The Peace Corps wants you, millennials. And to prove it, they’ve revamped their application process to spare you something you can’t stand — paperwork.
On Tuesday, the international service organization announced major changes to its application process, including a drastic paring down of its once novella-length application, often cited as a deterrent for paper-free and web-savvy millennials.
The former Peace Corps application was a whopping 60 pages that required some 480 minutes — about 8 hours — to fill out by hand. The new application is electronic and can be completed in less than an hour.
Another key change will allow applicants to choose the specific program and country they want to apply to, so that they can tailor the experience to their professional or personal goals. Also, “know by” deadlines will now be listed for all open Peace Corps positions, so applicants can know when to expect to hear back from the program, sparing them the uncertainty of the old system and enabling them to better plan for the future.
“I believe these changes will help re-ignite the passion of Peace Corps’ early days and that more Americans will seize the opportunity to make a difference across the world and here at home,” said Peace Corp Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet in a press release.
As part of the launch of its new application on Tuesday, the Peace Corps released a “Call to Service” video message from President Obama.
“Life as a Peace Corps Volunteer isn’t always easy but it is a life changing experience, one that offers a chance to live and work in communities around the world tackling some of the most pressing challenges of our time,” the president said.
Not everyone is smitten with the changes, though. As one former Peace Corps volunteer tweeted:
the old @PeaceCorps application tested the flexibility & patience needed to serve; can I be ANTI streamlining gov’t? http://t.co/6TMQbAs2sZ
— Laura Melle (@ltmelle) July 15, 2014
