My week has been quite hectic, as I found my way out of daily obligations, part-time jobs (in take it or leave it situations) and an upcoming, hopefully soon, relocation.
In the midst of being busy I stopped by the International City Podium in The Hague last Tuesday. For those who don’t know what it is about, the ICP (International Community Platform) summarizes its mission as “Improving the work & living environment for the (international) employees and families in The Hague and surrounding municipalities and thereby, the working environment for employers themselves.” Events organized by the ICP are a great opportunity to meet and connect with local and international employers, organizations and other job seekers.
I was meeting with a friend, already working in The Hague, in front of New Babylon. We’ve walked by the giant building several times but as we never stopped to think what it’s all about, we had to discover that it’s a complex of apartments, company offices, a shopping center and meeting hub all-in-one. We had a good laugh wandering through entrances until we found the correct one.
The event attracted a lot of young people. Familiar faces showed up and we exchanged our stories with varied degrees of exasperation: “My contract ends in March so I’m looking for a new position,” “I’m moving in with my boyfriend,” “I really don’t know until when I’m staying in the Netherlands, it’s time for me to move on,” “I’ve no idea what this is all about, I’m here for the wine and bitterballen!”
By now I feel experienced in similar fairs- it usually goes like: meeting people you already know – walking around the booths until you drop – managing to find one, perhaps two suitable things – spending the rest of your time nodding politely to equally polite representatives; they just know from the look on your face that you’d rather move to the next booth.
The workshops were the highlight of the event. I appreciated how they reached out to find speakers from various backgrounds, who are actively involved in current projects in The Hague area, like The Hague Security Delta or The Hague as a city of peace, justice and technology.
By the end of the event I’ve met a handful of people, made new friends, had a number of encouraging conversations, found my one suitable thing, learned about cultural mediation, and left hopeful and slightly tipsy.
So far .. no job...
Andromachi Kokkinou