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Tag Archives: co-op

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Why I wrote 50,000 words about previous jobs

The PolyBlog
May 6 2017

I’m attempting a full-scale job search from scratch right now, something most of us in government don’t often do when we look for a job. Instead, most of us look for something that is just a bit different from what we have — a new area, or a new boss, or a new level, etc., but rarely do we step back and say, “Before I even look for a job, what do I want to find? What’s really important to me?”. By nature, employed people tend to be incrementalists.

So I wanted to look back at all my previous jobs — all the way back to being a paperboy — to see what I had learned in the jobs, and what I had liked about the positions. As I wrote, I found myself talking about experiences, not the “lessons learned” or even “what I learned about myself”, and I felt like I needed to get all that info out of my head and onto the page to allow myself the time to now look back at them and see what the outcomes and common elements were…in short, I wrote it all out so I could analyze it as if it was someone else.

So here is what I learned, and now I have to figure out what’s really important to me moving forward.

Blog link / partJobWhat I learned
Part 1 — 2360wa. PaperboyPiece-work sucks
Some jobs you hate
Front-line transactions is an up and down world
b. DishwasherNot everyone is good at manual tasks
Not being efficient is not the same as complete inability or failure
Find a job that required my intellect over my manual processing
c. TelemarketingI felt like a parasite
Cash is sometimes needed more than my ego
Piece-work sucks, including commission-based piece-work
d. Serials Assistant, University libraryHiring is often about the “story” they hear
Making yourself useful is a great way to stay employed — value-added work
Computers were going to change everything, and not everyone knew how to work a PC
Special projects add to the enjoyment of a job
Curiosity can make up for a lot of social inability
Part 2 — 1805we. Assistant to the TreasurerNot everyone knows how to use a PC
Lots of groups need help with basic organizational support
Value-added helping is fun
f. Computer lab assistantNot everyone understands software
Some people can understand specific applications if it links to other things they understand
I liked helping people
I worked differently than other people in the same position
People liked the responsible way I approached my work
Part 3 — 2387wg. IT support (internal)I worked differently than others
Bosses liked the way I approached my work
Things that were obvious to me for how to organize work were not as obvious to other workers or even some of my bosses
Value-added “extra” work was valued by my bosses
h. IT support (internal and external)Being good at a lot of things could be better than being an expert in one thing
I liked things to be organized efficiently, not haphazardly
Bosses thought of it as “initiative”
Part 4 — 4153wi. Law coop student, Ministry of Education, BCBackgrounders can be hard to write well but are the backbone of policy
I liked government, and I wanted to work there
Your work life in public service depends on who you work with and for
Policy development doesn’t always follow the textbook so much as start with what others are doing
Doing value-added work is valued by bosses
How you do / approach the work is valued as much as what you do
Part 5 — 3357wPart 5 addendum — 1132wj. MPA co-op student, DFAITSome departments value policy over programs
Policy people don’t often understand basic logistics, administration
Sufficiently advanced computer skills are viewed as magical
Working on high-level policy stuff for Cabinet is heady stuff
I like special projects
I like the adrenalin of doing good logistics
I had some skills but my approach to work also made me “capable”
Part 6 — 3512wk. Contractor, DFAITI liked building an interdepartmental network
Some people are just flat-out jerks and don’t take responsibility when they screw up
Responsibility and duty are not just words to me
Contracting rules can be bent
You know people are happy with your work when they request you by name
I liked and was good at logistics
Part 7 — 1612wl. Temp, CICBeing unemployed with no EI benefits sucks
Even in basic positions, I focused on value-added work
Office politics can kill you
You can be hired by reputation alone
Part 8 — 3941wm. Contractor, DFAITI abhor the spotlight and prefer to work behind the scenes
Sometimes you manage your own HR file
n. Term IS-03, DFAITGrief is a strange companion that can be delayed but not avoided
Fate sometimes carries you through, even when self-planning doesn’t
I’m really good at logistics
I don’t really like formal work environments
Part 9 — 3356wo. Development Officer, Multilateral, CIDAPay rules in the government are weird
Different departments have very different cultures
I like informal work environments
Give me enough to do, and I’d stay forever
I can do formal negotiations and the policy schmoozing, but I don’t enjoy it
I suck at languages
I enjoy interdepartmental work
I’m pretty good at corporate work and nobody else likes it
I like to travel, but not business travel
The integrity of the system is extremely important to me
Part 10 — 2414wp. Development Officer, Caribbean, CIDAI hate micro-management of partners
Service delivery people know almost nothing about the Department’s broad corporate initiatives
I wasn’t really interested in a posting
I liked earning a level through competition over being part of a development program
Part 11 — 4907wq. Analyst, Policy Branch, CIDAJust because someone looks young, doesn’t mean she’s a co-op student (Hi wife!)
I could hold my own in meetings with much more senior people when it was about corporate files
I hate the way some people do Comms
Sometimes the only solution to a problem is to blow it up
Logistics issues don’t phase me at all
Different managers handle interactions with employee’s lives differently, and with good outcomes
I didn’t know if I wanted to be an EX-01
I’m pretty good at the business planning side
Part 12 — 2969wr. Senior Policy Officer, DM’s office, CIDASometimes high-level jobs are just about pushing paper
Someone has to manage senior executives, even if it’s managing upward
I prefer informal, simple solutions rather than formal, complex processes
Even things signed by very senior people can be wrong
Part 13 — 5101ws. Manager, International Relations, SDCHaving kibble is better than having bits (sorry, Bits!)
Politics has more impact on my life than I ever thought possible
Being good with my co-op student paid off with my future ADM
A good Director and a good ADM can be off-set by a really bad DG
Sometimes, the public service does the right thing and fires people
A good team can make for a great experience
It’s okay to have a five-year plan for global domination
I like to travel, but don’t really enjoy business travel
My way of working cooperatively and collaboratively can build networks
I have had bad bosses before, and I will tolerate a lot, but I have my limits
Part 14 — 4400wt. Manager, Strategy and Integration, HRSDCI understand the difference between a true policy framework and what often passes for one
Just because your Director and DG say something is one way doesn’t make it so
Pushing string is no fun
Not everyone approaches HR the way I do — too many settle for easy answers
Messing with HR is a breach of integrity that has wide implications for morale
Vision and direction are crucial and have to be at the right level for each file
People are sometimes afraid of their bosses because they’re more senior
Personally investing in your files is risky
Part 15 — 4747wu. Manager, Performance Measurement, HRSDCI’m *really* good at corporate files
Very few good people want to do corporate work
I can be naïvely fearless
I am good at and love big complex corporate projects
Ethical challenges show up in day-to-day work, not big questions
Special projects require someone to take them on, often as “extra duties as required”
I’m kind of anal when it comes to ensuring proper briefings are done
Sometimes corporate-run exercises, particularly for HR, are really really bad
Part 16 — 1541wv. Manager, Planning and Accountability, ESDCI like fixing systems issues
Sometimes you stay in jobs just because you like your boss a lot
I like seeing employees develop
I still am not sure if I ever want to be an EX
Total: 53,694  
Posted in Goals | Tagged career, change, co-op, computers, goals, job, law, previous jobs, search, work | Leave a reply

What I learned from my previous jobs – Part 16

The PolyBlog
May 5 2017

This last post is a bit challenging to write as it is about my current job. And I don’t really have any distance or perspective from it yet, because I’m still doing it. But I’ll give it a go. v. Manager, Planning and Accountability — One thing that frequently bugged me over the first six years was that we were fairly siloed in our division. There was a planning team, a reporting team, and my performance measurement team, but I really wanted them to mesh better together. We did what we could, but we were three separate teams with three … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiences | Tagged career, change, co-op, computers, goals, job, law, previous jobs, search, work | Leave a reply

What I learned from my previous jobs – Part 15

The PolyBlog
May 3 2017

I was in need of rescuing at the end of the previous post…after 18 months of pushing string, and feeling like I not only had nothing to show for it but that the time had been a complete waste, I was spent. Literally. Figuratively. Mentally. Even physically. I had nothing left to give them. And to be honest, any self-confidence that I had previously was completely gone. u. Manager, Performance Measurement, ESDC — I started working in the Skills and Employment Branch in May, and it was almost instantly a refreshing change. I wasn’t pushing string with abstract policy theory … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiences | Tagged career, change, co-op, computers, goals, job, law, previous jobs, search, work | Leave a reply

What I learned from my previous jobs – Part 14

The PolyBlog
May 2 2017

When I worked at DFAIT, and worked for a shouter, I thought I had pretty strong tolerance for bad behaviour. In fact, up until SDC, I was known for having worked for or with some people that others wouldn’t even consider. And honestly, I never had a problem with any of them. Until I worked for the DG that got fired in the last post. I needed a bit of a cleanse after that, and so I went to work with a Director that I had worked with previously. t. Manager, Strategy and Integration, HRSDC — When I look back … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiences | Tagged career, change, co-op, computers, goals, job, law, previous jobs, search, work | Leave a reply

What I learned from my previous jobs – Part 13

The PolyBlog
May 1 2017

As I finished my previous post, I was finishing up what I had thought was going to be my best job ever — a senior policy advisor position in the Deputy Minister’s Office at CIDA. Instead, I was pushing too much paper. I also had another problem with my career — I was under-classified. While I was routinely offered, accepting and performing at ES-05, ES-06, PM-06 and even sometimes EX-01 levels, I was still an ES-04. I was in a competition back in Policy Branch to “regularize” my level with an ES-05 job, but I had my eye on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiences | Tagged career, change, co-op, computers, goals, job, law, previous jobs, search, work | Leave a reply

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