Has anyone that applied for a March 2017 departure date been contacted yet
Posted Apr 19, 2016, 10:57 PM UTC
311
I'm UC for Tanzania for February and still haven't heard anything. It's nerve wracking to be sure!
2
Yeah I want to make sure I just don't get passed over without an interview. Is that possible? I feel like I should at least get an interview. And considering I feel like I'm pretty qualified I'm confident I will a CDE spot for Albania.
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Albania and CDE are both very popular. It's possible you might not even get an interview.
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Well that would suck. Seems like they wouldn't be selecting the best candidates that way.
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I've had my interview for Indonesia, but haven't heard anything back since then. I think at this point, it's just a waiting game more than anything else.
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Good luck! Hope you join us :)
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I'm UC for Paraguay in February and I've already had a preliminary interview. I think that it really depends on what program you're applying for, as others have said.
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Hi! Good to see someone else doing it early! I thought it might be too early too. I am applying for March 2017 as well. Best of luck to you, all the vibes in the world!
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It's extremely early for a response. It also depends on the popularity and competitiveness of the country and position. You can email your PO about their time-frame, such as when they think they'll be sending out invitations and when is the latest to expect an invitation. Fortunately my PO told me all this during my interview, so I didn't begin checking my email like crazy until they told when to start expecting.
Is there any info on the popularity of countries after the changes? I'd really like to know which areas get the most applicants or have the lowest acceptance rates.
That would be hard to quantify, since most applicants list more than one country when they apply, and about half list "go anywhere."
Based on various webinars I've attended/watched hosted by recruiters and POs, there are a few areas that they openly acknowledge get a lot of interest (and are therefore more competitive). Spanish speaking countries are high on the list, because a lot of applicants have some Spanish experience and want to utilize that. Also, anywhere you think sounds like a nice vacation destination (Thailand, Caribbean) likely gets a lot of applicants. Regional medical hubs, like South Africa and Thailand, get a lot of applicants because they're more likely to accommodate complex medical conditions. CED programs also tend to receive a lot more applicants than there are positions, largely because it's such a small sector.
A lot of it depends on the specific applicant pool at the time you apply, but these are some general things I've been told. Again, this is just stuff I've heard from various PC staff, but I don't have something written to support it, so take that however you want to. It's always a good idea to apply for the positions you think you're most qualified for (rather than based on "competitiveness"), and to be flexible with your preferences so PC can determine where they think your skills are the best fit.