Several weeks ago a friend of our next door neighbors told me about a kindergarten taught in English that his children had attended. They were very happy with the school and also indicated he thought the school might just have added a middle/high school. My ears picked up because....just maybe....this school might like a native-speaking volunteer. After having lived in Lumut for just over 2 weeks I knew that I needed to find some additional activities to supplement my time here.
I found the most recent resume on my computer and made a few updates, typed up a quick cover letter, and pressed "send." Then I moved on to more mundane and unimportant time fillers: playing Words with Friends, chatting on Facebook, deleting old email rewards from Starbucks and JCPenney (even though we have a Starbucks over here, my "rewards" card doesn't work.)
Exactly six minutes later the phone rang.
Mrs. Jansen?
Yes.
I'm _______. We just received your resume. We're very interested! We can we meet? What is your salary requirement?
I was startled out of my brain-dead "deleting" and sat up straight. I've never gotten this quick of a response from an email, let alone a resume...
Salary? I hadn't given it any thought. As a matter of fact, my CU Business School professors would be so disappointed in me. Long gone were the days when I could convert hourly salaries into annual salaries and give a recruiter an exact "expected" salary. I'd sent off my resume without much thought about the consequences. I had actually been considering volunteering....
I tried to hide my unpreparedness.
Can we meet next week? We can talk about salary then...
Fast forward a week plus some holidays and we finally connected....
The "interview" consisted of meeting all the principals/owners of the school over a large dinner at a Chinese restaurant. In fact, it was one of the most delicious interviews I've ever had. The conversation was genuine, kind, honest, and compassionate. I knew I would like this school. I said "yes" to a part-time position, afternoons, mostly middle school and high school and one elementary class.
I started on Tuesday, exactly four days later. So far it's been really fun and rekindled my love for teaching. The students are enthusiastic and respectful, and the classes are small, And, the best part.....no shoes! I never would have believed how nice it is to teach in bare feet, but this is one custom I have already fallen in love with.
I found the most recent resume on my computer and made a few updates, typed up a quick cover letter, and pressed "send." Then I moved on to more mundane and unimportant time fillers: playing Words with Friends, chatting on Facebook, deleting old email rewards from Starbucks and JCPenney (even though we have a Starbucks over here, my "rewards" card doesn't work.)
Exactly six minutes later the phone rang.
Mrs. Jansen?
Yes.
I'm _______. We just received your resume. We're very interested! We can we meet? What is your salary requirement?
I was startled out of my brain-dead "deleting" and sat up straight. I've never gotten this quick of a response from an email, let alone a resume...
Salary? I hadn't given it any thought. As a matter of fact, my CU Business School professors would be so disappointed in me. Long gone were the days when I could convert hourly salaries into annual salaries and give a recruiter an exact "expected" salary. I'd sent off my resume without much thought about the consequences. I had actually been considering volunteering....
I tried to hide my unpreparedness.
Can we meet next week? We can talk about salary then...
Fast forward a week plus some holidays and we finally connected....
The "interview" consisted of meeting all the principals/owners of the school over a large dinner at a Chinese restaurant. In fact, it was one of the most delicious interviews I've ever had. The conversation was genuine, kind, honest, and compassionate. I knew I would like this school. I said "yes" to a part-time position, afternoons, mostly middle school and high school and one elementary class.
I started on Tuesday, exactly four days later. So far it's been really fun and rekindled my love for teaching. The students are enthusiastic and respectful, and the classes are small, And, the best part.....no shoes! I never would have believed how nice it is to teach in bare feet, but this is one custom I have already fallen in love with.
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