I thought you might be interested in how my recent job application went. Well, the bad news is that you will have to put up with me for a bit longer on Autocar as I won’t be moving to Swansea. Here is how the news was broken to me:

"Your application for the position of chief executive with DVLA

Hello James,

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Thank you for your application regarding the above position.

All of the applications have now been assessed and, after some difficult deliberations, the panel has arrived at a list of applicants they will be inviting for interview. On this occasion I regret to inform you that your application will not be progressed.

This position generated considerable interest and we were pleased with the quality of the applications received. However, there were a number of applicants who, on this occasion, presented evidence of a closer match to the criteria for these roles.

Thank you for your interest in DVLA and we wish you every success in the future."

I can’t say I’m not disappointed. I would have relished the opportunity to explain how I could have run the DVLA more efficiently and effectively.

It seems to me that candidates for such public roles are plucked from what is an amazingly small pool of so called ‘talent’. I have decent educational qualifications. I have worked extensively within the motor industry and I can walk and talk at the same time. I really think that I deserved to be cross examined in Wales.

Unless you have worked in a large corporate environment you are dismissed as not capable of running a massively over-staffed and cumbersome organisation.

Never mind. Now I’ve updated my CV I am determined to apply for all sorts of other automotive and transport-related senior positions which could improve all of our lives.

Rest assured that I will put your interests first. Oh, and pocket a six-figure salary and look forward to a gold goodbye package when it all goes horribly wrong.