Looking for a job during your Peace Corps service

I love the movies “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” and “Signs.”  I love the idea that there’s an interconnectedness in the universe and that the signs are there if you just look for them.  Thus, I took it as a sign that I needed to start looking for a job when I saw my US bank account balance back in December and started hyperventilating. 

Although I would say that I’m an adventurous person, and a calculated risk taker, the last time I existed with no income source was the summer of 1995 and I’d like to keep it that way.  Thus, I decided to get a jump on my job search and start looking for my future home back in the US a little earlier than originally planned.  I was fortunate to receive invitations for interviews and thought I would share what it’s like interviewing for a job in the US while you’re still living in your country of service.

It's probably not hard to believe that there could be complications with communications while living in another country. 

Lesson #1 – It’s hard to participate in those in-person interviews and some organizations will insist upon them.  My interview for potential job #1 took place via Skype and all went well!  Until they asked me to participate in a second, in-person interview.  For starters, my Google Voice number kept dropping the call to discuss next steps every 5 seconds, and I eventually had to revert to communication via email.  And secondly, the only way I could participate in the next round was if I bought my own ticket and flew out in 3 days which sadly was not physically or financially possible.   

Lesson #2 – Technology will fail you, so do some pre-communication with your interviewers.  My interview for potential job #2 was scheduled on the phone at 10:30 AM one morning.  A little after 10:00 AM, I started to get things set up only to discover that the town had no internet or phone service.  That sometimes happens and there’s simply no way to communicate for 4-12 hours.  You know what causes major anxiety?  Knowing that you are missing a job interview and not being able to communicate with people to tell them why for 10 hours.  Luckily, they were very understanding and rescheduled for the next day.  I messaged the people organizing my interview for potential job #3 as soon as connectivity was restored to give them a heads up that if I didn’t turn up for our Skype discussion later that week, it was because we were again without communication powers.

This picture has nothing at all to do with this post.  But is a reminder that you can eat some tasty tamales in Mexico! 

Lesson #3 – Be prepared for anything because you never know when a clock will be counting down your 60 second response time to a question. My interview for potential job #4 was conducted via Spark Hire.  If you’ve never used this service before, let me tell you, it is awkward.  You essentially get a list of questions on the screen, one at a time.  You get 30-60 seconds to read and think about how you want to answer each question.  Then your computer automatically starts videotaping you and you have 60 seconds to answer.  While you’re answering, you can both see yourself onscreen and a timer that is rapidly counting down how much time you have left.  Then you have to watch the video you just recorded, which I’m guessing is a pretty uncomfortable event for most of us.  There's no interaction with anyone, just your computer camera, and it's definitely weird to be engaged in a one-way interview. 

Lesson #4 – If you do travel for an in-person interview, bring extra clothes and money just in case you encounter delays.  I was also invited to participate in some in-person interviews which I completed with my remaining vacation days.  Each trip took about 15 hours from the time I left my apartment till the time I landed in my final destination, although one return trip took 32 hours from the time I left my hotel till I walked back into my apartment.  It should have been closer to 16 hours but the pilot for our flight back to Mexico simply did not show up and the airline had to call in an off-duty pilot from home, so our 2.5-hour flight was delayed 5 hours.  By the time we arrived back in Mexico, the last bus to my pueblo was long gone, so I headed off to the closest hotel before waking up early for a 3-hour bus ride back to site.  

There was a mad dash for the free snacks and beverages wheeled out to our waiting area. 

 

I would have missed out on these early morning views had our flight not been delayed. 

PS. It is officially hot again in western Mexico. 

Lesson #5 – Make sure you bring some interview worthy clothes with you to your country of service.  I took all of my winter clothing home to Arkansas last year.  So when I saw that the forecast for one of my in-person interviews indicated a high in the 30s with snow, and I realized that my only interview-appropriate clothes in Mexico included capri pants and flats, I thought, ok, I am going to look super weird.  And I'm gonna be super cold.  Thankfully, I had a light jacket from a previous coworker, I found a scarf in my closet, and I wore high socks with field boots to a cafe and then switched to my flats for the shorter walk to the interview and it was indeed snowing!  I was at least smart enough to keep my suit jacket with me and ask my stepmom for a new interview bag at Christmas.  If you think that you might want to interview before you leave your country of service, make sure you have one complete outfit that is interview appropriate!

Most of my current wardrobe is appropriate for walking, and riddled with holes. Seriously, like 40% of my clothes here have holes. 

I am fortunate to serve in a country where internet is usually available and it only takes one day to get back to the US, but interviewing while serving yields some extra challenges.  If you’re a planner like me, you’ll try to reduce those potential challenges by creating a living document of all your interview questions and writing responses and example scenarios that support those responses so that you are ready to put your best foot forward.  

And, if you’ve served in Mexico like me, you’ll also be the mellowest person on the plane when the airline tells you that you have to disembark because the pilot still hasn’t arrived 30 minutes after you were supposed to take off, and then again when you finally see the replacement pilot arrive 3 hours later and they announce on the loudspeaker that you still can’t re-board the plane because now you are missing a flight attendant.  Listen, I was just stoked that we were getting free food and drinks, had access to nice bathrooms, we didn't have to stay seated on that plane all 5 hours, and that when we finally re-boarded, I got to watch "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" for free.  And when that movie was over, I was just happy that a flight delay was my biggest problem that day.  Perspective and patience - the hallmarks of service!