation period. It was very difficult for me to write down my objectives, but the things went easier after I read through the useful article about writing work objectives. I would like to share and recommend the article to any beginner in writing work objectives.

Further reading