Hello,
Yes i know I'm late once again but trust me when i say i have been working on this post for a while. I am glad to finally share with you the interview process that i encountered during my ICS placement. If you are applying and waiting confirmation you must note that this was my experience and things are not the same. So you might have a differing process.
Lets get into it.
Seven days after i submitted my application i got an email. Opening the email was petrifying, I remember thinking: well you don't want this anyways, it's a random thing, you can always do this some other time and so on and so on. I was fearing the worst but to my surprise someone thought i was worthy of an interview- a phone call interview! I was matched with Restless Development!
A couple of days passed and i heard nothing. I panicked. Had they changed their minds? Was i not good enough? These questions seem silly, reflecting on this i question: why do we give rejection & fear such power over our lives and decisions? Imagine what could be accomplished of people did not fear rejection? Whilst i prepared for the worst i got the call. Totally unexpected and with no warning Restless called. As a student i was preoccupied with coursework and happened to be in the silent study- working at a deadline- and had no intention of picking up. (Side note- what if i had not picked up? Would i have missed out on the best summer of my life?). The phone interview was quick. It was sort of a 5 min Q&A that was all about my application and available dates. I stuttered and rambled trying to remember what the hell i had written and trying to remain composed whilst impressing the woman on the phone. Within 5 minutes the interview was done and i would be notified as soon as possible if i had scored an interview. At this stage i pretty much thought i had screwed it up.
Fast forward two weeks later March something i received an email containing congratulations & confirmation for an interview in London! Yes! April 4th could not come fast enough. I was on cloud 9 and the passion, excitement, need & want for this role grew everyday! What an experience i thought. What an opportunity! What an honor!
April 4th- Freezing weather, i made my way from Croydon (friends house) to Islington for my 11 am. I was early for a change, got up at 6 am (whilst all my friends slept peacefully) Sleepwalked through London and got lost in Islington. I must have walked the whole area looking for this building and along the way i gathered my thoughts, had a quick maccies breakie and admired the mansions before me. I got to the building at 10:45 and luckily encountered a lovely group of candidates.
Whilst waiting for our names to be called out, we bonded over simple stuff and conversation was easy. I was glad, although i kept thinking "omg we might be stuck together for three months".
One by one names got called out and everyone grew anxious, the wait was not bad as the group had interesting discussions however everyone grew nervous by the minute. At last -when all had gone through and i was sat there alone- my name was called. My interviewer was Ru! Good sign right? And she was awesome! She was a past volunteer from the first cycle and the interview flew by taking us by surprise when only 20 mins had passed for an hour length interview and yet we had finished.
After the interview we had a quick lunch where i actually encountered my counterpart and a few fellow volunteers who ended up going to SA. Then came along a group workshop which was quiet interesting, it consisted of topics that were quiet intriguing and refreshing.
The assessment day ended late afternoon, it was fun, nerve wrecking and overall inspiring. It was one of the best assessment days i had attended for anything and i was glad that it had gone well. I grabbed a quick bite to eat with a friend and jumped on my train home waiting for another call/ email. That day i went home happy knowing that something new was upon the horizon and it was going to be extraordinary.
Until next time
Peace and Love
Ruth Mapanda.
Unqualified writer and commitment phobe.
After the interview we had a quick lunch where i actually encountered my counterpart and a few fellow volunteers who ended up going to SA. Then came along a group workshop which was quiet interesting, it consisted of topics that were quiet intriguing and refreshing.
The assessment day ended late afternoon, it was fun, nerve wrecking and overall inspiring. It was one of the best assessment days i had attended for anything and i was glad that it had gone well. I grabbed a quick bite to eat with a friend and jumped on my train home waiting for another call/ email. That day i went home happy knowing that something new was upon the horizon and it was going to be extraordinary.
Until next time
Peace and Love
Ruth Mapanda.
Unqualified writer and commitment phobe.
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