Last Friday I was poking around the Peace Corps website trying to glean something new from their slim pickings and cryptic non-answers when I discovered I could talk to a recruiter through a Web Ex online meeting. I signed up and decided it was a good place to start to get more in-depth answers their site conveniently doesn't supply. What I learned was a bit sad and strange, but I should've expected it since it's the government.
I signed in to the meeting and chatted with a nameless recruiter only to be known as “from Peace Corps to All Participants”, which instantly gave me a sense of great warmth and intimacy with the moderator. I soon realized after a moment or two I was the only one in this meeting, which was a bit unsettling at first, but I decided to make the most of the opportunity presented to me and started asking questions knowing I wouldn't embarrass myself in front of others.
The Deployment
One thing I looked everywhere on the Peace Corps website was about the deployment process, but it's not there. It's kind of important to know how long you have between the invitation and the actual deployment - you need to shut down your American lifestyle quickly. There are things like your bank account, your apartment lease, your car, and your household items that need to be quickly liquidated and settled.
So, how long do you have? Well, according to the recruiter, it's about an eight week period, BUT there's a catch: the invitation you accepted could be changed or filled by another PC volunteer in the meantime. This means you could have accepted and packed for Bolivia, and by the time you hit the plane, you could be sent to the Artic circle, which could stink if you've got shorts and need North Face gear. There's no guarantees you'll be sent to the country you accepted an invitation to by the end of the 8 week period, and keep in mind it might be sooner than 8 weeks. Nothing's written in stone with the government.
The Invitation
You cannot request the country you want to serve in, but you can request the region. It doesn't mean you will be stationed in that country, either. In order to get into the country of your choice, you need to develop the necessary skill sets before you apply. That still doesn't mean you're guaranteed to be in the country of your choice - it just increases your odds of a positive outcome when it comes to placements. Ok, so how do you figure out what skill sets you need for a specific country or region? Start here and read between the lines and then paste your future together the best you can.
One aspect I did manage to worm out of the recruiter was confirmation that the invitation does tell you what country is asking you to come. That's important for a variety of reasons - you need to know where you're going to be stationed, you need to know how to pack, and you need to learn the language (or start learning to).
Declining an Invitation
This is something crucial for me - I wanted to find out what happens when you turn down an invitation. Turns out you're all but toast in the eyes of the Peace Corps. Here's the exact wording from the meeting:
“If you are declining an invitation because you are holding out for a specific country, you will likely not get another invitation. If you have a reasonable cause for declining, medical or other, you may get another invitation. Peace Corps is looking for motivated and committed individuals to do a job in a community that needs their particular skill set.”
To me, this is pretty amazing on multiple levels. First, if you're bold enough to request an area to serve, then you're committed to meeting that community's needs. If you've also made it through the “meat grinder” process the Peace Corps puts you through (all you have to do is read a few sites to see this is the norm, not the exception to the rule), you must be committed to serving or else you wouldn't have put yourself through the hell in the first place.
Think about all the expensive tests not covered by health insurance, or if you're lucky, 50% dental coverage - all that money you have to shell out to make sure you're exceptionally healthy so you don't cost the government, and when you turn down one invite, you are considered uncommitted and most likely, unreliable in their eyes!
Invitation Alternatives
I started to worry about the invitation situation a bit and then understood there might be a way around it. If God has taught me one thing, it's “if you can't go through the front door, go to the back and I'll let you in.” If nothing's impossible for God, then in theory there should be some flexibility with the Peace Corps, so I decided to use the back door approach.
another reason is that you may know a great deal about a country and have even visited it, but your recruiter probably knows a great deal more about pc's program and where exactly you fit in best. granted, the interview process is really insufficient and pc should give more choice than simply "choose a continent", but can you imagine how difficult it would be to fill some posts if applicants were allowed to choose their country?