Starting A New Job in the US アメリカで仕事を見つけよう！

Two weeks ago, I started working at a new job. The first job back in America since a little over two years. Talk about feeling rusty..

Job hunting was so stressful, being out of the country so long! That deserved it's own blog post.

I had applied to this job online with my resume and a cover letter, and then a recruiter called me a few days later to do a preliminary interview. She was so down to earth and gave me a ton of confidence - is that part of her job too? (Girl deserves a major raise.) But then I had a second phone interview and surprise, it was a conference call with 4 other people. Again, everyone was so friendly and never asked those cliche questions like "what are your weaknesses?" Or "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" They filled me in about the position and just went down my resume and asked me to give details about my experience.

After hearing good news about the conference call, the recruiter set up a face to face interview at the company. I met with the same people as on the phone interview, got even more information about the company, and left feeling way too hopeful about the job. 

"I can really do this job! It's perfect! And it's actually challenging and I have plenty of opportunity to learn!" I always get overly hopeful for every resume I send out. 

Thankfully this company felt the same way. They sent an offer on a Sunday which was strange considering that's not one of their business days, but I jumped on it immediately. After filling out some necessary paperwork that was sent, I sent my acceptance reply. The manager who had sent the offer, recruiter, and HR woman all replied to congratulate me which prompted to me email the recruiter to thank her (even though I was thinking about the interviewees who got turned down and what I'd say if I wasn't hired too). So thankful I got accepted.

Then it was radio silence for a good week.   Conversations with friends and family got a little awkward. "Andrea, when do you start? Did you hear from them? Hasn't it been a week already?" 

I thought it was probably better to contact them anyway, since it's better to let them know you still care, right? Ms. HR woman called me within minutes. So yes, definitely better to stay in contact or ask questions when in doubt. 

All that was left was to step in the door on my first day!

On the road again!