Old Vs. New

Holy cow! I'm reading blogs about the application and invitation process from past years and I am very grateful to be among the new applicants. It looks like it took FOREVER! It seems that when you applied you were part of a nomination group who could possibly leave in the next two years. You first had to pass the background check and then many rounds of medical clearance, all with no indication of where you might serve or what you might do. That part could take many months. After getting through medical clearance your qualifications were reviewed and you might be scheduled for an interview. You were discouraged from having an opinion on where you would serve. After the interview you might be invited to serve in a region but still with no idea of which country or what you would be doing. Eventually they would snail mail you an invitation with your country and assignment. Still subject to change.

There is a certain excitement to the process I imagine. And perhaps time honored tradition and the comfort of knowing that many other PCVs when through the same thing. But I think I still prefer the new system.

The new application takes about thirty minutes. You are asked a few initial questions: do you have dependents? Have you filed for bankruptcy? Are you related to anyone working in the intelligence field? And so on. Probably less then 15 questions. Then you submit a motivational statement, reference info, resume, and sign some agreements. That's pretty much all I remember from the application. Very shortly after I received a medical history form to fill out and submit online. This was very detailed. A day after that I received an email saying I was medically precleared to serve in any country and a form asked where I wanted to be placed and what I wanted to do.

I selected that I would serve anywhere and do anything but my preference was for Africa (I also correctly assumed I would most like be considered for education or youth development programs). In the new system you are encouraged to make your preferences known, unlike the past where any hint that you might prefer one way or another was seen as inflexibility and thought poorly of. In retrospect maybe I should have asked for a specific assignment but I feel confident that I would find any of them worthwhile.

Within days of submitting my preference form I received an email saying that I was being considered for placement in the education sector in Sierra Leone. Any indication of where you were going seemed to be among the last things to happen in the old system. The interview was scheduled using a handy internet site. The interview itself seems to be more extensive. It seems that past interview could be as short as thirty minutes. They made up for the lack of information in the initial application by having a two hour interview that sussed out every qualification and deficit you might have. It was also very informative and a surprisingly enjoyable process. I believe they are trying to be more transparent with applicants. Or else my placement officer has great communication skills.

After the interview I uploaded a few documents (transcripts, TEFL cert.) and completed a skills assessment form about my former teaching experience. I feel as though I should have been much more detailed when completing the form. Oh well.

I do wonder if some of the speed at which this happened has to do with the placement site being Sierra Leone. It is in quite a rough situation right now and has always seemed to be considered one of the most traditional and "hardcore" of the Peace Corps assignments.

I still have to go through the hellish medical clearance process, and I am very worried about timing. Despite what seem to be assurances that I will be invited to this program, actual invitations won't be made for some time, possibly as late as December. My problem is that I will be in Shanghai from November until March (about two months before Sierra Leone's departure date) and I will have to do all of my medical clearance abroad or in the last few weeks before departure. Sounds like potential for things to go terribly wrong. Particularly if my wisdom teeth need to come out!

My other concern is Sierra Leone's current status. PCVs and PCTs were evacuated a few months ago and have not been allowed to return. The Salone 5 group never even started their service. What will happen to them? I've become very attached to the idea of Sierra Leone over the past month but I have been warned that we might be told at the last possible minute that the program will remain on hold. I have also been told that if that happens I will have the chance to pick another assignment and country that departs around the same time. I am grateful for this, since not everyone will be so lucky. Some people will have to resubmit their entire application and go through this process again if Sierra Leone remains on hold.

More about the alternatives later.