On the road again...

I finished my Peace Corps service in November, traveled until March, and since then have been sending out resumes, networking, reading, writing, exercising, healthy eating and so on. I like to say I was casting a wide net, both job-wise and location-wise – exploring lots of options, most of them non-profit and government, with a focus on international development but not to the exclusion of other things that might look interesting.

I’ve said all along that my first choice would be working for Peace Corps – I believe in the mission and had such a good experience as a volunteer – and whether or not it I end up there, it’s a good answer to the question. So the Peace Corps web site was the first place I went when I finally got down to it.

I also decided to sign up for Peace Corps Response – a program of Peace Corps that places returned volunteers in short-term highly-specialized assignments. My predecessor in Morocco had done this and so had another Morocco volunteer I know. I thought maybe if I got frustrated with job-hunting there might be something interesting there.

I checked back frequently for job postings and occasionally for Peace Corps Response postings and a couple of weeks ago a new posting leaped out at me – Resource Development and Marketing Strategist for Habitat for Humanity, Philippines. I tried to apply right away but once you have uploaded your profile you can’t just press a link every time you want to submit it for a position. So I waited until the following Monday and emailed them to ask how I can do it – upload every time? The recruiter said she’d look at the resume on file and take a look. Then I got an email from her saying that she wanted to interview me and including a more detailed job description, which made the job sound even more interesting. Tuesday she interviewed me, and I was even more excited about it. She asked for references and I said I wanted to check with them first before giving their names to her. I sent her names on Wednesday morning and within minutes both of my references had gotten emails from her. By the end of the day I had an offer!

She had said she’d let me know by the end of the week, so I wasn’t prepared for an offer on Wednesday. My inclination was to take it, but first, I spent some time going back and forth, talking to friends, writing down pros and cons, asking myself questions, letting it go and seeing if I would have regrets, embracing it and seeing if I would have regrets, emailing my Bangkok friend who had been Country Director there, emailing my predecessor about how he viewed his experience, reading about the Philippines in my Rough Guide to Southeast Asia book and on the internet, looking at Peace Corps Philippines blogs (something I did not do before going to Morocco)….

Some of the pros: a way to help people, good for my resume, Habitat a global brand, another culture and part of the world (I loved my trip to Southeast Asia, though I did not get to the Philippines – or, to be honest, realize how close I was to them until I got there and looked at a map), my stuff is still in storage so it’s easier to do this now than later, it’s only six months, in this economy I could be looking for another six months anyway. Some of the cons: another volunteer job when I thought I was looking for a paying one, hard to leave friends and family I am just reconnecting with. Lists aside, I was trying to go with my gut on it and overthinking it at the same time – but all the time leaning towards yes.

It leaves soon! Currently scheduled for June 7. But not before I have another class in my non-profit management certificate program (I also proposed an independent study to replace the cancelled class I tried to take this spring – if that gets approved I can work on that and finish the certificate before I go), go through my storage space with a professional organizer (this has been on my mind since about six months into my service) and go to Reunions! I have medical and legal clearance to go through also.

I said yes today.

(c) 2009 the author