It's A Numbers Game

8 months

67 jobs applied to

31 different applications

33 different cover letters

9 interviews

4 power point presentations

3 volunteerships

4 weeks at Burberry customer service

1 day at Debenhams department store

10 days at Cliftons Nursery

4 days at residential gardening jobs

Lots of perseverance....

They say good things come to those who wait. Well after eight months of patiently waiting, I believe the "good" piece of that puzzle has finally come to fruition. I am proud to say that not only have I found a job, but I think it's an amazing fit!

As some of you know, before we moved to London I immersed myself in the sustainable food sector (i.e. improving access to healthy, local food), so I was hoping to land a job somewhere within that field, across the pond. My background and experience in project management and community engagement were strong, but I soon realized from interview feedback that I was going to need to strengthen my knowledge of the UK's sustainable food stakeholders. So I quickly took the initiative to start volunteering at a number of organizations.

The first stop was at Spitalfields City Farm - London has many city farms, literally within the city of London. They are genuine farms with a range of animals including horses, goats, cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, rabbits, etc as well as land for food growing. They are mainly used for educational purposes though, so none of the animals are slaughtered, however the produce, dairy, and eggs are often sold at local farmers markets and restaurants, or given to schools and the community. At Spitalfields, I had the opportunity to learn more about growing food as well as some of the key players in the sustainable food industry, while also reigniting my passion for working with youth. I'm also now part of their committee to build a community eco-building. The next volunteer stop was at the high school where Brandina works. A few blocks from the school is a community garden, where I continued to learn more about growing food. The last stop on the volunteer train was at an organization called Sustain - one of the most prominent players in the UK's sustainable food sector. Even though this was unpaid, candidates were interviewed for the position, so it was more like a volunteership. I often felt like Will Smith (playing Chris Gardner) from The Pursuit of Happiness, since it was fairly intense. This was an amazing opportunity, as I was part of a campaign called Capital Growth, with the goal to develop 2,012 food growing sites by the end of 2012. I was highly involved with the project, assisting with planning and marketing, coordinating food growing training sessions, conducting site visits, and helping coordinate events, including a recent one headlined by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

Every day at Sustain I felt the energy and enthusiasm radiate from the staff and their campaigns. Not only did I continue to learn more about the players in London's sustainable food sector, but my passion and knowledge blossomed regarding the vast amount of issues within food justice, such as: problems with genetically-modified crops, organic and locally produced food, obesity and other health-related issues, food sovereignty (the principle that nations should be allowed to decide on their own agricultural policies), school lunch reform, food safety regulation, urban agriculture, community gardens, and access to healthy food. The more I learned, the more I decided that I didn't want to settle for something not food related. So while I was still endlessly applying for jobs, I was also doing some temp work a few days a week - to help sustain us here, and also so Brandina wouldn't vote me off the Island. I had stints with Burberry's customer service department, in the stock room at Debenhams department store, gardening for a high end nursery called Cliftons in posh areas such us Hampstead where celebrities such as Jude Law, Russel Crowe, and Gwyneth Paltrow live, and gardening at private gardens down the street from world leaders, including the current residence of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

While those were some great, albeit interesting experiences into some of the working worlds other sectors, I was more then happy to accept a position at Freightliners City Farm in Islington, London! I'll be coordinating a program for at-risk youth, between the ages of 16-19, from a population known as NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) - essentially youth who have fallen through the cracks for one reason or another. With support from my co-workers, I'll be providing them with alternative education opportunities including food growing, cooking (using our farm cafe!), animal care, and carpentry - with the goal to guide them into further education or employment. I'm uber excited, as it is a fantastic combination of my passion for sustainable foods and my background and experience in project management, community engagement, social work, and youth development!

First Day of Work

Day 1 Update - After arriving at 9am, we used a massive heap of keys to open all of the doors of the farm including the kitchen, cafe, bathrooms, offices, classrooms, and animal pens. I then helped teach a class of 5 - 6 year olds how to make bread. Next, I cleaned and stocked the produce that was delivered today for the cafe. After a late lunch in the park down the street, I started to go through the contract and current status of the project I'm coordinating to begin planning and strategizing. This is going to be a fun experience......

“Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.” ~Charles F. Kettering

- Bryan

P.S. I want to give a special thanks to Brandina for supporting me in more ways than one in the past eight months...thanks Sunshine...I love you.