Catching Up
I guess it’s about time to try and catch up on what’s been happening. Things have been busy here, though nothing worth taking photos of, so you’ll have to live with words.
I’ve officially entered the 6-month extension period of my contract. I doubt I’ll see it through to the end given my last day is officially the 4th of July. Odds are I’ll be home before then, even if just a day or two earlier.
Work has been incredibly busy and will be until I leave. They’re trying to replace my job with two other people, which means I’m either incredibly good, or incredibly overworked. Still, I’m doing very interesting stuff and have had to re-evaluate what I hope to accomplish over my remaining time here. Basically, I’m helping to design both the Land and the Rule of Law strategies for the mission over the next 5-year period (no, it’s not a Soviet Union-style 5-year plan). I’m also designing the first projects to implement those strategies. Strategies and projects I won’t be here to implement. At least you can say I will be leaving a legacy when I depart!
Now that it’s 2013 I have officially begun the search for my next adventure. I say “officially” because I haven’t even gotten my resume and CV ready. I have worked on it a bit, but have been putting off the inevitable. I hate job hunting, but it’s a logical result of my career change decision so there’s nothing to do but do it! For some reason, I’m not as nervous about what the next opportunity will be (or even if there is going to be a next opportunity) than I was during the last job search. Perhaps it’s because this time I’m looking while I am still receiving a paycheck, or maybe it’s because I’ve given myself the time-span I spent last time unemployed. Also, I have a better idea of what I’m looking for (land tenure and property rights, and related positions) and who to target. Looking back now, it’s amazing how little I truly knew about international development when I made the leap, even though I’d done a lot of research. I guess you learn a lot more from the inside of a profession (or organization) than you ever can from the outside.
It appears as if my thinking about how the job search would progress has been sound (at least we’d like to think that to excuse my inactivity over the past 3 months and to kid myself into thinking that I’m a rational person and the world isn’t full of mere coincidences). I have been monitoring several different job posting sites since I found out that my stay here was not going to be extended as long as everyone here had hoped and, as I pretty much expected, there were not very many positions posted during the end-of-the-year-holiday-seasons that were of interest. As I said, I’m pretty much set (for now) to go for land-based positions instead of generic rule of law jobs. That has changed with the new year (as I’d expected . . .) and so I am having to crack down this long weekend to polish up my resume and CV to be able to apply for at least three jobs with application deadlines in the next few weeks.
So what are they? In the order in which I’ll be applying: 1] A position with a land tenure expert with a Seattle-based contracting firm that specializes in drafting land laws in developing countries. It’s an open call for “regular, full time, part time or contractor” experts. They work out of Seattle, but have a couple of field offices (China and India) and work throughout Asia, Africa and South America. I’ve met one of their folks here in Liberia and it’s a good organization to work for. 2] An Environment Officer position with USAID. This is a permanent position (with many positions available) as a foreign service officer with USAID. Unlike previous USAID announcements, the pay scale for this opportunity comes close to what I am making now - it would mean a bit of a pay cut, but nothing like the $20-30K pay cut that earlier announcements were made at. And I would be a diplomat! 3] The FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization) is advertising for a Land Tenure Officer. This position is based in Rome. For obvious reasons, Ann and I really like this opportunity! Not much to say other than it seems very interesting and is right up my alley! Ann just sent me a fourth position that a co-worker sent to her; I might as well include it here. 4] It’s a Human Settlements Officer position with UN Habitat based in Kigali, Rwanda. A colleague of mine was recently in Rwanda for training and she said it’s amazing how efficiently everything works there. She’s been all over Africa and said it’s like a different world. Then again, there are dictatorship-related issues with the government, but . . . . Rwanda sounds interesting and they grow great coffee! However, I still need to think about it; the position is not a good fit with my experience.
So I’m not without options. I just have to keep doing my part by applying and not get too attached to any one position. Last time I applied to 37 jobs, wound up getting number 17.
That’s a brief update on what’s been keeping me so busy that I’m not posting. By the end of each day, I’m pretty much beat! I hope that changes soon, and I have more opportunities to get out and generate stories to post!
Hope everyone’s new year has gotten off to a good start!