Navigating a New Career, AI Disruptions, and a Passion Untamed

Last week, I received the dreaded communication every employee fears—"We will not be renewing your contract at this time." My supervisor had called me in for a meeting, which was a regular occurrence. However, I had a bad feeling about this one. When I asked about the agenda, she mentioned that she wanted to discuss the company's financial status.

At the time, I assumed they might be adjusting our terms of engagement—perhaps introducing contingency pay, reducing salaries, or even requiring us to work without pay for a period. While all these options sounded dreadful, I was oddly willing to entertain them for another month or two. It never crossed my mind that they would terminate my contract—probably naïve on my part. So, when I received the news, it felt like a punch to the stomach.

I had been with the company for only two years, working in the business development unit. I initially joined as an intern. As I mentioned in a previous article, I had taken a detour in my career and was willing to start at the bottom of the ladder and work my way up. After six months and a careful review of my performance, skills, and experience, I was promoted to a business development consultant.

During those two years, I genuinely enjoyed my work. What I loved most about my role was that it required extensive reading. As Joseph Addison once said, "Your mind is never the same after reading." I became a fast thinker, knowledgeable in a wide range of topics. Additionally, I gained valuable insights into the challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers, the struggles surrounding freedom of expression in the Middle East, and much more. I also honed my skills in proposal development, learning how to structure ideas into well-crafted technical proposals and evidence-based research.

With this growth came some successful proposals. Unfortunately, the last six months were slow. Our primary operational area was the Middle East, and with the Israel-Palestine war spilling into neighboring countries like Lebanon—where we derived most of our business—many projects were put on hold. Businesses were withholding expenditures, and uncertainty surrounding the war weakened our financial standing.

Another challenge was the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). To mitigate the impact of the war, we needed to expand our focus beyond the MENA region and attract business from Africa and Europe, where we had independent consultants. This meant producing a high volume of proposals quickly. However, we were understaffed. To keep up, we increasingly relied on AI-generated proposals.

Personally, I had an uneasy feeling about this. At first, it seemed too easy. I questioned why I spent so much time reading and researching when I could simply go to ChatGPT, input instructions, make a few edits, and distribute the proposals. Eventually, after six months, my contract was not renewed. In hindsight, it's not hard to see why.

Now, I am adjusting to my new reality. The hardest part is waking up early with very little to do. But one thing is certain—I enjoyed drafting proposals, and I have no intention of quitting anytime soon.