How I (Almost) Got a 6 Figure Job in Brazil

Getting a job in Brazil is one of the most important factors for a foreigner in being able to come and live in Brazil.

And rightfully so as it provides security and stability in knowing that you and your family will be provided for.

Today, I’m going to tell you how I stumbled across a 6 figure job in Brazil and came within inches of being hired.

Imagine this:

You’re sitting in front of your computer screen, and while browsing something catches your eye…

Your dream job, you had been looking for the right opportunity to make the move to Brazil and there it is right in front of your nose.

This is a job unlike any of the other’s you had ran across before, it appears as if it was made especially for you.

What’s even better, is that this job would be right around the 6 figure pay range!

So you drop everything you are doing and apply for that job with everything you have.

Story, Begin:

The job was for a communications consultant and project manager for a company in São Paulo and everything fit me perfectly – like a glove…

Well, since the job had only magically presented itself to me a few days before the deadline (the 20th of February), the only logical action was to call them and let them know that my application was on its way.

And so I picked up the telephone and gave them a call to ask more about the position.

The person in charge was really pleasant and politely encouraged me to send them an application.

And so I took everything possible within my job-seeking arsenal and fired it at this possibility.

I even spent a day filming and editing a video application.

After the application was sent to them, the waiting began…

Some Suspense

A week had gone by and no one had called or written.

And so the natural train of though in my head was that I probably wouldn’t get the interview…

Until one evening as we were at home watching a movie with the kids, the phone rang!

“Hello this is Renato from XXXX and we would like to schedule an interview with you”

What a relief, it was almost too good to be true, I had gotten an interview for my dream job…

The Big Interview

The interview had been scheduled for about a week and a half after they called me – it was time to dig into my wardrobe and find my Sunday best!

And so the day of the interview arrived and I had gotten as clean and shiny as possible.

I arrived at the offices and the first thing that flashes by my eyes, are the tons of executives in their suites walking by.

This was big boy playing grounds!

The big glass doors opened for me and the reception lobby was right in front of me, the receptionist then greeted me and asked me why I was there.

“I have an interview here at 1pm”

Her reply: “Oh yeah, you were the first one, down the hall to conference room U-6”.

After she told me that, it was tough to concentrate on going into the interview: how many others were there today, how good are they?

The Longest 30 Minutes of My Life

Within the conference room, a nice lady greeted me and welcomed me to come and take a seat at the end of the table.

This table was seriously the length of a football field!

And little old me had the honor of sitting at the end of it, where there was a large screen with two more people on the other end!

Yes, 3 against one on what felt like a football field…

The interview started in English, went to Portuguese and ended in Danish (a Danish company).

For some reason, it felt like time had stood still right there – especially when they asked me the always uncomfortable introductory “let’s see how quick on his feet he is” question.

“How would you improve business relations between Denmark and Brazil…”

How that question had anything to do with the position is beyond me, but it was a toughie to answer on the spot!

Anyways, the interview was finally over and it was time to naturally give myself a facepalm or two for the mistakes I made and carry on…while hoping for the best.

The Killer Suspense

They had told me that the decision would be made within a few days yet after 1 week, nothing.

All the while the “what if” questions were coming a plenty:

If I got the job, we would have to move to São Paulo (my wife is finishing her last bit of university up, big change!)

We would have to find schools for the children, but that wouldn’t be a huge problem with the salary!

We would have to sell our house and find another one…huge change!

Finally after a little over a week, an e-mail lands in my inbox:

“We are sorry for the delay, but it’s going to take another week to make the decision”

DOH!

And so during that next week of waiting (last week), the “what if’s” started to subside.

They started to subside because my focus and attention had started to shift to a new reality.

The reality was that if I got this job, this website would probably have to be closed due to a conflict of interest!

They told me this during the interview…

So what about the numerous people who write me each and every day asking questions?

And the other people counting on me for relocation help to Florianópolis?

What would I do with all of the sweat, blood, tears and hard work that has gone into this site?

Yeah, welcome to confusion 101…

Finally, Finally and Finally!

Finally the answer that had taken so long to arrive, had in fact come.

It arrived in the form of a short e-mail that went to the tune of:

“Thank you for the interview and application, you have unfortunately not been selected blah blah blah”

The reason that it ends with “blah blah blah” is because no matter how well you formulate a rejection e-mail, it will always be just that:  rejection.

But for me, it didn’t really matter anymore.

Yes it would have been a comfy right around 6 figure job, but the commute to Jardins (the absolute belly button of São Paulo) would be a nightmare.

It would require us tearing up roots right here and right now, my wife quitting her education that she’s almost finished with (end of the year) and many other sacrifices.

More importantly, it would have made me give up on something that was so important to me, this community!

Thanks to Not Getting the Job…

In the end, I was actually pretty happy about not getting the job – money isn’t everything.

Beyond that, during that last week’s waiting period to hear back from them, something big began to happen within me.

My passion to give to this community grew larger then ever before and has led to me working harder then ever before…

This passion together with hard work has led to:

• Launch the “How To Learn Portuguese in Under 6 Months” series.
• Start a Facebook group for the language series.
• Put the finishing touches on the Live in Brazil Podcast.
• Answer more questions and comments then ever before.
• Improve the website
• and more

All in all, it made me realize how much there is to be passionate about and look forward to within this community!

What I did right

I didn’t get the job but that doesn’t mean that I was a failure.

To have gotten that far into the interview process to be one of the remaining few, meant that some things definitely went right.

It means that I was on the right track and must of had something to offer.

This is really important to remember when we face rejection because just because someone rejects us, doesn’t mean that we are a failure!

Final Words

So my encouragement to you is that if you find yourself in a similar situation, where you try hard but end up feeling like you failed in the end – don’t give up!

You may be shooting for the moon, but end up landing on a star.

Who are we to question small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, follow your heart, seek guidance and you will find a way.

Cheers – Valeu,
Kevin