The Decision Strategist

In the future Peace Corps related posts will take place on a separate blog: zot liming it in Dominica. This is primarily because I’d like all Peace Corps stuff to be in one spot, and that way I can continue posting on this blog when my Peace Corps service is finished.

This is a chronological list of all the things you have to do from the time you apply to the time you leave. I will add to it as new things come up.

Make sure to use online forums and other resources as you consider Peace Corps and go through the application process. They are great for answering questions and providing support. The Worldwide Peace Corps Blog Directory is a great place to find writings by PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers). Yahoo groups has several Peace Corps groups, including peacecorps2, where many excellent topics are discussed. Along those lines, consider joining the facebook group futurepcvs if you use facebook.

• Thinking about applying. There are lots of difficult, personal (and interpersonal) questions here. Thinking about them now can save trouble later.

• Applying. Generally done online, though it can be done on paper. You need your references to fill out a form online. Allow at least a few weeks.

• Interview. Expect some typical questions about what you want to do, why you want to join, etc… but also be ready to discuss how you will make cultural adjustments and what coping mechanisms you might use to deal with stress.

• Legal Clearance. Requires fingerprints and a background check. Nothing serious here. Takes only a day, but allow maybe a week to actually submit it.

• Regional Interview and Nomination. A regional director called me to discuss a couple of different nominations and get my thoughts on them. I think this was three weeks after I submitted my legal documents.

• Medical and Dental Clearance. Getting medical clearance can be a pain if you suffer from some conditions. It is made easier if you fill out all the paperwork before you visit the doctor/dentist, and bring everything with you so that they can do everything in one visit. I think mine took two visits because they didn’t have a polio vaccine the first time. It took me over 3 months because I waited to make appointments, so be proactive with this.

• Placement Office Contact. A placement officer will call or email at some point to discuss your position and get a better feel for who you are and what you can do. This can be months after you get medical clearance, and the wait is very difficult. Message boards can be a great place to commiserate with others in the same position. Try not to bug PO’s and don’t give out their contact info. They are often behind and very busy.

• Invitation. Your invitation arrives in a big blue plastic binder. It’s very exciting. You have 10 days from the time you receive it to reply by calling your placement officer and telling them you accept. Make sure you really consider it, because they will ask you some questions.

• Post Invitation Paperwork. Includes applying for a passport and sending off a resume and aspiration statement.

• Make Travel Plans. Peace Corps contracts out their travel plan work to a private company. Roughly 4 weeks before your staging, they send you a staging kit that includes information on how to make your travel plans to get to your staging city.

• Staging. From what I gather, basically two days of ice-breakers and paperwork.

• Departure. After 2 days of staging, you leave for your country of service.

That’s it. All told it will take me a full year. Primarily because I started a year before I wanted to leave, but also because I didn’t complete my medical clearance as quickly as I could have.

Good luck.

-zot

Popularity: 36%

Vote for this post on: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Peace Corps.