A Post-Peace Corps Career

Life as a Peace Corps volunteer can be weird for many reasons, but one of the principal ones for me was knowing that everything had an expiration date.  Ever since the beginning of my service I knew the exact day I would be, all at once, unemployed and internationally relocated away from my friends and community.  When you first move to site, that day feels like a million years away, but, poco a poco, that day marches closer and closer until all of the sudden you’re only a few weeks away from COS (Close of Service.)

Though my experience as a Peace Corps volunteer made me a much more relaxed person overall (Once you spend three years waiting on meetings and public transportation that almost never start on time, there’s really no way not to be more relaxed…), deep down I still feel a sense of satisfaction and relief from having a plan, especially when it comes to my career.  

The great news is, Peace Corps can be great for your career and you actually can plan your next steps and even find your future job while still in your country of service.  

I served as a PCV in Panama from June 2013- August 2016 and signed my dream job offer in May of 2016 (to start in September of that year).  Here’s how I did it:

• My program was extremely relevant to my desired career path- I studied Marketing and International Business in college and worked as an Agribusiness volunteer in Panama from 2013-2015.  My main focus was teaching basic business and financial management practices to cocoa farmers (I always joked that the only way I’d like working in agriculture was if it involved chocolate!), though as is typical in Peace Corps, I worked on a variety of projects including youth development camps, women’s empowerment seminars, and teaching techniques to improve the quality of cocoa.  You will never in your life have as much freedom to design your workday as you will in the Peace Corps, and I encourage you to take advantage of it.  It’s easy to sit around and add 100 books to your reading list, but that’s not going to help your people or your career. 

• I extended for a third year- I chose to extend my service a third year and work as the Regional Leader of the Darien province from 2015-2016.  There were so many benefits to extending and I highly encourage it, but the main reasons I extended were added leadership and coordination responsibilities, the ability to travel more, and the chance to move to an area with amenities (internet!) while still living in Panama.  

• I made a plan- Marketing is such a broad field that I knew I needed a niche in which I could both be happy and best market my Peace Corps experience.  Once I thought about it, it was simple- I love business, I love food, and I worked with cocoa farmers… food marketing!  Food marketing is still a broad field though, and my goal here was to narrow down to the perfect spot for me, so I kept going.  Keeping my personal preferences and experience as a PCV in mind, I knew that I would be a great all-around team player for a small company or startup in which I could have a big impact, that I valued working for a “good” company with a strong mission, and that I would love to work for a company that practices international direct trade (buying straight from the producers and cutting out middlemen), specifically in the chocolate industry.  So there we had it- a small chocolate shop that buys at least part of their beans direct from the source.  That’s about as niche’d as you can get, but with my experience I really felt like it was worth it to pursue potential jobs in that field.  

• I used free time in year 3 to network- Having internet at my house was really what made all of this possible.  I spent hours upon hours researching chocolate makers that bought beans directly from the source (which is actually much rarer than you would expect as almost all chocolate shops instead skip a few steps and buy coverture- essentially pre-made chocolate chips- which they then melt down and mix with various ingredients to make fancier chocolates.) I narrowed my already small list down to locations I’d be willing to live and ended up with about 5 places I was seriously interested in working and checked to see if they were hiring- only one was.  Though I obviously wanted a job, more than anything I wanted to talk to people- some places may not be hiring, but may have great advice and contact info for a different place I didn’t even know about.  Keeping that in mind, I used LinkedIn to find 5 or 6 people who I felt like would be great contacts.  I reached out to them with a short but personalized message and got a response from all but one! Though most of them didn’t have a job opening, reaching out via LinkedIn proved to be extremely useful.  In addition to just making more connections, I had the opportunity to talk with multiple business owners and Skype with the sourcing manager for a very well-known bean-to-bar chocolate maker to learn more about the industry.  Best of all- it turned out that two of the business owners offered me a job (though only one had an opening posted online). 

• I turned down the job that wasn’t right for me- This one was really hard.  As a Peace Corps volunteer, no work sounds like too much work and any salary sounds like a million dollars.  So when I received my first job offer, I was ecstatic.  It was right in my niche of direct-trade, bean-to-bar chocolate makers, and I felt like it was wrong to turn down something that sounded so much like what I wanted.  However, as much as I hate to admit this, I really had to analyze my cost-of-living and work-life balance.  When I did that, I realized that the job actually wasn’t the right fit for me.  Though I eventually turned it down, talking with the company was still a great experience and I hope to meet them at an industry event down the road.  

• I used technology to my full benefit- Sure, it is much harder to find a job when you’re abroad than when you’re already state-side, but it is totally doable with today’s technologies.  I used LinkedIn to contact employers and potential mentors, I interviewed via Skype and Facetime, and I signed my contract on an Adobe pdf. 

• I acknowledged my challenges-  Though technology was essential for my job search, it also gave me so many headaches.  There was the time that my background noise was so loud (thank you, road construction outside my house) that the person I was skyping with asked me to mute myself when not talking, or the time I tried to avoid that background noise by shutting myself in a room with no fans and ended up very obviously sweating through my nice “skyping blouse,” and there was, of course, the moment when my wifi mysteriously went out TWO MINUTES before a scheduled interview.  You can plan all you want, but as we say, Panama happens.  From the very beginning, I was honest with my contacts about where I was and the potential technological problems I had no way of fixing.  It may have felt like I was failing miserably, but you know what- they understood.  

Getting my post-Peace Corps job while still living abroad was hard, but it was so worth it.  I was able to finish my last few months of service without the stress of the unknown and was able to negotiate for a later start date so that I could spend time with my family and friends before moving to my new town.  Though the job search will be different for everyone depending on your background and desired career path, I hope my experience can help give some insight and ease your worries.  If you're a PCV or potential PCV and would like to talk more about job searching post-Peace Corps, send me an email at abbyexplores@gmail.com.  I love Peace Corps, I'm really excited about my new job, and I'm more than happy to talk about them!  

2013 in Review

Whew, what a year!  Between college graduation, joining the Peace Corps and moving to a new country, 2013 has been packed with challenges, blessings, and most of all, change.  Though it's quite cliche, I couldn't help but post a photo recap of 2013; it was a great year! 

I rung in the New Year in January with a trip to Missouri to celebrate with Natalie, Lisa, and Jess, three wonderful friends I made while studying abroad in 2011.  I'm so blessed to have friends like them, and am anxiously awaiting their trip to Panama.  * Hear that, guys?* 

In February, I made my most momentous decision thus far- I accepted an invitation to join the Peace Corps in Panama!  

With the coming of March I got an awful sunburn and an incredible 6 days when my dad gifted me an early graduation present- a Spring break trip to Mexico!  A relaxing week of fun and sunshine was just what my stressed-out, pre-graduation self needed, and the opportunity to practice my Spanish made me more excited than ever for my upcoming move to Panama. 

April was filled with exams and a final push at school- quite a feat with 20 credits, a part-time job and an internship!  However, I did get a nice surprise when I found out that the McKenna School faculty had selected me for the 2013 ACBSP Leadership award.  

After four years of hard work, packed extra-curricular calendars, and unforgettable memories with friends, in May I graduated from Saint Vincent College with a Major in Marketing and Minors in Spanish and International Business.  How did four years go by so fast?! 

Over a year after initially submitting my application, in June I packed my bags, said goodbye to family and friends, and moved to Panama to begin Agri-business training in the Peace Corps.

In July I stuffed my brain full of information on Panamanian agriculture and spent more than four hours studying Spanish each day as part of our rigorous training program.  I also got to spend a week visiting a current volunteer in Bocas del Toro, where I completely fell in love with what would turn out to be my future home province.  Unfortunately, July is also when the honeymoon phase ended and I came face to face with some of the many challenges I would spend my next two years living with.  Mom and Dad, thanks for talking me through everything… even if it did send your phone bill through the roof.  

August was another month of excitement as I swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer (and gave a speech at the embassy while I was at it!)  That also meant that I finally got to head to my new home and begin work in a small village in Bocas del Toro, Panama.  Oh, and I adopted a puppy.  He's pretty much the cutest thing ever. 

September was tough.  Though it likely never seemed that way on my Facebook account, I had a really hard time integrating and those few weeks without friends, confidants, or even anyone who could speak my language were rough.  It probably would have also been easier if I hadn't been dropping weight and dealing with side effects from not receiving decent nutrition.  Thankfully, those moments are all in the past!  

In October the unsanitary water around my house at the time led to a nasty bacterial infection on my arms, leg, and hip.  After reporting to my boss about what our regional leader referred to as "the grossest thing" she had seen in her entire three years, I got permission to move into my own house over a month early!  The move did wonders for my morale and it wasn't long at all before my neighbors happily pointed out that I was gaining some of my weight back.  Thanks? 

Though it will always be hard for me to celebrate the holidays away from my family, in November I got to spend several days enjoying Thanksgiving with volunteers from all over Panama.  As part of the newest group in country, it was great to meet more of the 250 volunteers here, and the Thanksgiving feast we prepared was every bit as delicious as Tennessee meals.  If only I could've gotten my hands on some leftovers…  Work wise November was another big month for me since my boss flew in from Panama City to attend my Community Analysis presentation.  

And finally, here we are closing out the year in December.  It's been a busy month and I was able to host two different programs during the first two weeks of the month- a cocoa grafting seminar and a children's Christmas Party.  Despite constantly playing Christmas music in my house, the warm, sunny days made it hard to feel like Christmas was coming.  It did come though, and even better, it brought my dad in with it!  We spent a few days in Boquete enjoying the cooler weather and even cooking a nice Christmas dinner.  After that, I'll be giving him a much better introduction to my village, and then it's off to the island in the first of 2014.  

I hope all of you had a happy, successful 2013 and carry that with you into the New Year.  As always, thank you for your prayer and support!

T-120 Days and Counting

Graduation.  It's in 120 days and for as much as I've prepared through internships, tough classes, and extra-curricular experience, I feel nowhere near ready.  Knowing that I'm definitely not the only one a little nervous about the looming May date is a little comforting, but it's still rough.

Although I definitely have my Type B tendencies, my long term career/life plans had always been very, very Type A.  First I would do X, which would lead me to Y, and then I would end up at Z.  Very simple.  Very scripted. Very... boring.  

As I'm finally approaching graduation, the kick-starter that you simply can't stop, I feel like I'm nearing a fork in the road with about a million different options.  For the first time in quite a few years, I'm honestly not sure which way I'm going to choose come May 11...