The Interview -- May 2011

On May 4th, I received an e-mail from my recruiter in Chicago telling me the time and date of my interview -- May 24th, 2011 at 10:30am at their Chicago office.

I was terrified.

I hate interviews, they're nerve-wrecking and I always leave them feeling like I've answered every question wrong. The fact that it would take place in Chicago worried me too, since it would be about a 2-hour drive and I'd be lucky to find parking anywhere near the office.

So, as usual when I'm stressing, I did loads of research.

I started by attending an online informational session. It was recommended by my recruiter in the e-mail, but it turned out to be fairly unhelpful as it wasn't specific to the interviewing process.

I then perused the Peace Corps wiki for interview questions and topics. By the time I left for Chicago, I had literally gone over all the possible questions and answers dozens of times. I did not want to be caught without a response.

Finally, I said 'fuck it' to driving and convinced a friend to take the train with me and spend the day with me in Chicago. I booked tickets that would give us about an hour to find the office before my interview, and five hours to shop and sight-see. (My interview time was changed on May 11th to 3pm, so we ended up wandering first.)

The friend I went with was very enthusiastic -- she'd never been on a train before -- and she helped me go over my questions again and again on the way.

When we got to the Peace Corps office, I was all nerves hidden behind numb determination. I was as prepared as I'd ever be.

I signed in, and ten minutes later my recruiter led me to her office.

I'd heard -- and have since heard -- many horror stories about recruiters being discouraging with applicants, perhaps in an attempt to weed out less serious candidates. But my recruiter was wonderful.

She politely explained the process: she would be asking questions and typing my answers on her computer while I replied. It was a little weird with occasional silences while she finished typing, but she was polite with her responses and genuinely interested in what I had to say.

She asked if I had any questions, and I rattled off a couple I had come up with on the train. She shared her experiences in South America and asked questions back. It was very informal and nice.

When I left the interview, I actually felt GOOD about how it had gone!

It's amazing how everyone's experiences in each leg of the journey can be so different! I was and am very thankful to have my recruiter working with me!

The next day, my recruiter e-mailed me to request a Statement of Financial Obligation ( to be sure that my student loans would be defered and my dad would pay my credit card bills) and a reference from a Volunteer supervisor (which I could now get, because I'd been volunteering at the Salvation Army as a receptionist twice a week for three months!)

Overall, it was actually an easy and reassuring process. I felt like my recruiter was on my side, working with me to achieve one goal. And I feel very fortunate for her!