I have my own office. An office with a door, a desk, a computer, a phone, a whiteboard, and drawers. I also have a very cool magnetic pass to get around, one with my picture on it. I have a favourite lunch place and I hate Monday mornings. I got a new office job. I feel like a lucky girl.
I loved teaching. Yet, after four years, I decided it was time for a change. Teaching is draining and doesn’t pay much, plus the school’s success was linked to its ability to get new contracts with government agencies—not easy in the middle of the recession but for us, teachers, no new contracts = no work hours.
Teaching taught me a lot. I was 22 years old when I started and my students, all civil servants, were usually at least twice my age. I didn’t know much about Canada at the time and I knew even less about the government, politics or second language training for that matter. I learned as fast as I could because every morning, I was facing a class of executives who, for the most part, would have probably rather be swimming with sharks than learning French. Being taken seriously, both because I was an immigrant and a young woman, wasn’t easy. Trust me, I won’t ever be afraid to speak in public after this work experience.
Yet, I was terrified during my first classes. At the time, I had very little work experience. I had worked briefly in France as a student and then as an intern in Hong Kong. After I arrived in Canada, I had a series of short-time contracts, usually in the customer service industry. I had no idea what I truly wanted to do nor did I know what I was able to do. University in France doesn’t exactly prepare you for the real world.
I kept on telling myself I should find something better but kept on postponing the job search ordeal. Making barely enough to survive was good enough. I wasn’t picky—my generation grew up with the fear of unemployment and job insecurity.
One day, shortly after I got my permanent resident visa, the staffing agency I was working with called me for an assignment. When I asked for more specific information about the job, the woman on the phone was very noncommittal. Being my usually silly self, I wrote the address down and didn’t ask further questions. The following morning, I ended up in a warehouse and I learned my task consisted of stuffing envelopes. I was a fucking human envelope stuffer and no a productive one, mind you. My hands were cold after a few hours and I kept on getting paper cuts. But I stood in the middle of the cold hangar all day, folding letters, opening envelope after envelope and stuffing them with—of all things!—firearms license applications. I was seething with frustration. What the hell was I doing there? Wasn’t it anything else better I would be good at?
This was my wake-up call. At the end of the day, I used the manager’s phone to call the staffing agency and let them know I wouldn’t be coming in the following day. They didn’t sound surprised—it was a shitty job. That night, I spent several hours writing a better resume and in the morning I left home with as many copies I was able to print. It was January and the weather was very cold. I started in one of Ottawa’s main street and dropped off my resumes at a few language schools. A couple of hours, cold and tired, I went back home. By the time I got there, the first school I had dropped my resume at had already called back and wanted to see me for an interview. I was hired, open the spot and started the following day. I stayed there for almost four years. It was my first real job.
Looking back, it’s funny that I have never been formally trained for any of the positions I had. This is a huge difference between France and Canada. In France, you need to have a degree matching exactly the job offer, otherwise you have no chance. In Canada, being willing to learn and having the relevant skills from previous experiences means more than a degree.
So, I’m back to the office culture, which I only briefly experience when working in Hong Kong. It is less crazy and the work is more intellectually challenging. So far so good!
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that your office is nothing like the tv show. Or maybe, it would be more fun if it was like the tv show 🙂
I’ve never really worked in an office environment, not a proper one, worked in small offices so it was different. Not too stressful and not boring… but I think it was a matter of plain luck!
I hope the office work treats you well!
.-= Seb´s last blog ..Fulfilling One’s Destiny =-.
Congratulations! May I ask what is your new job? I also have a similar watch as yours 😉
Your new job is that of a teacher rite? BTW, love your watch 😉
I am so happy for you Zhu.
p.s.: love your watch!
That’s such an interesting entry! I’ve also had some of the oddest jobs before, and realized that I couldn’t stand not working in the field that I loved.
I’m so happy you got a job that excites you now! 🙂
.-= Lizz´s last blog ..(Back from Hiatus!) Flavors of Spain 2009 =-.
Hi there,
Congratulations and I must say, well deserved. Are you going to work at the house of commons? 🙂
Take care!
The “real world” is indeed a daunting place, and working can be a challenge sometimes, especially when one is not used to the environment. Sometimes I think that I have gone to graduate school because I wanted to escape the real world for a few more years, although I still like what I am currently doing.
.-= Linguist-in-Waiting´s last blog ..Occupied =-.
I can see how that job would have been a wake-up call. That’s the sort of job I had when very young and with no experience.
Glad you have found your niche – for now!
.-= Beth´s last blog ..Uncensored… =-.
Congrats on a real job that you enjoy!
One image that I remember very strongly from the student protests a few years ago against the…. gosh I can’t even remember the name anymore, the CPE? Contract de premier emploi? Well, whatever it was, when they wanted to change the employment laws for young kids, and I remember seeing all these signs saying “Contre le precarite!” When you said “my generation grew up with the fear of unemployment and job insecurity” it made me think of that.
.-= Soleil´s last blog ..Insurance companies are douchebags =-.
@Seb – My office isn’t boring, that’s for sure. Well, I think I needed a change anyway so anything but teaching is great!
@Bluefish – The picture says it all 😉
@Nigel Babu – My new job has nothing to do with teaching — thanks God!
@Agnes – Thank you! The watch is a present from my mum for my last birthday. I love it!
@Lizz – I guess it is important to like your work — after all, we spend many hours there. What was your oddest job?
@Gean Oliveira – Yes, I am an employee at the House of Common. At least, that’s what it says on my paycheque 😉
@Linguist-in-Waiting – I was very scared of working after university (or even during). Not sure why when I look back… my lack of experience scared me and I didn’t know what I was good at. It gets better.
@Beth – And looking back, it was the best wake-up call ever! I needed it.
@Soleil – It must have been the CPE, although I had already left France so I’m not sure — so many strikes and protests lately! Yes, I feel sad for my friends and my parents who are struggling to just find a job, let alone a job they like.
Correction to my earlier post. When you talk about new job, you are actually talking about how you got your current job.. rite?
.-= Nigel Babu´s last blog ..Pushing 150 kg =-.
Okay, now I get it. So now you moved out of teaching. So congrats and all the best!!!!
.-= Nigel Babu´s last blog ..Pushing 150 kg =-.
I am sure all these experiences make you more determine to know and get what you want in your life.
.-= LEon´s last blog ..Mcdonalds Monopoly Singapore =-.
i love your stories zhu. and it’s interesting how you compare everything in canada to your life in france.
and you’re right, university doesn’t prepare you for the real world, in a sense. but too, university does teach you how to adapt and how to think beyond your basic needs. it gives you the tools- but you still have to find the best use (for you) of those tools.
and i’m proud of you, because you figured out what you wanted and you found a way to get it. and life changes, and you’ve changed.
congrats on your new job. woot!
.-= Seraphine´s last blog ..Avoiding the Crash Wall =-.
I saw this quote in a memo pad–
To teach is to touch lives forever.
@Nigel Babu – That’s it! No more teaching for me, for now 😉
@LEon – They do. It’s also trial and learning!
@Seraphine – I think figuring out what I wanted was the toughest part. Outside the jobs everybody knows (lawyer, doctor etc.) there are thousands of jobs that are not necessarily advertised but are great!
@Baoru – I felt that too and I hope I gave something to my students.
Oh that’s awesome development! Congratulations. But must be difficult to manage with university right? I am going to go to a staffing agency, there is no way I am able to find a job… :((
.-= Priyank´s last blog ..Linguistic delights of Toronto =-.
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