My Quest for a PA

Through the Direct Payments Scheme funded by Social Services I was awarded 9hours of help in order for me to access sporting activities. This means I had to employ a PA and the job was advertised in the local paper.

I was surprised to find that 7 people applied for the position and I short-listed 5 for interview, which was held today.

At 11.15am I was wondering where my first candidate was and thought they might be held up because of the bad weather or having difficulty in finding my house. I eventually called and was told they weren’t coming. I was obviously disappointed, as it wasn’t a good start.

12pm on the dot the second candidate arrived. She was very friendly and began to ask me questions as soon as she walked through the door. Only I thought I would be in charge of the questions today! She was a qualified gym instructor and did judo at international level, which was impressive. She didn’t answer the questions as well as I would have liked, but I could tell she would be able to handle the post.

At 2pm the next candidate came and I used to go to the same primary school, as her. Not that we were ever friends, but I remembered her mum was the swimming instructor. Although she was a nice girl she lacked fitness and didn’t seem flexible with her availability, as she already worked full-time and needed to walk her dog daily.

Time ticked on and at 3pm there was another no show. I tried calling, but there was no answer. So with just one candidate left coming at 6pm there didn’t seem like much choice.

The final candidate arrived on time and she was my favourite judging from the application forms. She’s currently studying Sport and Performance at Loughborough College and plays for Leicester City’s Women’s football team. She answered the questions well and I liked her enthusiasm.

I weighed up the first and final candidates and eventually decided that Courtney, the last person was to be my PA. It was a tough decision, but I feel and hope it’s the right one. She’s accepted the job provisionally, which is a positive sign and I just need to sort out with Social Services what I’m meant to do next.

I have to say it really infuriated me that the two no shows didn’t call to cancel, as I felt it was extremely rude and inconsiderate. On a good note I look forward to working with Courtney to improve my fitness levels and do well in athletics.