S. now tells me that M. did get it, and is over the moon. Apparently, with my qualifications and work experience, I am just the person they were looking for, and she's going to call me first thing tomorrow to invite me up to Amsterdam for a formal interview...but according to S. I don't need to worry, as M. has said the job is mine if I want it. Which I'm not 100% sure I do (mainly because of the commute), but I figure I can give it a whirl and see how working in the financial markets suits me for a change.
Which only goes to show that these days, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
The assessment, btw, went pretty smoothly; but I won't know how I did until after I come back from Germany...by which time, I may already have an offer from the bank.
Oh well, time to pack my suitcase! I'll be back here again next week, with hopefully some more exciting news!