#29: When Friendships Are Hard to Come By (A Practical Guide)

Twice in my adult life, I’ve tried making friends by bribing people with baked goods.  Unfortunately, all it did was earn me was a nickname I didn’t like.

Please, don’t call me “Cookies.”  That’s not my name.

For a few months after we returned to our home country, Joelle and I led a Bible study for young adults.  An odd pattern emerged with the attendance.  Every week, we had five people show up–as far as I can recall, it was always exactly five.  But they were never the same five people.  For some reason, five different young adults from our church would show up.  This pattern continued for months, until we took a break for Christmas.  We were married in January, so we didn’t try to restart the Bible study until February.  We advertised it at church, told the people who had attended, and… nobody came.  And nobody came the next week, either.

So, Joelle and I decided that we needed to remind people that we were still there–to somehow place ourselves back in their minds without being obnoxious.  Our solution was to bake several dozen cookies and hand-deliver them to peoples’ houses.  So, we baked the cookies, delivered them, had some great conversations with a few folks…

…And only one person came the next week.

#16: How to Ace a Job Interview (Even If Your References All Live in the Amazon)

As a follow-up to Monday’s post on writing a resume with your missions experience, we figured we’d also tackle the matter of the job interview.

Nobody likes interviewing for a job.  It’s nerve-wracking, and too often it feels like you have to brag or sell yourself like a product.  On top of that, many missionaries who have been on the field for several years feel like they’ve been out of the game for too long, and don’t know what recruiters or interviewers may expect.  If this describes you, please know that you’re not alone.

Before we get into our list, I want to reassure you of two things.  First, that if you’ve got to this stage, it means that you’ve already beat out a lot of other people.  Recruiters usually get dozens or even hundreds of applications for open jobs, and will usually only interview about a dozen candidates.  If they’ve agreed to interview you, you already have a real shot at being offered the job.

Second, I want you to know that you are qualified.  If you’ve done your research into the job and any part of it looks like something you’ve done in the past, then you can do it now.  The fact that you haven’t done exactly what they’re describing doesn’t disqualify you from the position.  You have honed your skills on the field in myriad ways, and this interview is your opportunity to show how your past experience equips you to do this job with gusto.

Again, thanks to my job-hunting mentor, Emily Jones, for teaching me all of this a while back.  OK folks, here we go:  Life After Missions’ list of ways to ace an interview.

#15: How to Write an Awesome Resume (After You’ve Returned From Trying to Save the World)

If you want to know the quickest, most effective way to drain every ounce of self-worth you have, all you have to do is spend an hour or two looking at an online job board.

Really, when job hunting, it’s hard not to feel like every HR department in every company in the world has lost touch with reality and now expects nothing less than perfection.  A job that used to require a four-year degree now requires six, and universities aren’t cheap.  On top of that, most of them want their ideal candidate to have about 60 years of experience in a specific field.  Spend too long looking at those things, and… yep, there goes all of your confidence.

I’ve made no secret on this blog that I’ve had some ups and downs when it comes to work post-missions.  But I want to use that experience to help you.  In my search for meaningful employment that actually pays the bills, I’ve picked up on some effective principles for making contact with employers.  These principles can be applied to whatever position or field you’re interested in going into, and they can be very effective in making you look like a competent person to a hiring manager.

And hey, there’s some bonus content at the bottom of this post, so if you’re in that boat, I encourage you to read through and check it out.