Rehired! (My Personal Story Part II)

When I shared my story in the blog post entitled "How I Bounced Back from the Sack", I was overwhelmed by the support I received. I alluded to the fact that there was some upheaval at work at the time that post was published, without exactly divulging all the details.

It is a twisted story with many lessons. By the time this is posted it would have been around two weeks since I (re)started my new job. Confused? let me explain.

First week at my 'new' job

I have been at my company for six years working in different departments, but within the same organisation. In June 2015, I was awarded a year's secondment (a secondment is when you are on loan to a department or organisation for a fixed period of time, whilst your original position is kept warm for you.), and around three months into my one years secondment, I was told that my contract would be extended for another year. I was ECSTATIC. Not only was the position a MASSIVE step up from what I was doing originally,I also loved my new team, and the job offered a better work life balance.

So from when I was given the good news until early this year, I was very much in the knowledge and the belief that I would be sitting comfy in my new position for a little longer than anticipated.

How naive.

My years' contract in pictures

I think it was February or March this year, my stony faced manager took me into her office to tell me that she was sorry, but HR had rejected her application to keep me on for a year longer, and come June I would have to go back to my original post.

I. Was. Floored.

From then, I was consumed by thoughts of going back to a role that I thought I had grown out of. I thought about colleagues that joined my organisation after me, and had basically frog leaped over me to higher positions. I couldn't help but think about all I had poured into two degrees; about the number of  "we regret to inform you..." emails and the repetitive advice to "keep trying".

After getting over the initial disappointment, I went into "fight mode". This meant upgrading my LinkedIn account and sending out a ton of emails and CVs, which proved a futile exercise. It was as if heaven had shut the "career" door in my face, and God was looking down, and laughing in hysterics whilst I chased my own tail.

June was approaching fast, and as the countdown wilted down from months to weeks and finally days, I was becoming more panic stricken. My search for a new job became more frantic, and less focused. Because I was desperate, I almost willing to sell my soul for absolutely anything. The feeling of dread in my chest was becoming unbearable. And then June 22nd arrived.

This story is kind of long, so we'll continue next time :-) In the meantime, please comment below with any job hunting tips you may have. 

First Year At University? Let's Chat!

This is from a post that I published last year. However I thought it would be useful to repost an updated version as we are at "that time" again!

The advice I have here is a result of my own personal experiences in university. I have gone through the process twice so I know what I am talking about.Trust me. For those of you reading in the US, I am referring to what you call "college". 

Here are my tips for new university students.

1.Make a note of your coursework deadlines. Put them in your diary, and add in reminders a month, two weeks and one week prior to the due date. Better still, invest in a yearly planner you can put up on your wall. I say this because your lecturer will probably only give you the dates once. I studied French and Linguistics at Queen Mary, and made the mistake of not paying attention to the due date of my “Language in the USA” coursework deadline. The result was a rushed piece of work, hastily put together on the afternoon it was due. It attained no more than a C grade!

2. Find out how your faculty prefers for you to do your referencing and stick to it. Here is a very good guide from the Anglia Ruskin university.

3. I stayed at home whilst at university as the distance between my house and campus was too short for me to qualify for student accommodation. If you are in this position, strike a good friendship with someone in living on campus, who you can trust. You will be grateful for this on nights after long hours spent in the library, or partying!

4. Space out your schedule and give yourself some room to breathe.I remember in my first year cramming my Mondays with six hours worth of lectures  (yes! with no break). The result was knackering! I sometimes even skipped my last class altogether - not good at all.

5. If you are taking a class such as literature, or any other class that requires studying from one book for the entire semester get your own copy – even if it’s second-hand. Your campus library will normally only have a few copies of that particular book, and you may not be able to keep it for the whole semester.

Good luck with university. There is so much more you will learn besides the content of your lectures. Work hard, have fun and make friends!

I hope you find these tips useful. Please share any additional tips you might have below. 

"Good Traditional Values" that the Empowered Woman Must Shake Off.

Today's topic is coming straight from the heart so please forgive me if this entry is a little bit disjointed. The last few weeks have been quite full on and it all came to a head last week which resulted in my body finally giving up and becoming overrun with the flu! 

The blogging world can be a glossy place sometimes, with our photos edited to perfection and exciting updates of holidays and nights out at plush restaurants, so allow me to keep it real with y'all for just a second.

Over the weekend,  I received a distressing phone call from someone,  which left me feeling upset and very disempowered. This led me to think about some of the reasons why even as an adult with an empowerment blog, I am still overly sensitive,  concerned about others' opinions of me and often times super hard on myself,  particularly when I feel I have screwed up, in any area of my life.

After much thought, and long conversation with my fiancé, I figured that the main reason for these feelings of disempowerment is down to childhood conditioning. Many of the "good traditional values", or well meaning lessons that our parents instilled in us whether we like it or not has affected the way we reason and behave as adults. Oftentimes for the good, sometimes not so good. 

I come from a good ol' Ghanaian, Christian background where there is a lot of emphasis on  "God first"  and "respect for others". But there is also a lot of "mask wearing", and tiptoeing around others so not to appear less than squeaky clean. 

Although my upbringing has helped me to become a highly spiritual, respectful and hardworking member of society, they have also in some ways been to my detriment, So I have compiled a list of five "good traditional values"  that I believe have contributed to the way I act now, and have been my setback as a woman, and that I feel should be shaken off if I am going to progress in life. Whilst I am writing this for you, I am also writing this for myself.  In the words of one of my favourite gospel songs "as I minister to you, I minister to myself".  So let's learn together. 

1. What people think about your life choices is a reflection of whether they are wrong or right.

2. Answering back to someone older is disrespectful. Never do it. (This has been a major one, that has even hindered me from standing up to my superiors at work!)

3. Taking a break / rest = laziness

4. Good Christian (*insert alternative label here*) girls don't make mistakes. If you do, then said mistake should be followed by excessive regret and apologising to those who may or may not be affected.

5. Crying is silly. It's a sign of weakness and you must not let anyone EVER see you cry.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are the main beliefs I feel I subconsciously hold, although I find it hard to admit it.  

If you have read to the end, I would like to thank you.  I would also like to encourage you by saying that you are most probably doing better than you think. If you do feel you have screwed up in life lately, then do what you can to fix it, leave the rest to God, forget about it and move on!

Can you add any more to my list. What "good traditional values"  are you trying to shake off?"