¡Conseguí un trabajo!
¡Viviré en Valencia!
Yes, I got a job offer today and promptly accepted it.
It completely turned my day around. I went to asleep around the 3rd quarter of the 49ers/Rams abomination of a game last night (around 5 AM in Spain). I was woken up at 11 AM by a previous interviewer notifying me that they would not give me the job. Wonderful start to my morning. Apparently, they wanted somebody who was bilingual English/German (why interview me if that's what you wanted?). I followed up on another job that I interviewed for and they refused as well. They lost some students and the vacancy for a teacher was taken away. I'm not sure how many of these excuses are bullshit and contesting them won't really accomplish anything. I'd rather have somebody cut the shit and just tell me that they found somebody better rather than making an excuse.
I was ready to take a trip back to Barcelona and do some job searching there for another couple of weeks. I even reserved a room in Barcelona for the upcoming week. I figured that after a dozen interviews, Valencia was pretty much done for. I had one more interview left and that was it. I had already sent out my CV and cover letter to schools in Barcelona figuring that I would not get the job.
I did some laundry and off I went. Since the laundry took longer than I expected, I had to take a cab to the academy. It's actually in a municipality of Valencia which is around 30-40 minutes away by public transport from the city center. The area that the school is in is an upper-middle class neighborhood. I mean there are houses! Real, actual houses! Those were the first houses I have ever seen in Spain. Some of them are enormous too. Definitely got some money flowing there. Anyway, the interview was quite short and the interviewer only asked me one question. Figured I was either a lock to get the job or had no chance at all. Given that my resume was pulled out of a large stack of resumes, I figured that I didn't. I asked some questions and went back to the hostel. They told me that they would contact me Monday afternoon since they still had some people to interview.
Later, I check my e-mail to see that I was offered the job. I immediately accepted it and here I am.
Not everything is finished yet. I have to get my NIE card^ since I needed proof of employment to get it and I can't get a paycheck, health insurance, social security, or a Spanish bank account until I get the card. Once I get that proof, I get the card and officially the job.
I also have to begin apartment hunting. The neighborhood the school is in is boring as hell. I'd like to commute from the city into Godella for my job. Figure that I have to get one in a couple of weeks. Probably looking at shared accommodation. Not overly keen on shared flats, but they're cheaper and teachers don't make big bucks in Europe. Plus, I would be very lonely in a studio or one bedroom apartment. If I can connect with a roommate, maybe I can get some friends in the process.
I have to wonder what I would do if I didn't get work in Spain. A couple of my friends said that the market wasn't all that great in Barcelona either. I would only be there for a week or two before having to make some difficult and costly decisions. Since all of the EU schools start and stop at pretty much the same times of the year, I wouldn't have time to get a job in any other EU country. My backup option was Thailand. I could get in visa free for 30 days and start searching for work. If it takes longer than 30 days to get a job, then I'd do a visa run and keep searching. All the other countries I'd show a modicum of interest in have an awfully long paperwork process just to get a visa let alone a job. I'd probably have to go back to America or live with relatives in Ireland while getting the visa which would be costly for me and inconvenient for my family.
Yes, I got a job offer today and promptly accepted it.
It completely turned my day around. I went to asleep around the 3rd quarter of the 49ers/Rams abomination of a game last night (around 5 AM in Spain). I was woken up at 11 AM by a previous interviewer notifying me that they would not give me the job. Wonderful start to my morning. Apparently, they wanted somebody who was bilingual English/German (why interview me if that's what you wanted?). I followed up on another job that I interviewed for and they refused as well. They lost some students and the vacancy for a teacher was taken away. I'm not sure how many of these excuses are bullshit and contesting them won't really accomplish anything. I'd rather have somebody cut the shit and just tell me that they found somebody better rather than making an excuse.
I was ready to take a trip back to Barcelona and do some job searching there for another couple of weeks. I even reserved a room in Barcelona for the upcoming week. I figured that after a dozen interviews, Valencia was pretty much done for. I had one more interview left and that was it. I had already sent out my CV and cover letter to schools in Barcelona figuring that I would not get the job.
I did some laundry and off I went. Since the laundry took longer than I expected, I had to take a cab to the academy. It's actually in a municipality of Valencia which is around 30-40 minutes away by public transport from the city center. The area that the school is in is an upper-middle class neighborhood. I mean there are houses! Real, actual houses! Those were the first houses I have ever seen in Spain. Some of them are enormous too. Definitely got some money flowing there. Anyway, the interview was quite short and the interviewer only asked me one question. Figured I was either a lock to get the job or had no chance at all. Given that my resume was pulled out of a large stack of resumes, I figured that I didn't. I asked some questions and went back to the hostel. They told me that they would contact me Monday afternoon since they still had some people to interview.
Later, I check my e-mail to see that I was offered the job. I immediately accepted it and here I am.
Not everything is finished yet. I have to get my NIE card^ since I needed proof of employment to get it and I can't get a paycheck, health insurance, social security, or a Spanish bank account until I get the card. Once I get that proof, I get the card and officially the job.
I also have to begin apartment hunting. The neighborhood the school is in is boring as hell. I'd like to commute from the city into Godella for my job. Figure that I have to get one in a couple of weeks. Probably looking at shared accommodation. Not overly keen on shared flats, but they're cheaper and teachers don't make big bucks in Europe. Plus, I would be very lonely in a studio or one bedroom apartment. If I can connect with a roommate, maybe I can get some friends in the process.
I have to wonder what I would do if I didn't get work in Spain. A couple of my friends said that the market wasn't all that great in Barcelona either. I would only be there for a week or two before having to make some difficult and costly decisions. Since all of the EU schools start and stop at pretty much the same times of the year, I wouldn't have time to get a job in any other EU country. My backup option was Thailand. I could get in visa free for 30 days and start searching for work. If it takes longer than 30 days to get a job, then I'd do a visa run and keep searching. All the other countries I'd show a modicum of interest in have an awfully long paperwork process just to get a visa let alone a job. I'd probably have to go back to America or live with relatives in Ireland while getting the visa which would be costly for me and inconvenient for my family.