As soon as I typed the title, the tune "at last... (googling) my love has come along" by Etta James (oh the heck is Etta James? ah oldies, gotta love them).
Anyway, as of today, I officially have a paying internship, in the exact field I want. It's strange how life works - I've been searching since January, sent out 150+ resumes, gone on 10-15 interviews, got sucked into a bad, all-remote internship for almost no money, and then get offered this.
The whole process was weird. I only went and looked at the organization's openings because I worked on a group project for them last year, through a class I took outside of my field (I'm in International Communication, I took a Program Evaluation course in International Development). Applying to so many places, I didn't save the description of the job I applied to - and I was promptly called by a rep. (She was very prompt in following up with e-mails, a very pleasant change.) I went to find the job description - and couldn't find it! Yup, when I sat down and interviewed (over Skype as I was in Minnesota at the time with my newborn nephew [if you want pics, check my Facebook]), I had no idea what exact job I was interviewing for!
However, the interview went well and the job's better than I hoped - helping out with one of their International Exchange programs. (If you're interested in the exact program: http://www.irex.org/project/edmund-s-muskie-graduate-fellowship-program) I called to follow up the next week and got a weird response that they hadn't checked my references yet (did you give us some? Yes, I'm pretty sure I did...) I was nervous about the references, (I'm really starting to hate seasonal jobs), and sure enough, I got contacted that three out of four didn't respond to her inquiries. I gave her two more, suddenly sure I wasn't going to get the job.
Imagine my surprise when I got the call Tuesday morning! Meanwhile however, just this past week, I found six jobs, all permanent (at least for a year) - any of which I'd love to have.
Department of State, Staff Assistant for the Teacher Fulbright program (I was an English Teaching Assistant in Thailand under the Fulbright)
Valbin Corp., Staff Assistant (Valbin does cross cultural and linguistic training)
World Learning, Communications Associate (one of the most prominent international education organizations out there)
NAFSA, Communications Coordinator (another of the most prominent)
American University: International Admissions Counselor (which would get me tuition remission) and Dialogue Discussion Group Coordinator (I love this program - done four different dialogues, so qualified, and just interviewed with them, even though it's part-time)
I know! I've been waiting months for just any position and now I'm overwhelmed. After receiving reassurance from friends, I've gone ahead and accepted the internship, even though I've applied to all the jobs above. The last position (part-time) is the only one I've been contacted about, I interviewed, and if I should get it, I have assurance I can work out the hours with minimal fuss. I.e. I'll be working a lot this summer!
Now I just have to stop my habit of continually looking for a job - I've gotten so used to it and it's going to be weird not looking...
God bless you all!
