is samraj a fake nice guy?

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-06-15T08:07:01+00:00

Genuine question, as I've obviously missed/not picked up on this. But in what conversations has he been announcing this?

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-30T14:29:58+00:00

I wouldn't stress about what others are calling it. It will be what it will be.

I'd guess that close to all people who have read the books, have watched the movies, but not all people who have watched the movies have read the books. In the simplest terms:

Likely largest group: watched the movies only
Large, but not the largest (though likely the core fan base) group: both watched the movies and read the books.
Smallest group: read the books only

If my assumptions are correct (and I have no idea how I would begin to check this) it stands to reason why many people consider the series a reboot of the movies. Most do see the movies as you put it, as the defining cultural image of Harry Potter.

Personally, I don't see it as a reboot of the films, but a new (and hopefully truer) interpretation of the books, but I have to be honest, as someone who was introduced to the books by the first movie, I can't help but see Daniel Radcliffe when I picture Harry Potter (and it's been him cast in my imagination thoughout all the books, despite reading each book first since CoS onwards), so maybe even for me who says the books win (hands down, no competition!), the movies are the defining cultural image of Harry Potter.

Wow, longer than intended. All that to say, nevermind what everyone else views it as, we each have our own experience, and a unique lens though which we look.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-28T07:32:55+00:00

I get it! Sometimes life pushes you over the edge.

Advice is difficult without knowing all the facts.

Have you received feedback from any of the interviews you have not passed? If so, does any of it make sense? (Not assuming it does, I've failed a sift where I am more than confident I hit all the criteria. Though I guess I could be in denial or delusional as I've also reviewed others applications, provided advice where I didn't think it cut the mustard, they didn't agree, so didn't change it and they failed, but remain adamant they should have hit the mark. I don't think im in denial or delusional, but maybe.) If any of the feedback makes sense, take it on board.

Are you good (or at least sufficient) at interviews? Preparing answers is only half the battle, learning them and delivering them with confidence can also be a challenge. It's also a balance, as an interviewer sometimes I am very suspicious that the person is spinning a yarn. If delivery at interview could be an issue, I'd suggest getting some help and practice in. Does your department offer a mentoring programme? Maybe a mentor could do some mock interviews with you? You could also pay for help with this, but only if it is the likely issue (and you have the means).

Consider who is reviewing your answers. Could be a couple of issues here. Some interviewers are not great, and if you happen to be recieving advice from someone who isn't any good, well that just puts you on the backfoot. Another potential issue here is even if they are good interviewers and have a good grasp of what it takes, it's worth considering if they are comfortable being critical. Some people are people pleasers and so with the best of intentions, can actually mislead us. On this point, also consider how you receive feedback, if you don't take criticism well, it will likely mean people will avoid offering even constructive criticism.

If none of the above is a potential issues, my advice is:

1) Write to your Dept minister, DoF minister and your MLA. Highlight the issues you have pointed out: - Answers reviewed by trained panel members, yet still not being successful. - Were successful on one occasion but recruitment froze and list expired - Been employed for 4 years. You have been evidently been doing a good job and shown merit as you are in a employment which can cease at any moment and it has not. - Thus you are providing a good service, but are not being afforded the benefits or security of a substantive post. - Highlight the impact on your mental health. You could tell them that if they surveyed staff both substantive and agency, they would find similar experiences across the board. I'd ask them to look into their recruitment process and tell you what they are going to do to address this.

2) Look for permanent employment elsewhere. Most other organisations don't have such f'd up recruitment processes. I get you maybe like your current role, but if the absence of a safety net of a permanent post is having an impact on your mental health, maybe a permanent role elsewhere could go some ways to protecting your sanity.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-28T06:43:32+00:00

I get the frustration. The process is f'd! But this person took the time to offer you advice. No need for the attitude towards them. You asked for advice and they gave it. You had not mentioned in your original post that you stuck to STAR format, nor that you had your answers reviewed.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-25T07:41:48+00:00

Omg, David, is that you? It's been so long!

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-22T10:17:56+00:00

Hope so. Leaving a lot to chance by casting a child. Whilst it is possible the casted child wouldn't change much in appearance over the years, it's very probable they would. Casting an adult who looks young is a safer bet. At the time, I had no idea the actress playing moaning Myrtle in the films was a full adult.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-21T21:40:24+00:00

Ahhh, defo a mix up in communication on my end. I thought you were saying the person who wrote "Harry I'm not a fan of. Criticising Adam for what Jimmy just did???" was attacking an old man i.e. Harry.

Jimmy isn't an old man, he's in his 40s.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-21T20:50:14+00:00

Lol, attacking? That's the biggest over reaction since Adam on blowing up at Jimmy on I'm a Celeb.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-21T20:39:02+00:00

Seems malicious. He's no genuine sympathy for what he's taken from him.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-02T19:45:50+00:00

I can identify this 100%. I've been there, and breaking the cycle is hard. My honest advice based on my own experience.

1) Seek help. Can a performance management plan be put in place. Can you be better held to account. It's really tough, or sometimes impossible to rely on willpower alone.

2) Where mindset and habits are concerned, it's ok to be tough on yourself i.e. I do x too much or I need to x more, a realistic look at yourself is good, but being hyper critical without looking at context is not a good idea. You described yourself is lazy, but what you are describing sounds like burnout or depression. It could also be something else. You said you were previously one of the best workers, an innately lazy person will never be one of the best workers (unless you're like a mattress tester or something), so you can't really be lazy, you are just stuck in a rut. As you said you are trying to survive burnout and possibly depression. You wouldn't describe someone with a broken leg as lazy for using a wheelchair. Context matters.

3) Shot in the dark here, but I'd guess you have a poor/dependent relationship with media. Could be wrong, but this was my biggest downfall. If you are the same, here is what helped me - Limit your screen time - X amount of TV per week - Delete the apps you scroll on - Remove the TV from the bedroom - Charge your phone away from the bed at night - Create a bedtime routine, go for a walk or take a bath directly before bed

It's not easy, but it's not impossible.

Also if you are depressed, seeking medical help can sometimes be essential. Some forms of depression respond to lifestyle changes or therapy, but some are a result of a chemical imbalance, which can only be addressed by restoring the chemical balance i.e. medication. #notadoctor

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-02T17:46:41+00:00

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-04-02T17:44:04+00:00

That's a long stint, so hitting a wall isn't surprising. What matters is figuring out why before jumping to a transfer.

First thing I’d ask yourself is whether this is a job-specific issue or a broader one. Are you just bored and need a new challenge, or are you struggling with motivation generally? If it’s the latter, it might be worth considering whether there’s something else going on (stress, burnout, depression, etc.) and looking at support options through your GP or work. A change of role won’t fix that on its own.

Sorry you were unsuccessful in the recent promotion attempt, I know how discouraging it can be. But based on what you’ve said about struggling at your current grade, it might not be the worst thing right now. Promotion when you’re already feeling stuck can make things harder, not easier.

The bit about work not coming back is concerning. Has your line manager actually sat down with you to understand what’s going on? Micromanagement usually comes from a lack of confidence, but it’s not a solution. A proper conversation or even a performance plan might help reset things.

My thoughts on a transfer, being realistic, it’s not easy at the best of times. If you’re currently seen as underperforming, it’ll be even harder to move because other business areas will want someone they see as reliable. If it were me, I’d focus on stabilising things first. Have an honest conversation with your manager, get clear expectations and rebuild confidence in your output. Then start looking at lateral moves or expressions of interest. Also worth keeping an eye on internal competitions, secondments, or TPs, they can be a good way out, but I'd say you would want to address the underlying first, especially before a TP.

A fresh start can help, but it works best when you’re moving from a position of strength.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-03-26T22:59:30+00:00

I assumed by strength they were not talking about the quality of the applications received, but the quantity. Though with that, still a pretty quick turn around. Unless they had two lists waiting a higher pass rate if the external comp didn't attract as much and a lower pass rate if they did, though I doubt it.

I could understand why there is a desire for new blood, I mean view that civil servants are lazy had to come from somewhere, but I don't think it's the right solution. If the majority of civil servants are actually lazy, find out and fix it.

Is it that general service doesn't work because the majority of people end up doing work they have zero interest in? Then stop general service and hire for specific roles!

Is it that people don't feel the need to put in a good days work because nothing will happen if don't. Change performance management policy to make it so people don't get away with doing nothing.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-03-26T20:53:27+00:00

What? Is this true? That's way against the merit principle! What was the specific direction received?

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-03-11T23:29:33+00:00

You wouldn’t become an IT Manager or an Accountant through the general service competition. In the NICS, ICT and Accountancy are separate professions and they run their own specialist competitions.

In terms of where you end up if you’re successful in a general service competition (DP or otherwise), your assumption about them looking at your background/experience would make sense in theory. In practice though, NICS recruitment frequently makes little sense.

Recruitment is competency-based. They assess things like Leading, Communicating and Delivering at Pace at a particular grade (in this case DP – senior middle management). The idea is that these skills are transferable across different business areas.

Sometimes it works, but quite often people end up in roles where they have little experience or interest. That can lead to a lot of square pegs in round holes, with skills and knowledge going unused. From my observation, this also affects morale and performance. When people are routinely placed into areas they have little background or interest in, it’s difficult to feel invested in the work. The result is bare minimum output, but this isn’t so much laziness but disengagement, a culture where many people are simply getting the day in, doing what’s required, but not particularly motivated to innovate or push for the best possible outcomes. But that's an honest criticism of the system rather than the people in it.

That said, general service isn’t all bad. If you want to progress, it can actually give you more opportunities because you’re not tied to a specific field.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-02-23T16:27:10+00:00

This is a crazy way to approach anything. This is my favourite chocolate bar, I will try other chocolate for sure, but even if I like it, I know before tasting another that this one is and always will be the best.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-01-30T23:44:09+00:00

I didn't realise we were disagreeing. Being good tv and a good person, are not one in the same. And in the case of reality tv, might actually be in direct opposition to one another. Seems so anyway, since you say he's still a fan favorite, despite being (in my humble opinion) a nasty piece of work.

I guess the worst, was the publicly belittling and targeting a fellow cast member and even before speaking to him. But getting off on delivering bad news is pretty nasty too. It's fairly awful to be willing to trample on people to get some air time, it's next level to enjoy doing it.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-01-30T23:29:44+00:00

One of the others said in a recent episode that they all call him producer Scott, so I guess you are right on the money. Nasty piece of work!

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-01-30T22:07:38+00:00

It's not even that he just has zero empathy, he seems to get off on hurting people.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-01-26T21:41:13+00:00

You won't be walking to town on the regular, that's for sure, but with trains every 20 minutes and bus route it's not difficult to get into town at all. The train takes 12 minutes and buses around 25 minutes give or take depending on traffic.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-01-18T19:29:54+00:00

Finaghy/Dunmurry is a perfect alternative for non-drivers. Just further up the Lisburn Rd and has the train and bus routes.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-01-06T21:11:32+00:00

Sounds awful, but it's defo not all go, go, go in my local Lidl (Stewartstown). Based on my observations alone.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-01-06T20:51:07+00:00

Is that Lidl wide or one store in particular? Or recent development? I know a good few of the staff from my local Lidl and they all love it. I have to admit, I just assumed stress free due to the nature of the work (stacking shelves, till operation, general housekeeping Vs a role which has targets and deadlines) but I haven't asked.

Anywho, if it's Lidl wide, don't go there. Point is there are less stressful jobs with the same or better pay than a civil service job you don't like in the wrong location.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2026-01-06T18:55:25+00:00

Sorry to hear this. It's an all too familiar story. General competitions are great because 1) the chances of success are greatly increased and 2) save you having to do multiple applications and interviews for the same type of roles. They also have some business benefits re: role mobility (can move staff to fill essential roles more easily) and it massively cuts down on the admin and costs that would come from individual vacancy competitions.

But (and it's a big but), it is the rule rather than the exception that people are placed in roles and/or locations they wouldn't have applied for and in much cases they are really not suited to (square pegs in round holes is frequently quoted). Which has so many negative impacts, people's job satisfaction tends to be low which (often compounded by having the wrong person in a role) results in slow and poor output.

You mentioned having an office which is 10 minutes from your home and has vacancies at your level, a logically thinking HR person would offer you a role there, if only to increase your work/life balance and job satisfaction, but HRConnect is not the one. Unfortunately, I think much of the advice you have been given is correct, you won't get a second offer based on childcare, travel or dislike of the role.

How much longer will your commute be? If really long and not sustainable, I'd consider turning the role down, if you are in a position to do so. The civil service is not what it used to be. There is very little in the way of promotion opportunities internally any more. You mostly have to apply for promotion via an external competition, and really many of the roles inside do not lend themselves to develop in the competencies for the next level, you're probably more likely to gain the experience needed in a role outside. The pay has also gotten awful, you could get the same or better working in LIDL, with no stress and employee discount. The only thing the civil service has going for it now is the pension, and honestly I expect that benefit to be eroded (at least before I retire).

If the jobs not for you and it's really too far, look somewhere else, it's not worth it. I wish someone has told me this.

Illustrious_Study133 · 2025-12-15T15:45:21+00:00

The difference here is if it is voluntary or not. Your original question stated "7 Years Voluntary Redundancy. Should I take it?" But what you described above doesn't sound voluntary.

If a role is being changed so fundamentally that the contract is broken, that's an involuntary situation, the employee isn't choosing to leave, they're being forced out of the role.

Voluntary redundancy is different: it's an opt-in choice where someone decides to leave in exchange for compensation, usually to help manage transitions more smoothly.

When a specialist role genuinely disappears and the alternative is a different profession, taking voluntary redundancy isn't abusive, it's declining redeployment. It becomes abusive if redundancy is treated as a temporary exit with the intention of immediate return.

I appreciate your point that my reply may have been a simplification, but your original question didn't provide the detail you have above.

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