helmer.ca » Autobiography

Transition to the workforce from Queen’s MPA

jesse — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:20:24 +0000

Today I participated in a panel on the transition from the MPA program at Queen's University to the workforce. Three other recent MPA grads were on the panel, which was moderated by Richard McKinnell. We each gave a brief presentation and the class followed up with a series of questions.

My fellow panelists work for the Ontario Public Service. One works in communications for the Minister of Health; one works in policy in the Cabinet Office; and one works as counsel in the Office of Legislative Counsel. As the only panelist who is working in the non-profit sector, I focused my remarks on my experience finding my first job after graduation.

Some advice that I gave to the class:

Keep your options open and stay broad. I was very focused on working for the federal government generally and joining the foreign service in particular. As a result, I passed on or didn't pursue a number of other policy-related opportunities.
There are lots of great charities and non-profit organizations out there, especially in Toronto. But there are also a lot of poorly-run non-profits that lack vision, focus, and resources. It is essential to do your homework on the organization, its finances and its people before and during your interview.
Engage with the network of MPA grads and friends of the program. I spent too much of my job search time submitting resumes online through the public, formal recruitment campaigns and not enough time speaking with current and former executives in the Ontario and federal governments.
On work-life balance, I noted that I don't know anyone who is very successful in their job, regardless of what sector they are working in, and who works only eight hours per day.

I really enjoyed participating in the Queen's Park session, and similar trips to Ottawa and Washington, when I was an MPA student. It was fun to come back to speak to the class.

New digital camera

jesse — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 05:02:36 +0000

My Fujifilm Finepix 2800 conked out a few weeks ago (I bumped it too hard in a suitcase and busted something that extends the zoom lens). The problem is fixable, I'm sure, but the accident prompted me to look for a new digital camera. I found one: the Canon PowerShot A75.

I'll have comments on it once I've captured a bunch of images.

manure drives Helmers out of Kingston

jesse — Sun, 14 Aug 2005 15:58:07 +0000

Looks like Adina and I are moving just in time. Eleven million litres of manure is making its way towards Kingston's water treatment plant. The people in charge say we shouldn't be worried--the implication being that this toxic manure is quite similar to all the other pollution in our water supply, which we filter out on a regular basis. Yuck.

Gainfully employed

jesse — Sat, 06 Aug 2005 05:10:01 +0000

Adina and I are moving to Toronto (cue Radio Free Vestibule song). I start working full-time at the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation on 10 August. All of you who live in Toronto, beware!

cracking federal government computers

jesse — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 23:33:32 +0000

I applied to work at the Communications Security Establishment partly to prevent this sort of thing.

first anniversary

jesse — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 03:21:21 +0000

Today was our first anniversary. It's been a good year. Happy birthday Canada and happy anniversary to us! The coincidental fireworks were cool.

leaving the CPC

jesse — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 23:06:15 +0000

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I've decided to leave the Conservative Party of Canada. The idiotic party strategy on same-sex marriage is too much for me. But I've been considering leaving the party since its inception.

Congrats to Rob!

jesse — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 16:58:38 +0000

My friend Rob has accepted an offer from Google to be a Site Reliability Engineer at its Dublin office. It's too bad that Rob's leaving Canada but it's very cool that he's working for Google.

tsunami is the hottest vehicle

jesse — Mon, 17 Jan 2005 02:58:51 +0000

Seems like tsunami is the default vehicle for metaphor makers, nowadays.

First Christmas

jesse — Tue, 28 Dec 2004 23:48:40 +0000

Adina and I spent our first Christmas together this year (previously we had spent Christmas apart, with our own families). We travelled to Ottawa on Christmas Eve to spend time with my side of our family. Our time in Ottawa was brief but enjoyable. It was especially fun to spend time with my youngest cousins, Jack and Luke.

In terms of gifts, Adina and I gave presents to my cousins Luke and Maddison (the Helmer side of my family has a secret Santa tradition) and my parents.

I gave Adina a Ninetendo GameCube. She's currently playing Legend of Zelda, Wind Waker. I've been playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. So fun.

Adina gave me a 20 GB iPod! The story behind the gift is even better than the gift itself. Pepsi Canada gave away one iPod per hour for two months or so. Entries (PINs) could be obtained by buying bottles of Pepsi or filling out a short survey online. Adina and I filled out a bunch of surveys and got a bunch of PINs. Since you could choose what hour to enter the contest, we entered many PINs late at night or early in the morning (thinking that fewer total PINs would be in these draws). On 3 November at 6:18 AM, Adina found out that she had won the 5-6 AM draw! Pretty nutty, eh? So then she decided to keep her win a secret and give me the iPod for Christmas.

We'll travel to London in the new year to celebrate Christmas with Adina's side of the family.

Hope your holidays are going as well or better than ours are!