The final interview went pretty much as I expected it to today. It took about 40 minutes in all, and my placement officer asked me questions about what I'd done to prepare for service, what I expected when I got there, etc. She also commented on something I mentioned in my interview last year in Chicago, which was crazy. She must have to go through so much information to make sure people are suitable!
In the end, she just said that it would take around 10 days for the invite to reach me. She said it would be for Africa in early June. I hope not too early, because I still want to go on vacation to Florida in June! But I'll leave whenever they want me to, of course.
The whole last five minutes of it, when she was talking about the invitation, I was just grinning and saying, "Uh huh, ok!"
I was really excited when I finished, and I sort of wanted someone to talk to about it, but Michelle wasn't answering her phone, so I texted Sara but she was in class. So I posted on the Future Volunteers Facebook group and they were all excited for me. That page has been such a help!
Going to Africa means I will be much less likely to have electricity and other amenities. I named this hardship as the thing I'm most worried about in my service, and my placement officer said that was normal, and that it would probably turn out to be the easiest thing to get used to.
I thought about leaving my computer and phone behind, and I actually felt a bubble of glee rise up in me! Then I thought about my ipod....
My ipod! I never thought about having to leave my ipod behind!
If I don't have electricity, it makes sense that I can't have things that have to charge. My camera, sure, I can just use it sparingly and charge it when I'm in the city. But my ipod! To not have music at my disposal...that's something I just hadn't considered before!
I just can't leave it behind. I won't. I'll hope for the best and charge it when I can...it has like 48 hours of battery life when it just plays music, so maybe if I use it sparingly I can get by with charging it once a month. Maybe it will just make listening to it all the sweeter.
I've thought about a lot of random things like this in the last few weeks, so maybe I'll start rambling about them while I wait for my invitation to arrive!
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
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!
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!
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