The News

Some people say bad things come in three...but would you believe, good things do as well? Seriously. This week popped up three interesting prospective job opportunities...and all in the space of just six days.

The first opportunity came up last Friday. I was perusing the AmeriCorps website and discovered a job tailor-made for me. I would be working in the Center for Student Involvement at RI School of Design. The job would have me working with students in the community outreach sector. WOW!
Art and community!  My job would be to work with art students to "build a culture of service and professional development at RISD that ripples out to surrounding agencies, organizations, and community members". Hmm. Sounds like a great job to me! The downside is that it will only last for one year...and I'd be right back where I started...unemployed. If I could see the future and know that this job would lead to another, I wouldn't hesitate. I wouldn't even consider taking another job in this case.

The second opportunity came on Wednesday morning while I was in the middle of helping out mom with our Thanksgiving meal preparation. The phone rang and who should it be but the Department of Homeland Security?  They wanted me to email my transcripts and set up a phone interview. The  position is for an Immigration Analyst in the Asylum Division out in Queens, NY. WOW!  I've been applying to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services within the Department of Homeland Security since I went to Washington DC in August. I had met a young women at the Peace Corps career conference who worked as a Refugee Officer in DC in this division who told me she loved her job. She talked a lot about it and it really sparked my interest in working with refugees and/or new immigrants seeking asylum in America. I've been applying for jobs since then and have finally heard back from someone!!! The difference between the first job and the second, is that I can have a prolonged career with the Federal Government. There is room for advancement in the DHS and this could quite literally, be my last job. (I have been saying that my next job would be my last job...so perhaps...maybe...yeah).

The third spark of opportunity came in the mail just after the phone call from DHS. It was a letter from the City of Warwick directing me report to the Warwick Police Department on December 5th to take a written exam for the position of Animal Control Officer. There are two reasons I had applied for this job...the first one being the welfare of animals. Even in our enlightened times there are still people in America who abuse animals and I am passionate about protecting them. The second reason is that I would be able to do community outreach. This would be the best part of the job because I love designing and implementing programs that educate. How cool would this be? Plus the benefits for working in my city are pretty ridiculous.

So, now I have a bit of a dilemma. I have listed the jobs in the order they came in but as I look at them now, they are in the order of preference too. The first job, as I stated earlier, is perfect for me but the drawback is that is only temporary. The second job is something that I have been hoping for because I could really make a difference in peoples lives and it has lots of room for advancement. The trouble with this job, however, is that I don't know if I will be free to suggest improvements or changes in projects and programming because the government has a certain way they like things to be done and with lots of rules and regulations. Would they listen to my ideas for change, improvement or otherwise or would I simply be another cog in the wheel of the government machine? The third job appeals to me on the levels I already mention but I have an inkling of how thinks work in my city on the local level. City workers oftentimes have a bad reputation of being overpaid and underworked. Fortunately, there are many who do work hard and serve a purpose in our city government but are non-the-less lumped in with the rest. Our city also has a reputation of being overly man-friendly. I have heard that it's a boys club in our city government and women have a hard time voicing their ideas or getting anything done. For those of you who know me really well...can you see me putting up with that nonsense?  Laugh. Out. Loud.

I'll just have to wait and see and I will keep you posted.  Happy shopping for all you nutty people.

Not (yet) Finding my Place in the World.

I've been officially home from serving in the Peace Corps for 6 months now. I've been officially looking for a job for close to 13 months. And I look every day...all over the world. Needless to say I have looked at practically every avenue available.

It is said that in order to find work it is necessary to market yourself in ways that you never would have in times past. This includes full disclosure of yourself in practically every way imaginable to entire world via the internet. It's also important to network. I actually attended a lecture in Washington DC on the fine art of networking. It was really informative. I guess to get yourself a job anywhere now you have to use networking tools such as Linkin and Facebook. These tools I have mastered and still...not even a nibble. Most importantly, face-to-face networking is supposed to get you to the place you need to go. Problem is, where should I go to network?

I never leave the house.

I guess if I had a community of like-minded people it would be a good place to start. If I want to work in the world of finance, I would need to find some kind of lecture or support group for bankers. Same goes for government work and art work or any other type of work. So what ends up happening is, it is not WHAT you know, but WHO you know.

I have always taken exception to this. Living in a small state like Rhode Island, everyone knows everyone, right? It's really true...and if you don't know someone outright, you know their cousin, or their cousin's cousin's wife. The trouble with this is, I have never known anyone who could actually be in a position to help me. Of course, everyone has advice. Some if it good, some not so good.

"Who do I have to f**k to off this boat" ?

The other day I watched one of the Alien films for the 134th time. My hero, Lieutenant Ripley was a clone of herself in the final film "Alien Resurrection". Towards the end of the film she said something that has been resonating in my head ever since. This line reflects my exact feelings these past few weeks and God help me it's crude but I just can't help myself. I want to scream this from the rooftops for all the world to hear...and just perhaps someone will wake up and take notice of my dilemma.