Been a while. I really meant to write this sooner, but here we are. No past trauma being worked through in this post LOL. Just a slice of life story about my first job hunting experience.

Here’s a timeline plus my personal review of my performance during the job hunt.

January 6^th
Interview 1: 5/10
As I wrote previously, I hadn’t slept well the night before and was just generally anxious since this was my first real-world interview. My posture was terrible and I had been so worried about the Japanese portion of the interview that I wasn’t prepared for the standard interview questions. My answers while were honest didn’t seem well thought out. One of the two panel members had an expression that I can only describe as “less than impressed” for the duration of the interview.

January 10^th
Interview 2: 8/10
I felt like I crushed it. I was much more prepared for this interview mentally. I also preferred the structure of this interview. There were three panel members. I managed to get a few laughs and what I perceived as a nods of approval. It felt like I had a good shot at getting the job.

January 17^th
Interview 3: 6/10
Google Maps had me a bit frazzled because the location wasn’t accurate for the first time. I was almost late for the interview. I had a few minutes to get my thoughts together. The panel called me from the waiting room. Structure was more or less the same as the second interview. Though I don’t feel like I really impressed anyone this time.

On January 27^th I received an invitation for a fourth interview. I sent an email letting the coordinator I would be attending, but I was pretty sure that I was going to get an offer from one of the other places I had already interviewed at. I received rejection letters for interviews 1 & 2 on Jan 30^th. Reading the second rejection letter was rough because I thought I had “crushed it.” Suddenly I was really worried about that fourth interview. I had already signed the resignation form for my current job and this year’s hiring season was practically over.

February 3^rd
Interview 4: 6/10
There is a 15-minute timer on the interview panel’s table. Did my intro in Japanese, did an activity demonstration, and answered a few questions in English. So far so good. “Now we’re moving on to the Japanese interview questions.” Couldn’t even attempt to answer that question in Japanese. They then repeated the question in English, I answered. They proceeded to ask the second question in Japanese. My blank face and hesitation caused one member of the panel to lean over and tell another, “Yeah he’s not going to be able to answer any of these questions.” (Or at least I’m guessing that’s what he said) They ask the rest of the questions in English. LOL. With two minutes left on the timer they thanked me for my time.

The rejection letter from interview three was waiting in my mailbox when I got back to my apartment that evening. Definitely killed any confidence I had left. I had a solid losing record.

February 4^th
The next day I gave in and applied to a 3rd-party dispatch company (notorious for low pay and poor management). The hiring rep got back to me right away and scheduled me for an online orientation that week. A job is a job. I’d make it work. 

February 5^th
As I’m about to call it a day I check my email at 4 pm.
The results of interview 4: “We are pleased to inform you …………”

And now I’m writing this on my fourth day of work in the new city/school. My first full-fledged adult job hunt was humbling for sure. I definitely need to put the work in as far as the language goes as this city requires contract workers to reapply every year. This post is just an update and to help me get back into the habit of writing.

Thanks for reading.