Tips

1. Use clear, concise standard English
2. Avoid using (or clearly explain) acronyms
3. Avoid using jargon or local terminology
4. Write in the third person (Mr./Ms./Mrs.)
5. Consider your audience--i.e., employers, universities, etc.
6. Include the major highlights of your PC experience (not every detail)
7. Organize the text by activities/accomplishments, not necessarily chronologically
8. Quantify when possible
9. Write a descriptive record, not a recommendation
10. Keep the DOS to 1-2 pages

The Importance of The Description Of Service (DOS)

Adapted from the Office of Returned Volunteer Career Services

One of the tasks PCVs are asked to complete before leaving country is to draft a description of their Peace Corps service. This document contains information about the training period, language skills and use, and duties and responsibilities at site. The draft is used by country staff to create the only official description of the PCV's service. In most cases, the PCV is given the original DOS when s/he leaves country, and a copy is sent to Washington, where it is kept for 60 years!The purpose of this article is to encourage the careful and detailed drafting of their DOS by PCVs. There are many tasks to complete as your service ends, but that time will be your only chance to describe fully what you have done as a PCV. At least two or three times a month, the Office of Returned Volunteer Career Services (RVS) in Washington receives a call from a former Volunteer whose DOS does not contain some information critical to employment, graduate school admissions, retirement credit, and/or teaching certification--in some cases from RPCVs whose service ended in the 1960s.

Following is RVCS' best advice about your DOS:

1. Provide detail about hours spent on specific subjects during Pre-Service and In-Service trainings. For example, to say that you completed a four week health technical training is not enough. Instead, provide details about the number of classroom hours spent on several specific topics within the health training period. Further, discuss any practical field experience during the training period. This issue becomes even more important as PONSI recommends Peace Corps training and service for academic credit at U.S. institutions of higher education.

2. Most PCVs provide detail about their language training and FSI or ACTFL scores in their DOS. Many, however, don't discuss the use of language in their job descriptions. It is important to describe the fact that you conducted professional work, business conversations, etc., in Thai to make the point that your language skills were critical to the success of your work, not just critical to your success as a neighbor or friend abroad.

3. Don't forget to detail all projects on which you worked. It is easy to forget that you taught English once a week for your first year of service when you are writing your DOS at the end of your second year. But that information might be critical to provisional teaching certification in California, for example, or for admission to a Fellows/USA combination teaching/masters program. Even if you have not served in a formal teaching assignment, provide detail (hours per week, percent of overall work time, etc.) regarding projects involving instruction, teaching or training. Many PCVs without teacher training as undergraduates decide to teach in the U.S. after Peace Corps--sometimes long after Peace Corps. Teaching and training experience during Peace Corps can make a difference to credentialing and retirement benefits.

4. The DOS may vary in length, but should not exceed one to two pages.
5. Keep in mind that the DOS does not serve as a reference for you. The DOS is a factual account about your service as a Volunteer and is sufficient for use in job and graduate school applications. It is not an evaluative account of how well you did your work. You may request personal, non-official references from staff, but please check first to learn if they are willing to provide them. These letters should not be construed as an official evaluation by Peace Corps. You should request reference letters before leaving the country. It is difficult to get them once you return to the U.S.

6. Take the time to write and rewrite your draft DOS. In many cases, the country staff members use your copy, and do not edit nor ensure inclusion of all pertinent information. It is the PCV's responsibility to make the DOS an accurate and detailed account of Peace Corps service. Contact staff members to see if they are willing to provide a review of your drafts.