Do I look like a public servant?

When I first enrolled in the Public Relations program at Mount Saint Vincent University my perception of the PR industry was rather distorted. I envisioned it as an orgy of extravagant dinner parties, product launches, and an endless list of high-profile clients. In words, I saw the PR profession as a never-ending party, kind of like Edina Monsoon on Absolutely Fabulous but without the delusions of grandeur, hideous wardrobe, and frequent drug-use. Suffice to say I had a MAJOR wake up call during my first week of class. I quickly realized that the program was about developing key messages and news releases, not how many bottles of champagne I would need to order for a premiere.

I like to think that I am completely in-tune with the world that surrounds me (maybe I am a bit like Edina Monsoon), but over the years I’ve eaten a lot of crow. Case in point: my complete ignorance of the public service sector. If you had asked me a few years back if I could ever see myself working in the public service sector I would have said, rather abruptly, “Do I look like a public servant?” To my naïve eyes, a public servant was a paper-pushing middle-aged white man or woman, with poor fashion sense (i.e. ladies with shoulder pads in their blouses), 80’s hair, 4 kids and a mortgage. Oh how I was 99.9% wrong!

My changing view, or what I like to call my conversion, began upon completion of my final co-op work term at Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). To my surprise, I liked it! Even more surprising to me was that the vast majority of public servants weren’t anything like the stereotypical image engrained in my mind. The 4 months I spent at the CRA were the most rewarding of my 3 years in the public relations program. I know I sound like a cliché but never have I worked with such an intelligent, hard-working, and most importantly, fun group of people.

Somehow, I must have made an impression on my former colleagues, because while I was travelling in Europe this past summer, trying to figure out what the heck I wanted to do with my life, I received an e-mail from one of my former CRA co-workers. She suggested I contact them if I was planning on coming back to Halifax, as a position was would soon be available in the Communications department. I did just that and now I am back at the CRA, bridged into the public service and having a pretty great time.

The public service may not be the hippest or most glamorous of professions, but it is challenging and most importantly rewarding.

My name is Ryan Demings and I am a public servant.

Ryan Demings

Ryan Demings is currently employed as a Communications Officer with Canada Revenue Agency – Atlantic Regional Office. A lover of tabloids and all things British, Ryan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Social Anthropology from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University. Although he is not quite sure where he wants to go in life, he finds the public service a suitable career for now. Originally from the sticks (Shelburne, Nova Scotia), Ryan currently resides in Halifax.