AmeriCorps Advice by Topic
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Most Recent
Articles for AmeriCorps
Turn One Piece of Paper Into a New Job Offer
Published November 19, 2009 @ 11:45AM PT
When you think about the most important piece of paper in your job search, you are probably thinking about your resume. And you might be right. However, it is important not to underestimate the power of the cover letter.
If you any bit as lazy as I am, you probably have some form cover letter on file that you make small changes to for each job you apply for. You might even have been using the same cover letter for the past 10 years. (Yes, guilty as charged).
Why is this so tempting? Well for starters, your cover letter is about you, and since you (and your attributes) don't change all that much from day to day, you keep the same information in your cover letter.
It wouldn't be such a bad plan if your cover letter was supposed to be about you. In their weekly blog and newspaper column, employment experts JT & Dale mused about the most effective cover letters that they have received as hiring managers over the years.
The one common theme? All the cover letters focused on the job (not the applicant) and why the applicant wanted to work for their organization. The key here is that applicants (whether they realized it or not!) were showing Dale & J.D. that they had done their homework on the company, understood its mission and vision, and really wanted to work for their organization in particular.
What's the lesson here? Don't wait your one sheet of paper on talking about yourself (your resume already does that). Instead, prove to the hiring manager why you want to work for them over the next guy.
Photo Attribution: Askehbl Files
How to Make Your Mark
Published November 16, 2009 @ 02:16PM PT
In one of the old episodes of The Office, Ryan The Temp laments developing an office reputation:
I don't want to be like, a guy here. You know? Like, Stanley is the crossword puzzle guy. And Angela has cats. I don't wanna have a thing, here. You know, I don't want to be the "something" guy.
Ryan is a guy who doesn't want to make his mark. (Ironically, he becomes infamous for several things, including starting a fire, defrauding the company, and of course, being a temp).
You don't what to be like Ryan. You want to make your mark. But what does that really mean?
People who make their mark are known and well-respected in both their personal and professional circles. A person who has made their mark is the one that gets a call about a job opening before it's been posted. Making your mark means being memorable to someone you only met once or being the go-to person in your office.
So how do you make your mark? It's not just doing one thing once, but instead creating daily habits that connect you with people and ensure you are in the know about opportunities in your field. There are a lot of ways to foster this, but here are just a few:
- Be an open communicator with people in your office and outside it
- Consider how you handle difficult situations and try to be cool under pressure
- Help out your co-workers around the office... even if you don't have to
- Be a resource for people... connect them with information they need
- Be open you are to new experiences and meeting new people
Making your mark is about creating your professional identity. What do you want to be know for?
Photo Attribution: Irritated Tulsan
Do Everyone A Favor: Interview in Person
Published November 12, 2009 @ 04:15PM PT
I have to make a confession.
When I first finished my term of service in AmeriCorps*NCCC, I applied for, interviewed for, and accepted another position with AmeriCorps as a Volunteer Coordinator with Volunteer Maryland right outside Washington, DC.
Only a few weeks before I was supposed to start, I got cold feet and left them high and dry.
It was painful, but I realized at the last minute the position really wasn't for me and it would be a big mistake ( and both unfair to me and the organization) if I took the position. Unfortunately for Volunteer Maryland, it was too late to recruit a new member. Unfortunately for me, I was out another opportunity to serve in AmeriCorps.
My mistake? I didn't interview in person.
When I was applying for the position, I was in California on my way home to the East Coast from my position with AmeriCorps*NCCC. The only option was to interview on the phone, and then plan to visit the site just a few weeks before I would start.
It seemed like a seamless plan, but what I didn't realize that there are elements to an in-person interview that you just can't get over the phone. When all the pros and cons have been weighed, I ultimately make decision with my gut, and that gut-reaction can only come to me in person.
It would have been best for everyone involved--both the organization and myself--if I had interview in person to start with. It may have taken some extra cash and time, but the investment would have been well worth it.
Photo Attribution: Personnel Strategies
The Wrong Reason (and the Right Ones) to Leave AmeriCorps Early
Published November 05, 2009 @ 03:35PM PT
One question that I get a lot from people interested in applying for AmeriCorps is: "If I find a better job, can I leave early?" Technically, yes. Would I recommend it? No. Of course, there are plenty of situations that would require someone to "honorably" leave their service early. Which ones are which? Read on.
Before I go into the good reasons and the bad reasons to leave your service early, I would like to note exactly how AmeriCorps is different from many full-time jobs in this regard. Specifically, it is a different kind of commitment:
- When you join AmeriCorps, you commitment to 10 months to 2 years of service, and AmeriCorps commits to you. Although you technically can leave early, you take an oath that you won't.
- People and communities are hurt when you leave early. Why? Chances are that a nonprofit has jumped through a lot of hoops to get you to their organization (trust me, I make the hoops). If you leave, they might not be able to get someone to replace you, and the service will go undone.
- WRONG REASON: You found a higher paying job. (If it was money you are after, you shouldn't join AmeriCorps anyway)
- RIGHT REASON: You have a family emergency that requires you to take care of a family member full-time
- WRONG REASON: You don't like your boss.
- RIGHT REASON: The person who first developed your project has left, and they have decided to re-assign your position.
- WRONG REASON: It wasn't EXACTLY what you expected.
- RIGHT REASON: You have a medical condition that keeps you from serving.
Photo Attribution: eHow.
Must-Ask Interview Questions
Published November 01, 2009 @ 06:26PM PT
We are all guilty of it. You get into an job interview and you're so nervous that you'll flub the answers to the questions they ask you that you forget to ask them questions in return.
Asking questions during a job interview can show that you are serious about the position, are interested in organization as a whole, and that you are playing attention. (Interviewers never remember to tell you all the things that you need to know, so asking clarifying questions will help you catch something that they have missed.)
For people applying for AmeriCorps positions, asking questions in an interview is even more important. First of all, AmeriCorps positions have a lot of moving parts that are unique to AmeriCorps and unique to individual programs. It's important use the interview to make sure that you have all the information about the position that you aren't able to get in advance.
Second, and most importantly, when you are interviewing with an AmeriCorps program, you are interviewing the program as much as the program is interviewing you. There are a lot of great AmeriCorps positions out there, but only so many highly qualified people. In a lost of cases, the program is working as hard to sell themselves to you as you are working to sell yourself to the program.
With this in mind, here are a few questions that you should ask during an AmeriCorps interview:
1). How does the benefits package work? How much is the living allowance and education award?
2). What is your management style and how do you communicate your expectations?
3). How will my performance be evaluated?
4). What have former AmeriCorps members from your program gone on to do?
5). What professional development opportunities do you provide your AmeriCorps members?
6). What other support do you provide for your AmeriCorps members?
Photo Attribution: BlogCDN
What a Second Year of AmeriCorps Can Do For You
Published October 22, 2009 @ 02:40PM PT
Why do just one year of AmeriCorps, when you can do two? A growing trend in the National Service Movement is AmeriCorps members committing to a second year of service. Call it a dedication to country or a response to the current econony. Either way, there are significant professional and personal benefits to doing more than just one year of service... here are just three:
- Continuing for a second year in the same program as a member or team leader enables you to build on the momentuem you have created and make an even bigger impact in the community. One complaint that I hear over and over again is that one year is just not enough to feel like you really have made a change. It takes times to learn the ropes. Doing a second year enables you a year of learning and a year to put that learning into practice.
- Build your resume. Conventional wisdom states that a longer commitment in your first professional position (i.e. one year versus two years) can enhance your resume by showing hiring supervisors that you have commitment and dedication and aren't just interested in getting in and getting out in a year.
- By serving in a second year in different program (like doing AmeriCorps*NCCC and then AmeriCorps*VISTA) can give you a chance to serve in a new capacity (like doing capacity building after a year of direct service) and develop whole new set of skills.
Photo attribution: Flickr
3 Ways to Benefit from a Team-based Program
Published October 19, 2009 @ 05:33PM PT
Each AmeriCorps program is unique and offers professional development opportunities to its members. However, there is something to be said for team-based programs--like AmeriCorps*NCCC and CityYear--for what they teach you (by experience) about working with people. These are lessons that don't just maximize your year of service, but are sure to help you become a better professional in whatever you do for many years beyond AmeriCorps. Here are just three of those lessons:
Flexibility I used to think that I was a flexible person ... then I joined AmeriCorps*NCCC. It turns out that I wasn't that flexible after all. Instead, I found out that I had gotten my way for most of the first 22 years of my life. AmeriCorps*NCCC taught me how to work in unpredictable situations, adapting and making the most of the information and resources that I had at the time. It wasn't an easy lesson, but it has served me well in the years after. In each of the positions that I have held since my term in AmeriCorps, I can think of examples of times that I tapped into the flexibility that I learned in NCCC to get me through a challenging work situation.
Communication It's easy to communicate with others when you spend most of your time with like-minded family and friends who you have developed lifelong relationships with. The real test of your communication skills is in working with a group of strangers in physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging situations and circumstances. Team-based service requires that people develop mechanisms for communication that ensure cooperation towards a common goal supersedes personal differences. It is harder than it sounds, but once you develop real-life-tested communication skills, they will serve you for many years to come.
Teamwork I have always thought that "Teamwork" was the most nebulous term ever. It always conjures up images of a group of good Samaritans lifting a rafter out of a piece of rubble to free a trapped earthquake victim. I don't doubt that this is, in fact, teamwork, but it is not the kind of teamwork that people encounter in their daily lives (except for firefighters maybe). Instead, the understanding and appreciation of diverse perspectives, skills sets and work styles is key to a healthy team in the workplace. Working in a team-based program, you get the chance to learn about what you bring to the table, what others bring, and how they all come together to produce your desired outcomes.
Photo Attribution: Flickr
