The problem that I'm facing is that I'm breaking into a new field. Lets face it, there are no jobs anymore which state on their announcements 'entry level' instead they all say 'experience required' unless you want an internship. Therefore my options were, do something that was in a field that I didn't want to be in, or not make any money doing something that I actually wanted to do. I'm not afraid to try new things and live outside my comfort zone, Peace Corps taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to, even though it appears to be something that's impossible such as learning French in 9 week. In my opinion ambition trumps experience. I chose a third option, which I created myself. I figured that I would just apply to many different organizations and companies which work within the environmental education field and hope for the best. Maybe I didn't have the experience but I was qualified based on the criteria that many had posted, related degree, WFR training, been camping in the past...
So I started to apply. I signed up to a list-serve which sends job announcements directly to my e-mail. Keeping in mind that all these job announcements also get sent to thousands of other email addresses of others who have more experience. But, c'est la vie. I wasn't going to let that fact slow me down. I figured that if I didn't find a job doing wilderness trekking through a summer program I could always apply to be a camp counselor somewhere. There were a few companies which I filled out long applications for, some where they only wanted my resume cover letter and reference contact information. There were others which wanted my drivers record. Most wanted copies of my Wilderness First Responder card and healthcare provider CPR card. Applying to jobs became my hobby.
I applied to probably about 15 places. I heard back from about 6 or 7. I interviewed with 3. I have as of now received one job offer, with one pending. One job that I applied for back in December just got back to me to say that there weren't any positions available, no shit. Almost wanted to email them back and let them know that I already figured that out anyway. The job that is pending I interviewed for and they told me they'd be contacting my references but they haven't done that yet, which doesn't leave me much hope. But I'm not worried as I was offered a job from the company that I really wanted to work at anyway.
A friend of mine encouraged me to apply to the company that I've accepted the job offer from. She said that with my Peace Corps experience they would love to have me. So I applied. The company looked very similar to another company that I had applied to, interviewed for, and was unfortunately turned down from. I heard back from them which was a positive sign. They wanted to interview me. A representative from their company would be in Hanover, NH in the next month. So I drove over. Thinking in the back of my head ways to sell myself better than how I had before. I decided that being myself and open and spinning my Peace Corps experience as an educator in Benin rather than a development worker.
I ended up early to to my interview, about 10 minutes I figured that was a good sign. As I interviewed for the position I connected with the interviewer on having both a love of all things African. She was planning a trip to Kenya, and I lived in West Africa. I realize that Benin and Kenya are on complete opposite sides of of a large continent, but it was something that we both found in common. I also felt that the interview was a whole lot less stressed and the interview was more of a conversation rather than me basically saying how awesome I am. There's a fine line between selling yourself and sounding like a egotistical know it all.
I still continued to apply to a few places. I was told that I'd hear back from the company by a certain date. I did actually hear back from then the date that they set, which I was pleasantly surprised by that heard from them. They said that they'd be getting back to me just before I went on my cruise. When I got home I had a message waiting for me telling me to call them back. Either yes or no, there was no other way that conversation could have gone. I took a deep breath before calling, being told no, no matter how tough you say you are, sucks and it helps to mentally prepare and not get your hopes up too high.
I spoke to my interviewer she was happy to hear from me. I told that I was out of the country for a few days that's why I didn't call her back. She then asked what I was doing and we had a nice 10 minute conversation about the cruise I had just been on and she talked about her time in the area I was in, what she did, and I talked about what I did. At the end of that I was thinking 'really I just told you about my families vacation which we have now dragged out for 10 minutes, are you really not going to offer me a job now? because that would really stink if I just sat here and chit chatted with you, oh by the way no job offer' Thankfully I did get offered a job!
I'd let you all know the company but I don't want to have that information on my blog, I don't have their permission to do so. But basically I'm going to be a counselor for an adventure camp which operates throughout the west doing backpacking, biking, white water rafting, sea kayaking and rock climbing. What exact program or where I'll be is still up in the air I'll let you all know when I get that information. Very excited about this great opportunity to break into the field of my choice.
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