Tag Archives: new job

Exciting News…

Posted on by
Reply

This fall semester I will be studying abroad in Brussels, Belgium. Part of the reason why I chose Brussels is the hybrid program CIEE offers students. Students take 2 classes with other study abroad students and 2 classes directly enrolled in the university. I was also able to get a homestay [without even knowing French or Dutch!]. The coolest part of the program is guidance in securing an internship for the semester – they still say it is competitive, and that they cannot guarantee anyone will hire you, but they give a list of possible internship places, of which you can apply to 3.

Applying to non-summer internships was new for me, but I approached the internship search the same: I looked through all the descriptions of the companies and internship positions before choosing which 3 companies I wanted to apply to. I wanted to try working in a new environment, one where I could really see my economics lessons in real life. The companies ere all international, however I still checked out websites that spoke to the business culture of Europe.

Also, all 3 internships are in the private sector, a sphere I have no experience in it. Though my experience is all in the public sector, I connected experiences and situations I’ve had to deal with at the office to the skills the companies wanted. For example, I used my extensive work experience to show I can learn new applications/programs quickly. Also, my experience on teams [sports, political campaigns, on-campus clubs] helped to show that I understand group dynamics. So, even though I had no real experience in the finance, public relations, or marketing fields, I still found that I had the skills required to be applicable for the job.

A week after sending my applications out, I received an email from one company who wanted to interview with me. I was extremely nervous [I had never had an interview for an office abroad before] but I, again, approached it like domestic interviews. [Skype interviews are great too, you can wear a blazer and shirt with slippers and gym shorts]. The interview was with 2 people working at the company, and they asked the nonspecific questions I have gotten before. I was nervous I wouldn’t be as competitive as others with degrees in business and experience in business, so to compensate I prepared extensively by researching the company’s history, clients, management structure, current projects, etc. During the interview I felt confident when they asked me how much I knew about the company, what I could see myself doing there, why I was interested in the company, and what skills prepared me for it. Though sometimes the video and audio recording was off, the 40-minute interview went smoothly. And…

I found out today that I got the internship! I’m excited to be taking a chance and seeing what it’s like to work in the private sector, in Europe, for a full semester, doing something totally different than what most people with my major do!

Is there anything you’re going to do that’s new/exciting this semester? Any position that, though is completely different than the track you’re on, sound cool?

The Job Description

Posted on by
3

On the Fulbright website, the English Teaching Assistant job description is as follows:

In most cases, ETAs:

  • Are placed in schools or universities outside of capital cities
  • Are assigned various activities designed to improve their students’ language abilities and knowledge of the United States
  • Are fully integrated into the host community, increasing their own language skills and knowledge of the host country
  • May pursue individual study/research plans in addition to ETA responsibilities

This description is necessarily vague, because each country dictates where and how ETAs will be most useful. Even within countries, the job can vary greatly.

The view from my kitchen in Smolyan, Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, all the ETAs are placed at Foreign Language High Schools. Some are in cities of several hundred thousand inhabitants. My town, Smolyan, is a town of 30,000 in the Rhodope Mountains of Southern Bulgaria. For reference, 30,000 is roughly the population of Claremont, but Smolyan doesn’t have the added benefit of surrounding towns like Pomona, Montclair, and LaVerne. Smolyan simply is the urban center of this region, and the bus station here acts as the transportation hub to surrounding villages, which range in population from several thousand to only several hundred. The nearest city (and mall and fastfood chain) are three hours north in Plovdiv.

The English hall of my school, GPCHE “Ivan Vazov”

At school, I’m responsible for 16 classes a week, about 4 per day Monday through Thursday. I work with every single English student in my high school, which amounts to 300+ names and faces. I never see any class more than once per week, so learning their names has been a slow process. While I work with all English students in all five grade-levels (8-12), some ETAs here spend all of their time with one grade level, often the 8th graders.

The opening ceremony was filled with speeches and student performances, including a student singing Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day.

Most students receive basic English instruction starting in 3rd or 4th grade, but our 8th graders start again at the very beginning and move quickly through a curriculum designed to get them from A1 (breakthrough or beginner) to B1 (threshold or intermediate) on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

 

For 9th and 10th graders, I lead discussion classes. My goal is to get them speaking and actively using English. For the 11th graders, I am their once-a-week “English through Literature” class, meaning we will somehow move from mythology to Steinbeck over the course of the year. I’ve been asked to focus on writing with my 12th graders, though speaking is an important part of class, too. I’ve also been asked to help with a Creative Writing club that meets approximately once-a-week. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting an American Movie Club, primarily because I’d like a venue for showing 10 Things I Hate About You, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Forrest Gump, staples in any American cultural education.

Girls in traditional Rhodopean attire serve bread and honey to students and teachers as they cross the threshold into school on the first day

Before I arrived in Bulgaria, the Fulbright Commission sent paperwork, which included an outline of my job responsibilities. Although this was a contract, it was also, apparently, an approximation and my job duties look quite different on the ground than they did on paper. Those changes and uncertainties were a source of anxiety for me, and I’m glad to finally have a solid and clear idea of what I’m doing each week with each class… unfortunately it took well until after school started for me to get there. If you couldn’t tell from my previous post about planning, “going with the flow” is not something at which I excel, but I’m learning.