Interviewing Her Way to Success

A year and a half ago Joan was struggling with addiction, and her living situation was unstable. She craved stability and structure, and she found just that at Calvary. Now living at our permanent housing program, Sister Circle, she calls it DC’s best kept secret.

At her 18-month anniversary of sobriety, she’s ready to take the next step toward independent living. “Having a job,” Joan says, “means being productive. It means being able to stand on my own feet again.”

As an active participant in Step Up DC, Calvary’s job placement program, Joan is working hard toward accomplishing this goal. Her dream job would be to work in environmental services, a field she has experience in. “Finding a job is difficult, but you have to keep going. After all, when one door closes, another one opens.”

Joan’s positive attitude is paying off – this week, she is going to her most promising job interview to date. She is well prepared: “Before I go to an interview, I do plenty of research. I want to show that I’m a team player. That I act with integrity. And that I have experience – on my previous job, I was a supervisor.”

The hardest part of the interviewing process? For Joan, it’s having a record. But, she is eager to leave her past behind: “I want to look where I’m going, not where I’ve been. Getting a job is what I’m focused on. I can’t wait to be part of the solution, not the problem – and I’m glad that Calvary helps me get there.”