A couple of days ago I got an e-mail from a Peace Corps Placement Officer. She was not the Placement Officer I mentioned in my last post. This second Placement Officer acknowledged that I had indicated that I wanted to be considered for work in the sectors of Youth Development, Health and Environment. She asked me whether nevertheless I would like to be considered for an Education Sector position in the country of South Africa. In other words, she asked me if I would like to be considered for being a full-time teacher in South Africa. In her e-mail, she included a couple of links. One link was to a description of the specific volunteer position. The other link was to a more general description of the Peace Corps' presence in South Africa.
I clicked on the link which described the particular volunteer position. It indicated that the position required strong classroom management skills. I called the Placement Officer and told her that I did not want to be considered for the teaching position. She asked me why. I explained that my ability to manage classroom misbehavior is the weakest link in my teaching skill set.
I capitalized on the opportunity to ask her some questions about the application process in general. I asked her if there was any way to know how long it would take to have an interview. She told me that there isn't really any way to know how long one will have to wait for an interview; she added that I might have to wait two more weeks for an interview, or I might have to wait two more months for an interview. Given that I submitted my application on October 5, if I wait two more months for an interview, until mid-January, then it will have been three and a half months from submitting the application to interviewing. However, she also told me that they are now just getting around to starting to deal with applications for positions which are scheduled to depart the US in July, August and September of next year. Given that as of right now, the Peace Corps is considering me for a Health Advisor position in Benin, to depart the US in September 2016, I may be hearing soon about interviewing for that position...
I clicked on the link which described the particular volunteer position. It indicated that the position required strong classroom management skills. I called the Placement Officer and told her that I did not want to be considered for the teaching position. She asked me why. I explained that my ability to manage classroom misbehavior is the weakest link in my teaching skill set.
I capitalized on the opportunity to ask her some questions about the application process in general. I asked her if there was any way to know how long it would take to have an interview. She told me that there isn't really any way to know how long one will have to wait for an interview; she added that I might have to wait two more weeks for an interview, or I might have to wait two more months for an interview. Given that I submitted my application on October 5, if I wait two more months for an interview, until mid-January, then it will have been three and a half months from submitting the application to interviewing. However, she also told me that they are now just getting around to starting to deal with applications for positions which are scheduled to depart the US in July, August and September of next year. Given that as of right now, the Peace Corps is considering me for a Health Advisor position in Benin, to depart the US in September 2016, I may be hearing soon about interviewing for that position...
