Post Service Needs & Pathways
2026
RPCV Post Service
Needs & Career Paths
Where do Volunteers go after service?
What career paths do they take?
How can those who came before share what they’ve learned?
Supporting Volunteers Reach the Next Level
Having worked with 2,000+ Volunteers over the past few years, we’ve learned a lot of what Peace Corps Volunteers bring to the table when applying for jobs! Unfortunately, many of the job opportunities Volunteers would apply for have been hit hard this past year due to the cuts, reductions in force, and other changes to various industries. As the job market changes, we hope to learn the directions you have taken or hope to take throughout your career to support you and other Volunteers when looking to find work, to gain additional experiences, and to go back to school.
To further the career services we provide to Volunteers and the professional development events and activities we host, we’re launching this this Career & Needs Research Project Questionnaire to better understand what’s necessary to support Volunteers as they transition out of service and look for work.
Take 15 minutes to share your information and be entered to win $100 by completing Part I and Part II before August 1!
Our aim is to:
1. Gather Experts and Knowledge
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have entered every industry and have worked at each level employment.
Our aim is to build a tighter network of professional RPCVs who can support one another and those who are earlier in their career to gain the skills, knowledge, and guidance needed to have a fruitful career.
This starts by learning where people work, what they have accomplished, and enable them to share their knowledge through articles, career panels, and the Community-Wide Mentoring Program
2. Create Direct Connections to Employers
We know that companies, agencies, and organizations in all sectors like hiring Volunteers. First we need to know which based on where you work, have worked, or want to work.
By forming relationships with companies, we’ll more capably connect Volunteers to job openings as they come out of service or look to shift jobs.
3. Showcase that Peace Corps is a Career Stepping Stone
240,000 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers mean 240,000 different adventures after service as well!
At a time when there’s uncertainty around joining Peace Corps and recruitment levels are down, we want to show not just the impact on those around us but on the Volunteers!
By highlighting the stories and successes created after service to show that Peace Corps service springboards individuals into some amazing jobs and places they never thought they’d reach before!
In 2025, hundreds if not thousands of RPCVs lost their jobs due to the reductions in force, forced early retirements, or let go as companies closing their doors. The job market was flooded by these experts and hundreds of thousands of others who were also impacted by the changes.
Then, a couple thousand more Current Volunteers needed to react to the changes in a job market they were to return to after service! All they knew was that they couldn’t use their Non-Competitive Eligible Status because of the federal hiring freeze and that the companies and organizations where they would traditionally apply to were not hiring.
So what did RPCVnexus do? We answered the call for 1,600+ Volunteers who took advantage of the career services and professional development activities we hosted. We coordinated Resume Reviewers, launched a Community-Wide Mentoring Program, and hosted the Professional Development Discussion Series. Across the year, Current and Returned Volunteers used our services to work with other RPCVs to prepare their applications.
As we look at the new year, we wish to further what we offer to Volunteers as they look for new jobs – either directly out of service or at any point of one’s career – as well as create a stronger network for RPCV professionals.
The information you provide will be used to further these efforts. Anything shared will be used for internal purposes only with responses compiled together with those of others for analysis and turned into a report that will be shared out.
RPCVnexus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is independent of the U.S. Peace Corps. This project is being funded by RPCVs at RPCVnexus for the benefit of furthering the Peace Corps Professional Network and not by any other source. RPCVnexus is affiliated with NPCA
Should you have any questions about this project, reach out to us at Support@RPCVnexus.org
