The Real World (Pt. I)

I graduated in December 2010, and while I am grateful to be employed at the Olive Garden...I didn't get my Bachelors degree in International Relations with a minor in Arabic just so I could wait tables. So back in September 2010, BYU held their twice yearly Career Fair where I can count on one hand how many employers I actually cared to work for. In fact, I handed my resume to only 2 different people. One was a representative for the CIA. I really don't care to ever work for that particular agency for a number of reasons, but a job is a job and it was definitely worth trying, especially at entry level where no one was willing to hire me. The representative that I spoke with told me that the CIA had actually just hired a whole bunch of Middle East experts, so unless I had a masters degree, my chances were slim to none. Oh darn. Not really.

I moved on and showed up at a different booth where I spoke with a representative for the Department of Defense (that's as specific as I can get, since [spoiler alert] this story has a happy ending, as of yet anyway). After talking with him, I asked if he was accepting resumes and then handed him mine....with the thought of well, I'll never hear from them ever since they get a bajillion online applications each day.

Two weeks later....ish. I'm sitting in my U.S. Foreign Policy class, doing a quick email check from my ipod touch since it picks up wifi, and I get to this strange email. I didn't look at the subject (which would have helped a lot), so when I read the body of the email on my tiny screen in the 30 seconds I had before class started, I was so confused as to who was asking me to apply online for a job, and how they knew my name, email, and that I had studied Farsi (a dialect of Persian spoken mainly in Iran). Later, when I had time to re-read the email (and the subject), I realized that this email was a product of the resume that I had turned into the DoD at the Career Fair, and I wanted to jump up and down and tell everyone I knew that _______ emailed me and asked me to officially apply for a job. I know someone who applied here and had to wait 2 years before hearing back. Someone else had to wait 6 months. I didn't even technically apply, and it had only been 2 weeks before I heard back. What's even cooler about it all....well it's stuff I probably shouldn't disclose. At least not now. But it's definitely a very beneficial set-up on my end of the deal. I was ecstatic, but I knew the flakiness of potential government employment, in that everything can go down the pooper real fast. So I've tried (and am still trying, since my offer is still conditional as of yet) to keep level-headed about it all. Also, I was a little nervous about my workload because I had just quit my job because working even one or two days per week was too much added stress to my already heavy school-work load. I didn't plan on sending out resumes and applications until I finished with the semester. When I realized I was going to have to go through the application process (which is not short, btw) right in the middle of quite possibly my toughest semester, I had a miniature anxiety attack. But then I realized. Ok Michelle. You are going to school to get a job. This is an opportunity to get a job. SUCK IT UP. If it means my grades suffer a tad GET OVER IT. This was ultimately most important, especially since this is quite possibly a very ideal career for me.

After a series of emails, scheduling, phone screens, more emailing, more phone calls....I was asked to fly out to the East Coast for language testing and an interview at the very beginning of December...ALL EXPENSES PAID! Can I just say how cool I felt?!?

I went. I tested. I interviewed. I ate...I ate a lot. They alotted enough money at dinner for a glass of wine or some kind of alcoholic beverage to pair with my meal...and since I don't drink alchohol....I ordered two dinners each night! And you better bet your bottom dollar I sure DID eat them both each time! As well as large, hearty breakfasts and lunch :-)

Anyway, all went well and ten minutes after my interview, I was pulled aside and given a conditional job offer!! The conditional part means that I have to pass an extensive background check, among many other tests. Some of those tests are actually not hard to fail, so everything is still extremely up in the air for me.

I'm still in the process getting all those conditions checked off, and will be for many more months I suspect. But this past week, I made another trip back east to take care of two of those conditions. But I'll save that story for next time. This post is already wayyyyy too long.