Once you receive confirmation that your fingerprint card and background check have cleared along with them receiving your medical questionnaire, they will ask you to fill out a welcome packet and send it back to them within a 10 day period. As I have suggested before, I do suggest you fill it out in a timely manner and early so that it can get back to them via email will more than enough time. When filling out the PDF form, it will ask for a digital signature on a number of forms. This can be done using adobe reader or you could probably print out the forms, sign them, then scan and email them back. I would imagine having them hand signed would be fine, but I would confirm with them to make sure emailing them a scanned copy of the form would be fine instead of using a digital signature.
After you send the welcome packet back, give them some time to process it then they will email you back and ask you to fill out a travel plan document as well as fill out a travel plan on your MyAmeriCorp online. This as far as I know to date is the last form they will ask you to send back. Once you complete them and it is received, they will send you your itinerary for your trip to campus for the start of the program. This is the stage where they will give you your final information on how to prepare and your details for traveling there. You will also hear if other people are coming to the same campus from where you are leaving from if you are coming from a bigger city or via a bigger city.
More info to come. Most likely about getting ready to leave for FEMA Corp then the beginning of FEMA Corp where I will be starting in Maryland. Leave a comment, or you can now send me a question via the question box on the right. I'll do my best to answer questions and keep up to date with the answers, plus it could make for some good dialog.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
Hearing back from AmeriCorps
Once you hear back from AmeriCorp, for the Summer Session starting in August you will most likely hear back in mid May to early June, there will be a process of information that you need to fill out and get back to them. Contained in the first packet will be an information packet with a FAQ section as well as general information about what your program involves and what you should expect. Also in the packet will be a fingerprint card and a medical questionnaire. At this point, you will also get a letter about your approval status either as "conditionally accepted" or as being on the waitlist. If you have been conditionally accepted, it means that there is a spot at what ever campus (region) is listed however your approval is based on you getting the information back to them within the time period. This is why I suggest sending the forms back within 2 or 3 days of getting the packet so that it has more than enough time to be shipped. Also, ask for a proof of shipment when you drop it off at a local UPS store so you can keep it in your records in case any issues arise.
To complete the fingerprint card, you'll need to get a certified specialist to do the fingerprints on the card that was sent to you. It is important that the finger prints are on the official card and that all the appropriate information is filled out accurately. The way I did this was for looking for official fingerprinting services near where I live. If you live in a bigger city, there will usually be a number of places including passport offices that can do this. I would suggest doing a google search for "fingerprinting services city, state". Replace city, state with where you live and making some phone calls can save you a fair amount of money. I was able to find places that did them from $10 to $20, but if you call around, some places might be less busy and able to do them cheaper.
For the medical questionnaire, you don't need a doctor to fill it out, but you need to get both the forms filled out and mailed back asap and before 10 days after the date on the top of the packet. They will also a return UPS package for you to send the forms back in and I highly suggest you to try and send the information back a day or two after receiving the information so that it has plenty of time to get back to AmeriCorps.
Feel free to comment if you have questions. More info to come.
To complete the fingerprint card, you'll need to get a certified specialist to do the fingerprints on the card that was sent to you. It is important that the finger prints are on the official card and that all the appropriate information is filled out accurately. The way I did this was for looking for official fingerprinting services near where I live. If you live in a bigger city, there will usually be a number of places including passport offices that can do this. I would suggest doing a google search for "fingerprinting services city, state". Replace city, state with where you live and making some phone calls can save you a fair amount of money. I was able to find places that did them from $10 to $20, but if you call around, some places might be less busy and able to do them cheaper.
For the medical questionnaire, you don't need a doctor to fill it out, but you need to get both the forms filled out and mailed back asap and before 10 days after the date on the top of the packet. They will also a return UPS package for you to send the forms back in and I highly suggest you to try and send the information back a day or two after receiving the information so that it has plenty of time to get back to AmeriCorps.
Feel free to comment if you have questions. More info to come.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Beginning the process
Wanting to give some information for anyone who might be considering working with AmeriCorp. On their website, they have the deadlines for both of their work sessions (Summer and I believe Winter). If I am correct, the deadline for the Summer start date (early August) was around March 30th.
If you are even considering joining AmeriCorps, make sure to look into the different programs and get an application in asap. Once you have one "resume/application" online with two good references, you can use the same form to apply to different positions without needing to re-fill out the other applications. I would recommend filling them out early, as well as checking out other blogs on AmeriCorps programs. While this is one, I am in AmeriCorp's FEMA Corp program and having more opinions can only be beneficial. After you fill out the applications, there will be a waiting period but do check on the submissions screen and check on the status of your applications. Once you see that the application/s are completed, there will be a wait as the applications are being processed. Submitting applications in March, plan to hear back first some time in May (which is when I heard back), but don't feel like you are out just because it has been a month since you have heard anything back.
As always, feel free to comment below, and I will go into the next processes in applying in the next post. Stay tuned.
If you are even considering joining AmeriCorps, make sure to look into the different programs and get an application in asap. Once you have one "resume/application" online with two good references, you can use the same form to apply to different positions without needing to re-fill out the other applications. I would recommend filling them out early, as well as checking out other blogs on AmeriCorps programs. While this is one, I am in AmeriCorp's FEMA Corp program and having more opinions can only be beneficial. After you fill out the applications, there will be a waiting period but do check on the submissions screen and check on the status of your applications. Once you see that the application/s are completed, there will be a wait as the applications are being processed. Submitting applications in March, plan to hear back first some time in May (which is when I heard back), but don't feel like you are out just because it has been a month since you have heard anything back.
As always, feel free to comment below, and I will go into the next processes in applying in the next post. Stay tuned.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Start of the blog
Yesterday, I received the email with my final confirmation for being accepted into AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps. I'll give a little back history here in my first posting as well as talk about why I decided to look into AmeriCorps. Over the next few days, I'll go back and talk about the process of applying and the periods/steps there are in the process.
One thing to be aware of is that after the first deadline that is when applications are due by, end of March for Summer session, you will have a period where the documents are being processed. So if you submit the needed documents and don't hear back from them outside of the website showing that you have completed and submitted the applications completely, don't be worried. I got my first letter back from them probably a month to month and a half after submitting the applications.
Another suggestion that I want to share, is to apply for a number of their different programs after reading the program decisions. Take housing, food and funds into account, but be aware that you can apply for a number of their different programs and don't need to make a decision until you are excepted into one. If you are excepted into one of the programs, you can either accept the offer or withdraw the offer passing on the position. Be aware thou, if you withdraw on a position that is open for you, you are not guaranteed a position in one of the others. You have the same chances as someone who signed up for the other program/s and may end up without being in a program. At that point, you would probably be put on a waitlist in case a spot opens up. Keep in mind, allot of people apply for these positions and if you get accepted to a program that sounds all right for you, jump at the opportunity and take it.
If you are considering any of the AmeriCorp programs, or are just interested in hearing about what it is like, bookmark this page and check back on it as I plan to update it frequently then when at all possible once I start work with AmeriCorp in August. Keep it mind, I am involved with the FEMA Corp program in their Atlantic Region, however feel free to ask questions in the comments. This blog will be solely about AmeriCorp, so you won't need to dig through other posts about unrelated topics. Will keep this blog about my experiences with AmeriCorp on the east coast.
One thing to be aware of is that after the first deadline that is when applications are due by, end of March for Summer session, you will have a period where the documents are being processed. So if you submit the needed documents and don't hear back from them outside of the website showing that you have completed and submitted the applications completely, don't be worried. I got my first letter back from them probably a month to month and a half after submitting the applications.
Another suggestion that I want to share, is to apply for a number of their different programs after reading the program decisions. Take housing, food and funds into account, but be aware that you can apply for a number of their different programs and don't need to make a decision until you are excepted into one. If you are excepted into one of the programs, you can either accept the offer or withdraw the offer passing on the position. Be aware thou, if you withdraw on a position that is open for you, you are not guaranteed a position in one of the others. You have the same chances as someone who signed up for the other program/s and may end up without being in a program. At that point, you would probably be put on a waitlist in case a spot opens up. Keep in mind, allot of people apply for these positions and if you get accepted to a program that sounds all right for you, jump at the opportunity and take it.
If you are considering any of the AmeriCorp programs, or are just interested in hearing about what it is like, bookmark this page and check back on it as I plan to update it frequently then when at all possible once I start work with AmeriCorp in August. Keep it mind, I am involved with the FEMA Corp program in their Atlantic Region, however feel free to ask questions in the comments. This blog will be solely about AmeriCorp, so you won't need to dig through other posts about unrelated topics. Will keep this blog about my experiences with AmeriCorp on the east coast.
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