GirlGI | Girl Gone International GirlGI Issue 2 | Page 57

‘How did I get myself into this?’ Three years ago I had been happy in my dream job, managing marketing communications for a vibrant London college, and had just passed my final marketing exams. My career was totally on track. So what happened? My partner was offered a twoyear placement in New York. I wouldn’t be able to work but I could treat it as a sabbatical and write a novel, something I had always planned to do. How could I resist? So I learned what huge discipline it takes to stay at your desk and write, read, rewrite, reread, all whilst living in, arguably, the most cultural and exciting city in the world. I had the makings of a good story, I just had to keep working on it for another six months or so to complete a first draft. Then we got the news that my partner’s assignment would have to be cut short – an outcome of the credit crisis of 2008 – and they’d be sending him to the Amsterdam office, in just three week’s time. Oh, crap! With the move to Amsterdam completed and the first draft of the novel finished, I had to find a job. Although there are many international companies based in the Netherlands that employ internationals, my background is with smaller organisations in education and the non-profit sector – it’s not a natural fit. I spent a lot of time applying for jobs, most of the time not getting any response at all. I faced the dispiriting reality that after working hard to reach a satisfying stage in my marketing career, I would end