Need Advice

[u/Miserable_Career_919]

Earlier this year, I went through a terrible experience with a UN agency where, after my internship, I was offered a consultant contract and after waiting FIVE MONTHS for the process to complete (which was an internal recruitment), I was told in the end that the team’s admin staff would not process the hiring of a candidate with less than 2 years of experience and my team ran out of political capital to push back against this.

I was extremely depressed and in a moment of desperation, I accepted a role with a very small firm working on evaluation of international development projects. The role is a small Bid Writer role, whereas all my experience so far (internships at UN agencies) has been in climate finance and public finance (I also have a Masters in International Law).

Without naming the organisation, I will say that it is not a very good one. The firm is run by a single founder with work experience at Tier 1 NGOs and multilaterals, but nothing else about it is good. The way the team functions and the organization is structured is abysmal. There are no clear reporting lines, the founder is a despot who insists on reviewing everything being produced by junior staff, who are often forced to compromise on quality of work due to immense workloads and to write proposals to win projects which have nothing to do with the firm’s experience, relying on a consultant database which is fishy (consent rarely gets asked before including consultants in proposed team compositions). The founder is also highly unprofessional and regularly feels it is okay to discuss employees’ personal requests (for example, confidential conversations on salaries or conflicts) openly on team meetings (not mine, but I’ve seen it happen to other people) and the whole thing has left a really bad taste in my mouth. I don’t see any potential to grow or be recognised for my talents in this team because of how it is - and I’ve honestly been a highly driven and valued employee in every workplace I’ve been in.

So, I put in my papers and quit before my probation period ended, as I wanted to focus more on finding a real role in my area (climate finance) that I didn’t take out of desperation during a traumatic recruitment process with the UN. Quitting itself wasn’t a smooth process, as no one acknowledged my email for weeks and HR couldn’t answer my follow ups or requests as the founder was too busy to tell her how to respond. Basically, the entire firm is run by one person who refuses to delegate responsibility (despite having very capable managers) and is far too busy to invest the time needed to run an organization.

Today, she called me and offered me a counteroffer: a raise + to fly to Uganda and support her in setting up an ESG/climate finance vertical. I am not sure how she intends to do this, as the firm’s experience is solely in evaluating humanitarian projects.

On paper, this would be international experience to add to my CV in my preferred area. But after the experience I’ve had with this firm, I am highly skeptical and know it won’t be all rainbows and sunshine. My experience with the firm and the founder have been awful and I know this won’t be any better. Any thoughts on what I should do would be much appreciated.

[u/cormundo]

It sounds like you’re young. Take whatever experience you can even if it’s unpleasant especially in this work environment these days. Chaotic difficult experiences with employers early on make for great stories later in your career!

[u/refnulf → u/cormundo]

this, really. work is work is work, and also 'bid writer' is a decent addition to a CV at a time when everyone, everywhere, is competing for the same business. its very rare that you see someone early on who has stuck to one thing and found it as their niche. most people either switch themselves, or often are forced by the market into something, simply because that's where most of the hires are.

[u/cai_85]

Work there until you have a better offer, it's as simple as that. The experience in Uganda will be amazing for your CV. The perfect role doesn't really exist for most people and many people don't get the opportunity you've had so far in your career. Travelling internationally will get harder if/when you have family commitments later in life so getting the experience of field work in the first 5-10 years of your career is important. Stay humble.

[u/Left_Ambassador_4090]

You know your worth and are willing to walk. She called your bluff. And now you have a raise and promotion. Just roll with it.

[u/ExpatWidGuy]

Take the offer and get the field experience. You don’t mention if you’ve had any other on-the-ground / field experience in a LMIC, but it’s really important for pretty much any jobs you will apply for in any ID field.

[u/Miserable_Career_919 → u/ExpatWidGuy]

I'm from a developing country so I have work experience here, not in the ID field but at law firms. Don't know if that counts.

[u/ExpatWidGuy → u/Miserable_Career_919]

It counts a bit - but really you’ll get more points if you’re doing ID work, and more still if it’s outside your country of origin.