Joining the Peace Corps is an important decision; you will spend many months in a potentially hostile country, at war, without the comforts that most of us now consider essential. However, it is a highly educational experience that you will never forget. You will become part of the life of many people and you will contribute to making the world a better place; in the end it will also prove very useful for your resume. The application process takes a long time, even six months; if you are patient, you will realize that this is the best choice you can make.
In Italy there is no organized peace corps structure like in the United States. However, you can always volunteer by participating in the projects of multiple NGOs or by joining the international civil service. For this reason it is advisable that you refer to the specific application procedures of the association you are addressing. This tutorial aims to provide general guidelines to understand what it means to do solidarity in the world.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Meeting the Requirements
Step 1. Go to university
To make sure your application for admission is taken seriously and to increase your chances of accessing the peace corps, it is worth earning a bachelor's degree. In fact, 90% of open positions require it. Sometimes, a baccalaureate is enough, if you have enough experience in a particular field.
- If you can and are interested, take a faculty linked to agriculture, the forest environment or ecology. Preparation in these often understaffed areas makes you a good candidate.
- All open positions require the candidate to have obtained a minimum grade of 85 at the diploma.
Step 2. Take Spanish, English and French lessons
Your application will be even stronger if you demonstrate that you have a good command of foreign languages. In order to be sent as operational personnel to a foreign country, you must prove that you have studied English, Spanish or French for at least two years.
If you will be sent to a country where it is necessary to speak Spanish or French, but you don't know the language, know that the peace corps will provide a training course at the beginning of your mission. It is a paid course and included in the months of "service"
Step 3. Get a lot of volunteer experience
Peace Corps are looking for people who have shown love for their neighbor and willingness to help them. If you come from other experiences of volunteering, whether it is collaborating in a hospital facility, serving meals at the soup kitchen or supporting children in situations of distress, then you demonstrate that you have the right attitude and know what is expected. at your place. This training of yours makes it clear to the Peace Corps that you have the right character for the type of work you have to do.
It doesn't matter which field you engage in! Contributing to the well-being of your community not only tests your work ethic and character, it will also lay the foundation for you to perform well in your Peace Corps duties. It allows you to experience that feeling of being helpful to others and to get used to volunteer work, whatever it is
Step 4. Look for opportunities to develop management skills
When you are at the mission site, you will work with local people, often alone. If you join the Peace Corps with good leadership experience already, then your candidacy will be stronger. So no matter if you ran a volunteer group, your college fraternity or school gang, whatever your position was, put it in your application for admission.
Any job you are able to do on your own is also fine. Independence and the ability to look after themselves are the two main characteristics that the peace corps look for in their volunteers
Part 2 of 3: Complete the Application Process
Step 1. Complete the application form which you can find online
The form is not complicated to understand and it will not take more than an hour to complete. Before proceeding, however, it is advisable to read the section of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ), personal data and get an idea of the program. It is always better to take some time at the beginning, instead of wasting an hour to apply for something that doesn't interest you!
If you do not want to fill out the online form or have other questions that do not get satisfactory answers from the information available on the site, you can send an email or call the number you find in the contacts on the web page
Step 2. Also complete the form regarding your medical history
You can easily do this in 10 to 15 minutes; the screen for this section will appear after submitting the application form. This is a comprehensive questionnaire regarding your health condition.
It is important to fill in this form as accurately as possible, based on your knowledge, as it will affect the questionnaires that will be sent to you during the full medical examination
Step 3. Browse the site and look for the list of open positions
A quick glance at the website will show you many pages containing the positions you are looking for. You can specify the region or the job category. Peace Corps operate in six sectors and you will be assigned to one of them:
- Education.
- Youth sector.
- Health.
- Economical progress.
- Agriculture.
- Ecology.
Step 4. Have an interview with an employment manager
On the day you undergo the medical examination, you will also be contacted by the competent office for your region to set the date for an interview. This is to get an idea of which department may be suitable for your profile and in which country you could operate. The officer will suggest which is the most suitable place for you and will fill out all the documents in this regard.
Don't get too excited. All the recruiters are very nice ex-volunteers, so it's not a problem to have an honest conversation of an hour or two with one of them talking about your chance to go abroad and lend your work
Step 5. Receive and respond to their invitation
The recruiter will call you for a program. Unfortunately, you are not given to know which one it is. From this point on, your file and everything about you will be handled by the central office of the Peace Corps. This means that it will take a long time (at least six months) to get any news. But sooner or later you will be contacted! When you receive the call, go to the local office to accept.
If you don't like the program you are assigned to, then you can submit your application again. However, you will have to go through the whole process again and wait another six months
Step 6. Pass the medical examination
This is the only step that may be subject to a fee, from the start of your application to the flight to your destination. When you are called, a very complete and detailed medical package will be sent to you. Make an appointment with your doctor, if you can even more than one. You will have to do several blood tests, a physical exam, women must undergo a pap test and many other tests for men and candidates over fifty years old.
Make sure the dossier is completed and signed in every part. If information is missing, the medical officer dealing with your application may request other documents or even postpone the departure date
Part 3 of 3: Having a Positive Experience
Step 1. Analyze your motives
Joining the Peace Corps is no small decision. Many people do it for the wrong reasons and return home after a few months. Here are some things you need to take into consideration.
- Don't join the Peace Corps just because you want to travel. You will be abroad to work perhaps in a place where travel will be incredibly difficult. Also, remember that travel money is not included in your meager salary.
- Don't join the Peace Corps to change the world: you can't do it; you will change the world of a few people, of course, but not in the broadest sense of the term.
- Don't join the Peace Corps because you don't know what to do. This organization looks for a certain type of people. The fact that you don't know what to do does not mean that you are ready to live successfully in very, very difficult conditions.
Step 2. Learn the basic features
Each peace corps mission has a few common elements, but they are constant. Everyone's experience will be different, but here are the things that remain the same for everyone:
- Each mission lasts up to 27 months. There are also shorter ones, but generally they are reserved for people who are already experienced.
- You will receive your compensation at the end of the service and it will not be very rich, especially if you have to move at the end of the mission.
- If you have contracted debts to study, for example, you can ask for them to be frozen until you return.
Step 3. Talk to someone who has already had this experience
This is the absolute best way to understand what awaits you. You can read the blog on the internet, biographies, you can call the old babysitter of your friend's sister who volunteered or look for someone through your recruiting officer.
Some will tell you it was the best experience of their life. Others, on the other hand, who have been very painful months and who have counted the days that separated them from returning home. The experience in the Peace Corps is very personal and changes from individual to individual, remember this when you talk to someone who has already lived it
Step 4. Realize that you are not going to change the world
Peace Corps volunteers make a difference locally, not globally. This is a concept that most volunteers do not fully understand; to understand the difference you make on your mission you will have to pay attention to the little things. Perhaps you will be able to improve a child's command of English or the crops of a small village. Remember that these are all important things, especially for those who receive your help.
Many people have a concept of peace corps that does not correspond to the truth, some believe it is an opportunity to travel or to change the economic perspective of a country. Instead, it is something on an individual level and much smaller, and rightly so. The important thing is to be part of the improvement process and work to the best of your ability
Step 5. Know that you will feel incredibly alone
At first you will not know anyone. When you hear someone speaking in a language you are familiar with (unlikely Italian), then you will "pry up your ears" and run in the direction of the voice. You will miss outings with friends, the food and drinks at home, all of which you took for granted. You will get used to it over time, but you will be very homesick. Peace Corps are only suitable for those who can handle this separation.
You'll make friends. It will take some time and there won't be many people to choose from, but eventually, you will make friends. There will be other volunteers who will work with you. Plus you will have some free time to spend with them. You may even realize that they will be the best friends you've ever had
Step 6. Realize that the whole experience could be psychologically challenging
When you are on a mission, you will most likely find yourself in a place where you will be looked upon with distrust and potentially even harassed. You will be alone and at times you will feel like you are living in a zoo cage, with an audience watching you 24 hours a day. It's a hard thing to get used to and some people just can't handle it. You must have a strong personality to survive in these conditions. If you are able to do this, then you are the right person for the peace corps.
This is especially true for women. It is very likely that you will end up in a country where gender equality is still an embryonic concept. You will be the target of jokes and harassment from time to time. Unfortunately, this is very common in many mission areas for peacekeepers. Even worse, there is often not much you can do but resist
Step 7. Prepare for a lot of free time
This is especially true at the beginning, when you will learn the local language and get used to the environment. Bring a pastime, like playing the guitar or knitting. Even if you don't know how to play or sew, know that you will have time to learn!
This does not necessarily mean that you will travel, but it is possible. But remember that "traveling" will mean staying in a dirty hut you have reached or sailing on a tub
Step 8. Know that your life will be vastly different than the one you leave at home
We are not talking about shopping in a different supermarket chain, but about not having running water or electricity. You won't have anything to do on a Saturday night and you won't have friends to hang out with either. The dust will lurk in every crease and crevice of your body, in places you never thought you had. You may not get used to the weather and you will feel like an outcast in your own world. In many ways, it will be a wonderful thing. You just have to remember that the good part will also be the hardest one!
That said, modern volunteers have different experiences than they used to be. Only 1 or 4 years ago, in the countries where you were sent on a mission, neither running water nor electricity were available. In this sense, time has made things easier
Advice
- Be patient. If you really want to join this organization, you will succeed.
- Remember that you can change your mind at any time, but it is best to do it before you are on a plane for a mission abroad!
- Be flexible. If you are uncompromising about the destination and the type of work you want to do, then the chances of joining the peace corps decrease considerably. Plus you never know, eventually you may end up doing exactly what you wanted.
Warnings
- The point of view expressed in this article is not the official one of the government peacekeepers.
- The peace corps are a large and ever-evolving government organization. Remember this aspect when you have the impression that they do not want you to be part of it (due to one or more obstacles along the recruitment path).
