An insincerity of purpose in the searching

I bump into Ken Barmy in the coffee shop of Hannigan's Truss Boutique and we get to swapping stories about our respective employers. As you do. Talk had drifted to Pay & Grading reviews: like most everyone we've found that our corporate human resources departments are proposing to make substantial cuts in the salaries of middle-ranking staff so as to simplify (polarise) the pay structures. Both "professional" and "gentleman" players have been badly affected by this and it leaves managers with a festering mess of a problem.

"Our chief's left no stone unturned in her attempt to demonstrate that we're out of kilter with the national market," says Ken. "She says she had a look at the jobs advertised in CILIP Update but 'there weren't very many jobs being advertised and they all required qualified librarians.' I can't imagine why that came as a surprise to her."

"You're kidding me!"

"OK, I can imagine why that came as a surprise to her, but let's be charitable."