Step #1 Application.
You can find the application online at www.peacecorps.gov/apply. It is very long! It took me about 6 hours or so to fill in the entire thing and send it off. It is all electronic and requires details about almost every aspect in your life. I put every job I had ever had including a detailed description of my duties, from my 911 dispatcher job to my half-a-year stint as a grocery bagger. Everything is relevant! Perhaps just as important as the job history is the volunteer history. Obviously before they send you for two years to be a volunteer, they want to be sure you know what it means to be a volunteer. There is a great deal of questions devoted to this as well. I started volunteering twice a week at a homeless shelter approximately a year before applying and they seemed impressed with this.
Another important aspect of this section is the references. They have you put in e-mail addresses and they send the form to 1 personal acquaintance, supervisor and volunteer coordinator. There are only three references required, but all of them told me that the questions e-mailed to them were extensive. My poor volunteer coordinator, Jill, took over a week to complete hers!
The longest part of this section is the health questionnaire. Have you ever been to an ___doctor? Yes/no? If yes, write all the dates, what they were for, diagnoses, treatments, last occurrence. Every question possible was asked here; right down to how often you get seasonal allergies. I don’t know?? Seasonally?? This part alone was 54 pages.
Step #2 Review.
Your application, references and health information is passed on to a recruiter. Mine was named Nick and he had previously served in the Philippines from 2004-2006. He e-mailed me almost immediately welcoming me to the applicant process and gave me a long to-do list of things he still needed. Some were health related and some were questionnaires that were follow ups to questions I had answered. For example, I had surgery on my neck to remove a tumor in September of 2010. That obviously wasn’t going to fly unnoticed, so I had to get my surgery report, the doctor’s notes, everything from that including a doctor’s note explaining the likelihood of it coming back. Also in this section was a “Relationship Questionnaire.” I had indicated on my application that I was in a relationship and this was apparently one of the answers that required more explanation. I had to fill out a two page form explaining what my expectations of the relationship were, what I liked about the relationship, and what our future plans were. This was naturally difficult, but was a good thing since it made both Scott and I confront expectations about how this journey of mine would change both of us.
This section is undeniably different for everyone. It is basically a follow up of your life and detailed explanations of anything questionable so everybody faces different results here. Like I did…
Perhaps this should be its own blog post, and I might make it one, but I actually got disqualified in this section! Upon review they saw that I had put “yes” to the question “Do you have any immediate family members in national intelligence or any national security related positions?” Both my father and uncle have been involved in this business, one overseas and another for over 20 years. This was enough to get my application pulled and get a nice interrogation from the legal team in Washington D.C. to make sure I wasn’t “acting covertly to assist national intelligence.” Read: SPY!
Step #3 Interview.
This is obviously the part I was the most nervous about. This is your first and only time meeting your recruiter, unless you seek them out ahead of time. In their defense, they do absolutely everything to prepare you. I got several lists of pre-prepared questions and suggestions of things to learn. Questions included things like:
What career options are you considering after the Peace Corps?
Do you have any geographic preferences (ALWAYS SAY NO!) more on this later
Describe a time when you’ve combatted culture shock
The best thing you can do to prepare for an interview was learn backwards and forwards, the Core Expectations for Volunteers. Every single one was referenced at one point or another and in almost every correspondence since, has been attached with a reminder to know them. I have the form printed out and is gracing the back cover of my rapidly filling Armenia book.
Step #4 Nomination
A nomination means you’re in the club. You’ve passed the interview and your application and interview questions gets passed on to people in Washington D.C. headquarters to be analyzed and reviewed some more. I was nominated for a March departure date for the Youth Development program. After D.C. clears you, you get put into a pool of other applicants who have also been nominated. They then pick our applicants based on their skills, previous jobs, etc. for open postings. It was stressed many times that I respond ASAP to any requests for information and boy did they come quick! Lots of health questions, phone calls, legal reviews, you name it! I had to provide more doctors information, had two phone interviews, and at least three more questionnaires which basically asked the same questions as before but were used to analyze if anything had changed between the time you applied and now. For example, I had changed volunteer positions that I hadn’t told them about.
I do have to commend them during this, especially since they are so considerate of your time. Everyone I talked to was more than willing to work with me with weird times to be contacted by phone. Since I work at night, I’m often sleeping till 3:30-4pm. The last interview I had with a man named Joseph Eddy was, I am certain, what got me into Armenia. He sent me an e-mail about two weeks before our call that requested a good time for him to call. I qualified for two programs and he wanted to talk to me one last time before choosing one. He called right on schedule and we talked for 45 minutes or so about my concerns, desires, and expectations for the program. He asked what my hobbies were, dreams were, pet peeves were, even what food I liked and didn’t like. I was as honest as possible, because I knew all these questions were asked to make sure I was as happy as possible with what they decided. At the very end, Mr. Eddy asked me what I was doing with my time until I leave. I told him that I’d like to take more classes if possible, but that I was flexible. He asked about my program and school and asked when I’d need to know my departure date so I could register for school if needed. I said January 15th.
Step #5 Invitation.
I got my letter December 29th. It was the best late Christmas gift ever! Honestly though, my heart sank when I saw May for Armenia. I had been told March all along and was hoping for Africa. Leaving in May bothered me more though, so after analyzing the last conversation I had with Mr. Eddy I looked up when the Spring semester ended and the group for Armenia leaves just after finals are done at my university. I have no doubt this played a role in my placement and was touched that they considered a passing wish of mine.
With an invitation comes a country, date, and job. For me it said: Armenia, May 20th, 2013, NGO/Community Development Specialist. It came in an e-mail that attached a form that required me to respond within 7 days. I didn’t even read the entire e-mail before I pushed that little “accept” button. If you decline at this stage, you have to write them a letter saying why you decline and will only be accepted back under “exceptional circumstances.” In other words, accept it and deal with it because this is your only chance!
Then came the paperwork. Oh! The paperwork!! Within the span of a week I got a 93 page “Welcome to Armenia” book, a 50+ page “Welcome to the Peace Corps” book, a 55 page book called “A Few Adjustments” which basically highlights all the reasons you’ll hate the Peace Corps, and several others that I have yet to read. Less than a week after I accepted, I got a packet in the mail of visa applications, Peace Corps passport application, (this is different than a regular passport and is required. It’s a step up from a regular passport and a step down from a diplomatic passport.), applications for their correspondence program, insurance program, payment program and many others.
During this time you have to get your final health clearance and legal clearance. I’ve gotten my legal clearance, but my health clearance is still something I’m working on.
Hopefully this answered some questions and it probably confused you even more! Basically, if anyone is applying expect a lot of waiting and a lot of paperwork. They say to expect 9-12 months until you leave, mine will be 11 months. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of self-analyzing but I have no doubt it will absolutely be worth it!