Out of work for ten weeks now, averaging an interview a week without success yet.

There were two managers in my department as a result of mergers etc. so one of us had to go. I was more expensive to keep and cheaper to let go.

It's galling, since I made £500k for the College in the last three years while my compadre lost £300k. Maybe the rumour that I was too big a threat to my VP, whose job was also on the line, is also true.

You start out thinking you could get the promotion you never quite got round to applying for, or maybe you could change outlook and move to another sector, or downshift into a less-stressful job. Then you get interviews for the promoted position and told you are aiming too high, the other sectors (schools, voluntary, private training providers) are all looking for someone with different experience in the things it would take me hours to get my head around and are appointing people as managers with no track record, you can't find a downshift job you could afford to take...

I have two interviews next week, either of which will take me exactly back to where I was eight years ago in job and salary. I don't know whether I'll be able to take that.