Sunday, April 27, 2014

More Complications.... but closer!

My new employer has been working hard to get me my visa and on my way, but things are never as easy for me as with normal people. I am thankful that I don't have to deal with most of the issues; all I have to do this time is wait... but even that can be a bit nerve-wracking.

It seems that because my former recruiter obtained a work visa for me, it needs to be cancelled at the location it was issued: Houston. I was told that the normal procedure when someone is not sent is for the hiring agency to cancel the visa so they have that visa slot available for someone else. In my case, this did not happen. In an effort to correct what they saw as a bad situation, my recruiter decided to not cancel my visa and to look for other possible positions. This desire to help actually hurt me in this instance.

When I was hired for this new position, I had to send in my passport to the Embassy in DC. The business visa was denied because of the non-cancelled business visa. They requested a letter of no objection from the company that had authorized my visa. I was thinking this was going to be a huge hurdle, but I emailed my recruiter, and she emailed her main office to obtain the letter. The very next day, I was CCed on an email to my new company with the necessary letter attached.

My passport was sent from DC down to Houston where the old visa will hopefully be cancelled with no problems. I am currently waiting to see how things turn out. I am thankful that my former recruiter worked so diligently with my both during the time she was attempting to get me there herself and for the service she provided during this time of need. I am also thankful that I am not the one who has to deal with the airfare. My company had already reserved a ticket for me and had to cancel it. They will get another one as soon as we find out when I will actually be allowed to go. Uncertainty seems to reign in my life :)

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Devious Job Pixies!

Last March I was hired by a contract company in Saudi Arabia for a teaching position there. I informed them of problems that would have to be discussed concerning when I would be able to start. We discussed them and agreed on a start date.

As I am a compulsive job hunter, I kept looking during the time my recruiter and I were discussing a possible start date. I talked with a contractor who wanted to keep me on file for a job they were granted a subcontracted for in Afghanistan. The following day I was called and informed that job had been cut. I was hired by another contracting company in Afghanistan for an English teaching position. Within a week, I received a call stating that the position had been "descoped".  And prior to my job offer in March, I was offered a position at an international elementary school in Kabul. I accepted the position and they said they were going to send me the paperwork. I never heard from them again. I tried emailing them with no response

Fast forward to December. The contract company had told me that the physical I would have to undergo in order to get the necessary visa should be done in December. The time came, they sent me the paperwork, I filled it out, and proceeded to get my physical. There were a couple of health issues that came up that needed to be addressed. This was done with no problems.

The contract company emailed their client, got the go ahead, and had me send everything to the visa office to be processed, and I was granted a brand new Saudi business visa! This had been scanned and emailed to my contractor and to myself so that I new that it, meaning also my passport, were finally on their way back to me! I was told that they would forward this information to their client and that I should receive an email telling me when I would be flying out. The email came, and I excitedly opened it! Unfortunately, it was an email to inform me that the job was no longer available!

Frustrated, I emailed out a number of other resumes. I received an interview with a school in China. I interviewed with them, and they said they wished to hire me. I received an email with three attachment explaining various benefits and rules, etc. The email reference an offer letter that I needed to sign and send back. I emailed the recruiter to ask about this. He looked and said that he had forgotten to attach it, and that he would send it first thing in the morning. Four or five days later, I had not heard from him. Then he calls and asks if I had received the email with the letter. I inform him that I did not, and he said that he would send it right away. It is the following day, and I have received nothing.

Fortunately, I had an interview yesterday with a government contractor with a contract in Saudi Arabia teaching Saudi Air Force mechanics. They were looking for someone who could leave by the end of the month. Today, I received the offer letter and have sent it back. I am happy to now have a job and will be off once again making my way in the world.

I know that I have been a victim of those notoriously devious job pixies. They have been researching how I react to their whimsical giving and taking of jobs, and now that I have received what I hope to be my last one this year, I assume they are bored with me and have moved on. If you happen to have an experience with these pixies, do not be discouraged; they do leave eventually!