It began with an email: ‘the UN team has contacted us and they are requesting your deployment as soon as possible, initially for six weeks…how quickly would you be able to travel and assume your responsibilities in Dhaka or Cox’s Bazar?’ This was on Saturday evening, 7 October, 2017. Just over one week later, I would swap my UN OCHA reports officer job in Islamabad for UN OCHA public information officer in Dhaka, supporting the response team in the humanitarian quagmire unfolding in Bangladesh. The plight of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims is being well documented across news and social media channels:…
Musical interlude
I thought I’d do a super quick round-up of music that’s recently caught my attention. I’ve never been a fan of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ or any version of it. Way too mournful and dour for me, though that may be a bit rich coming from someone who has both studied and liked ancient classical Greek drama. Anyway, that was until I heard this version by Pentatonix. The lyrics are still too dark for my taste, but the rendition is on point, in my opinion. I also like their upbeat take on ‘Cheerleader’. Following that is Kashmir, this year’s winner of…
Work and Live Abroad – last word
A side note You are going to have to exercise much courage and determination to jump over the appalling discrimination (especially sexism) and downright abuse that goes on in some companies and organisations, both at home and abroad. Don’t let that stop you. Ultimately, if harassment and bullying are endemic within an organisation or even industry, and there is just too much resistance to changing things (from both men and women), ask yourself whether it’s worth spending a professional lifetime banging your head against an intractable iron wall. You may decide that on principle it is, and fine, walls can…
Work and Live Abroad – part 2
Finding those pesky international jobs Here are some ideas. General international jobs LinkedIn LinkedIn’s job board includes a nicely designed layout, good keyword search tool and a wide variety of advertised jobs. Also being able to message directly through InMail makes the process a bit more personable. I’ve sometimes found that jobs can be out of date, and be aware of the scams, but useful on the whole. Escape the City Sends out a mailing list of both paid and volunteer roles. I’ve had an interview through this and seen some interesting roles, so worth a shot. Jobbatical These…
Work and Live Abroad – part 1
People have sometimes asked me for pointers about finding an international job and creating a global lifestyle. So, I thought I’d draw some up here. I’ll be drawing on much of my own globetrotting experiences as well as forwarding advice I’ve been given. Most of this is related to the field of international development, but not exclusively. You may be making a career change after years, or even decades, of working more traditional office-based careers. More likely you’re a graduate, or fresh out of school, at the very beginning of your professional journey. There are potential freelancers and location…
