May dawned, and with it, more job hunting. I’d gotten desperate and clicked on some Facebook and Linkedin ads. I also sent some other links to my son, who has been job hunting along with me.
One recruitment site had me jump through all sorts of hoops. On the application, I was instructed to write “Apple Pie” to answer a question about attention to detail. Then I had to take a picture of my workstation and myself holding a sign. There was a short video component to be recorded via Zoom and some screenshots that needed to be jpg, not png. Then there was the interview. That was something else, let me tell you.
This lovely lady asked me some questions about my experience, my morning routine (which at the time did not involve any work tasks), how to prepare the meal I eat most often (chicken milanesa with rice, beans, tortillas, and salsa that my sister-in-law made), and what color I was (I picked yellow, green, and purple).
Although I felt good about the interview, I apparently did not answer something or other right because I received an email the next day to inform me they would not be “pushing on with my application.”
The same day, I had another interview with a realtor in Illinois. This was actually the second interview for the position. The first was with a woman who explained the job (tracking down real estate leads) and asked me a bit about myself. I do have office experience. I know a bit about buying and selling as I both bought and sold a house in the U.S. I’m also fluent in Spanish (and a native English speaker) and met the requirement of living in Mexico. However, the pay was abysmal, and I think the young lady was embarrassed when she told me that I would be earning $100 pesos an hour ($4.94 USD). Well, beggars can’t be choosers, and I went ahead with the second interview. That interview didn’t have as good of feel to it, and I wasn’t surprised to receive the rejection email.
I guess I don’t interview well. I’m an introvert, believe it or not. And these video interviews are extraordinarily challenging for me. Yes, I know I’ve been teaching online for the past couple of years, but when I’m teaching, I move to that flow state and am no longer bothered by being on screen. Of course, I must not have gotten to that state during those demo classes I failed last month because I was also REJECTED for that position.
Even though I don’t seem to be alone in this struggle to find online work, I’m not really into this misery loves company mindset. (Study Shows That 47% Of Frustrated Job Seekers Searching Outside Their Field)(Why everybody’s hiring but nobody’s getting hired) Once more, into the fray….
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A Woman’s Survival Guide to Living in Mexico series
Surviving Mexico 