Weakest what?

Have you ever had to fill out an application or some kind of an "interview"-type form that asks you what your "strengths" and "weaknesses" are? Well, if anyone ever plans on applying to the Peace Corps, be prepared to answer that question in addition to questions regarding work experience and what your greatest hopes and dreams are, numerous times.

We received an e-mail a few days ago that asks us to replicate our previous answers to a new Peace Corps person, this time for purposes of helping to determine our specific placement site. To be sure, this is all very exciting, sort of like coming to the point in a car purchase when you begin to explore the available extras after already having determined the make and model (we're almost there!). But it feels like the salesman (person) is asking me over and over if I would use cup holders or the A/C!

Just now a thought occurs to me; maybe their repetitious inquisition is really a cry for creativity. I mean, who sits and really tries to figure out their "greatest weakness" for an application? Most of us put something down to makes us look unwittingly qualified like, "I sometimes have a hard time letting go of the team mission..." or "I often find it difficult to stand aside and not be a leader;" puhleeeese. I think I'll be going for creativity points this time, folks; "I have a heroin addiction," or "My craving for agony-driven wailing oftentimes supersedes my professional goals," come to mind as two possibilities. I'll report later if things go awry.

But really...when a question arises that has been identically answered numerous times through the same (uber-vertically aligned) organization, one would think that all of this duplication could be more easily remedied with their simple purchase of...a fax machine.