Monday, November 15, 2010

More waiting?

After sitting around all day hoping to get an email, I finally got one. This came as a surprise to me since it was sent at 5:08pm. So this email was from my placement officer. It was finally a relatively in-depth email regarding placement. However, as in-depth/lengthy as it may have been, it was also very vague and ambigious, like a template. One part of the email said how placement is working on nominations that have immediate departures i.e. programs set to leave in January. Since my program is set for early March, she said that she anticipates that my file will likely be reviewed in December. This email also said that I will hear from my placement specialist no later than the last week of January if I am going to be invited to the program which I was originally nominated for. Based on invites sent out for Sub-Saharan Africa, this email was a load of crap. To my knowledge, there aren't any Sub-Saharan Africa programs set to leave in March. Meaning I would have to leave before or after. March is still part of the first quarter so I hope that my program can be included into the January/February category. This is all pretty disheartening. I would hope to be contacted soon regarding an invitation. I feel like communication is key in these sorts of things. Maybe I'm just not getting the communication that I want. Then again, I guess that would prepare future volunteers for living in seclusion. I'm just going to try and stay positive about all this. An email, though vague, is better than nothing at all. Good luck, everyone/self.

Also, for all of those wondering, the email that was sent to me said the cut-off dates are EIGHT (8) weeks, not six.

8 comments:

  1. Annoying! But that is stating the obvious. Hopefully they are just being overly cautious about contact.

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  2. Any contact should be taken as positive; It means someone is working on your application and being professional enough to keep in touch. The comment from Kimberly Rose says it all.
    Beyond that, your last statement is solid news for the rest of us who are stuck somewhere in "The Big Wait."
    Thanks for letting us know about that.
    If that is now the cut-off date, what is the initial (outside) date?

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  3. Well, you can look at the timeline on the PC wiki site. It shows departure dates on the left-hand side of the page with corresponding countries. So basically you can just calculate the eight weeks from those dates. Ha, I think it has done more harm than good to my Restless Applicant Syndrome (oh, PC applicant slang, how I love you).

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  4. Hang in there! It's a frustrating wait, but when you get your invitation it will feel that much greater!

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  5. I like your domain name! ;) I'm with you on staying positive!!

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  6. If it will help with the RAS, try to maintain the perspective that this is an experiential process in which we (applicants) are supposed to comprehend and internalize the qualities of flexibility and patience which PC knows we will need in order to succeed when at any site. I have come to believe that PC knows that a consequence of this process is that it helps in their screening process and thereby identifies the most tenacious of the applicants.
    Keep blogging and Skyping. A good communication network is your best asset for now.
    You are farther along in this process than many of us with similar anticipated departure dates and you still have a reasonable amount of time between now and your nomination dates.

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  7. -Haha, Lew, you just told me things I tell to people I counsel on a weekly basis. I'm definitely grateful for having a great support network; ALL applicants included!

    -PeaceCorpsRenee, seems like we're in the same boat. I'm rooting for you, though!

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