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Hope you Peace Corps vets are still around, I have a question! I applied back in April, was given prospective deployment to Ukraine in March with a latest "know by" date of September 1st. So essentially I'll know if I'm being invited or not in two weeks exactly. Unfortunately I've just been offered two great AmeriCorps positions and need to confirm or deny my committment to one of them by then end of the week, and the other by Monday. I've been trying to get a hold of my PC placement officer to get some kind of idea of whether I'll be accepted or not, but she's been basically unreachable. I want to serve with the Peace Corps more than anything, but I also don't want to be stuck with no prospects in two weeks. The last correspondence I've had with anyone at the Peace Corps was back in May when I conducted my interview and last month when I was mailed a fingerprint/criminal background check form, which gets sent out regardless of whether you've been invited or not. What are my options from here?
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Aug 17, 2016 03:32
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CronoGamer posted:It's a little lovely, but why don't you accept the AmeriCorps position and then if you hear back from Peace Corps immediately call AmeriCorps and let them know you can't do it? You wouldn't start the posting with them right away or anything would you? I feel like that would really jeopardize my integrity and leave the organization in a tough spot, perhaps even unable to fill the position for the year. One starts sep. 6th and the other in mid October.
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Aug 17, 2016 14:48
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Welp looks like my fears were unfounded. I just got my invite today, I'll be deployed to Ukraine in March to work as a Community Youth Development Volunteer. This is a pretty incredible feeling I had previously applied in the beginning of 2015 and received a prospective deployment notice to Jordan, but they withdrew all operations from the country following the crisis there and I lost my spot. Needless to say I've spent a lot of time telling people "no I'm not in yet" and "no I haven't received my invite yet" that it's a little hard to believe that that's actually not the case anymore.
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Aug 20, 2016 06:10
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CronoGamer posted:They did evacuate two years ago, but went back last year. I'd guess they're not in the East though. Yeah they're placing volunteers primarily in the western and central areas of the country. Aside from some hot spots, much of the country is relatively stable. Slaan posted:So, uh, your packet say if you're learning Ukrainian or Russian? Or both? Ukrainian will be the primary language I'll be learning but the packet I got specified I should expect to learn and use some Russian as well. I think something like 17% of the population is Russian. Luckily I had a Ukrainian and two Russians on my college swim team that I still keep in touch with and will be giving me some pointers on learning the languages. The Ukrainian happens to speak both languages... and Italian, Spanish and English. He's actually from Donetsk and his whole family fled the country when they were targeted by terrorists after Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula (his father is a well-known physician). He's mentioned to me many times that he'll probably never return to Ukraine.
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Aug 21, 2016 04:33
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metalloid posted:so I've been thinking a lot about the peace corp lately. From the Volunteer handbook: quote:LGBTQ Issues
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Sep 26, 2016 02:39
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To answer your other question, yes having declined a previously offered position will be factored into any future applications you send through.
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Oct 4, 2016 04:39
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Tolkien minority posted:Hi Everyone! All you need is one really good professional recommendation, the other is a close friend. You could just study on your own and mention in your application that you've been studying another language. Definitely get volunteer experience in. You're committing to basically volunteer for 2 years, so try to fill the block on your resume from now until you submit your application (and beyond) with consistent volunteering at one or more locations. Working with diverse populations will help, everything Chocolate Chunk recommended is par for the course, but even Habitat for Humanity or the YMCA will do if you're short on options. Try to establish a rapport with the people you volunteer with. Peace Corps will be interested in what you've done in the past, and will use previous volunteer experience to gauge your level of commitment. Expect to be asked in your interview about skills and practices you've developed in your volunteer experience and how you will apply those to a service with the Peace Corps. If you really don't have any work experience, consider maybe doing a year with AmeriCorps to start out with. You'll gain some valuable work experience, pad your resume and it's basically the same thing so you'll be preparing yourself for a more intensive service abroad. As far as straight boosting your chances? Consider getting certified in CPR/First Aid. Study and practice conducting yourself in an interview. Spend a LOT of time writing and editing your aspiration statement to perfection. I spent about 3 months working on mine, carefully considering every word in every sentence, then had some writer friends proof read and edit. Being open to go anywhere is good and improves your chances. Also don't have DUI's or serious criminal offenses on your record. Don't lie about your criminal record. Don't lie about your criminal record. Don't lie about your criminal record. Good luck.
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Oct 8, 2016 05:20
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Mantis42 posted:So uh, I was told I was under consideration for Ukraine a while back but they've never followed up on telling me when I will be interviewed or so on. How long am I supposed to wait? I got my consideration email on May 9th, received another email directly after telling me I had new tasks in my portal to complete (relating to prior drug and alcohol use/expounding further on legal history) then I got an interview request on May 13th. So maybe double check your portal and make sure all tasks are complete? There may have been new ones added, they like to do that. If not, I would call your placement office (number should be in consideration email).
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Nov 28, 2016 23:01
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So I was contacted today by the placement officer for Indonesia asking if I would be open to switching from Ukraine to help them meet their quota. I've been pretty dead set on Ukraine since receiving my invitation in August, and I've put a ton of hours into language training and studying history, but I figured exploring the option wouldn't be unreasonable. Especially considering the war with Russia and the separatists in the East could escalate at any time jeopardizing my service there. Are there any RPCV's from Indonesia in this forum? If so, would you mind talking about your service a little bit and what your experience was like there?
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Dec 14, 2016 04:25
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Casual Encountess posted:Whoa Indonesia is in play? I'm from there and I was super bummed out to know there wasn't any open positions when I applied in october Well apparently they're in need of volunteers for the group leaving in March so if you haven't left yet you should consider giving the country desk/placement officer a call.
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Dec 14, 2016 06:24
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Yeah that's rough. If you're not too scrupulous I would wait until you're in country to report it. I bet the PC handles cases of like appendicitis among current volunteers all the time so I'm guessing this wouldn't be too disruptive to take care of in-country?
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Feb 5, 2017 17:45
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So I'm about 9 days into PST right now and want to make the most of my service here. In addition to the stuff PC supplies, does anyone have any recommendations on literature for developing and sustaining Youth Development programs? Anything that has to do with organizing community participation in youth programs or preparing youth for the world of work would be greatly appreciated.
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Mar 23, 2017 18:08
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N. Senada posted:You're in Indonesia, right? I don't know anything about your training but here's my very well-intentioned if ultimately meaningless post: I opted to stick with my Ukraine posting! Yeah we were given the thumb drive and recommended to check out Youth Development through English Practice and Youth Camps in Manua but thanks for the other recs, I'll check them out! It was a difficult first week to be sure but also invigorating, everyone is incredibly motivated. I've never found myself among so many people with such passion for humanitarian work. If there are any other Youth Development Current or Returned PCVs I'd be interested to here about your service, the methods that worked for you and the ones that didn't.
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Mar 26, 2017 17:11
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Trump's proposed budget cuts include a $12 million cut to Peace Corps' total budget. Just a few weeks ago, my facebook feed was filled with furious PCVs who've had to change plans or rebrand their camps following Trump's impromptu execution of Michelle Obama's Let Girls Learn Program. Any thoughts from current or returned PCVs?
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May 25, 2017 06:44
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Thesaurus posted:Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine sound too cold. also, no beaches ?? Before yesterday, it was in the 90's like all week here
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Aug 10, 2017 06:21
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Mantis42 posted:Oh, fyi, I've posted in this thread in the past but I got an e-mail saying they had no position for me. So yes, you can actually be rejected if you're a skilless goon. I got that one before after they evacuated my country of destination (Jordan) and now I'm serving. Do some volunteering, get some more civic engagement or education experience under your belt and apply again. They'll appreciate your dedication.
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Aug 10, 2017 18:10
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nurabsal posted:Nice! Where did you serve? SNI and myself are both currently serving in Ukraine. Feel free to PM with any questions.
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Sep 6, 2017 12:30
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