So there have been some interesting developments in my life recently. As I think I mentioned in an earlier post I found out that my contract was not going to be renewed at DFAIT and I was in a bit of a funk. I had come to Ottawa one year earlier for an FSWEP position with Public Safety Canada in the Emergency Management Policy Division which ended up being a job that frustrated me but I loved. It gave me the opportunity to expand my writing ability to the field of policy, produce papers which were read by a wide audience and develop new skills like drafting correspondence.
Naturally I was very upset when I concluded my FSWEP position without being bridged into a position with the group I was working with. Nevertheless I continued to look for work within the government, this time with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, a department which I was always interested in working for.
Through a series of information interviews I eventually was introduced electronically to a deputy director with the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program who expressed interest in my CV and would eventually hire me as a program Assistant. The position was initially set out as a casual position which had the opportunity for me to be bridged in within DFAIT if everything went well.
There was a 3 month period between Public Safety and Foreign Affairs where I canvassed for the Red Cross and Amnesty International. This was a trying time for me as I tried to reconcile my expectation of work which matched my education with my desire for work that was meaningful, which working for Public Outreach (the organization I canvassed through) and continues to be.
You can imagine I was over the moon when I started to work with the ACCBP but I soon discovered that my position was filling much more of an administrative role than I had originally thought.
Before being told that my contract would not be extended I had wondered whether if it were to be extended if I would take the job. I was increasingly feeling discouraged about working for the government in general but my job prospects didn't look good.
When I heard the news I was very angry and had trouble continuing at work. The reason I was not being bridged in was because the person who had to be promoted in order for me to take their place had not yet been promoted and so there was no job for me to be given.
I immediately started looking for a new position outside of the government ranging from settlement work positions, to CIDA internships to positions within Canadian charities. By mid July I was extremely frustrated as I had not yet heard anything back from the positions I applied to and was forced to give notice for my apartment because my land lady wanted me to sign a new lease.
It was at that point that I received a phone call inviting me to an interview for a Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment Officer internship with the Canadian Cooperative Association in Uganda.
I spent a very nervous two weeks following the interview waiting for news and yesterday I was offered the position. Talk about a change of direction.
So I guess that means that this will soon return to being my travel blog. Funny how life turns out sometimes.
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