So you want to join AmeriCorps? Excellent. I'm excited for you. Which of the 75,000 positions were you looking at?

A little overwhelmed? That's okay. Saying that you want to be in AmeriCorps--or that you served in AmeriCorps--is kinda of like saying that you want to get a job in Cleveland, Ohio... it doesn't really narrow it down. Which is what you need to do. Trying to understand exactly what AmeriCorps is is a good start.

AmeriCorps was started in 1993 by Former President Bill Clinton as a tool to engage people in service to their communities, while focuses on some of the biggest issues our country is facing. President Clinton placed AmeriCorps, along with Learn & Serve America and Senior Corps (another topic for another blog), under the umbrella of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The term "AmeriCorps" actually refers to hundreds of federally funded volunteer programs across the country. Some programs are full-time, some part-time; some require a college degree, some don't; some programs are residential; some aren't; some AmeriCorps members wear uniforms; some wear dress pants. I'm not kidding you... AmeriCorps positions are about as diverse as jobs in Cleveland.
There are three main branches of AmeriCorps, which are going to be covered in more detail in articles to come: AmeriCorps*VISTA, AmeriCorps*NCCC, and AmeriCorps State & National.

• AmeriCorps*VISTA is the oldest of the three AmeriCorps branches. VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) was actually started in 1965, long before Clinton created the umbrella of AmeriCorps, as a part of the War on Poverty. AmeriCorps*VISTA positions focus specifically on poverty elimination and capacity-building, so while VISTA members work on important issues like education, food access, and housing, they are more likely to be doing the behind the scenes work than direct service. Also, the VISTA program strongly believes in AmeriCorps*VISTA members living at the level of other community member, so monthly living stipends are calculated to be just 5% above the poverty line.

• AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is the smallest of the programs. Of the 75,000 members serving in AmeriCorps, less than 1,000 are AmeriCorps*NCCC. NCCC members serve and live in teams and are based on five campuses across the country: Sacramento, CA, Denver, CO, Perry Point, MD, Vinton, IA, and Vicksburg, MS. Instead of serving in one place for a year, AmeriCorps*NCCC members travel around and do a variety of short-term projects in the areas of education, unmet human needs, disaster relief, environment, and public safety.

• AmeriCorps State & National is by far the biggest of the AmeriCorps programs. Through AmeriCorps State & National, umbrella organizations like City Year, Habitat for Humanity, and Teach for America are funded to host their own AmeriCorps members in projects that they manage across the country in a variety of issues areas. Also, through AmeriCorps State & National, individual states receive funding for their own state AmeriCorps programs like Colorado Conservation Corps and Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania.

Like I said, all three of the main branches of AmeriCorps programs will get more detailed attention in upcoming posts. For now, I hope that things are getting a little clearer.

Before we go, let's note that the thing that we are talking about is AmeriCorps. You saw it right... that's a capital "C" in the middle of a word. Weird, I know, but important to spell it right before you start an application. Also, the end of the word is pronounced "core" like an apple and not "corpse" like a dead person. Got it? Good... we are heading in the right direction.

Okay, so the economy is in the tank, and the outlook is bleak for people hoping to get into the nonprofit sector, right? Not exactly.

The upside of the downturned economy is that President Obama just signed the Serve America Act, which will include expanding the current National Service Programs—AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps*VISTA, and AmeriCorps*NCCC from 75,000 to 250,000 members.

People who have served in AmeriCorps positions can tell you that they are great ways to develop your nonprofit resume and get a “foot-in” at an organization that works towards the same goals you do. In exchange for a living stipend, health insurance, and an education award, AmeriCorps members volunteer in organizations as diverse as the many issues our country is facing.

Not only is AmeriCorps known for looking great on any resume, it is a chance for a new professional to get valuable experience and real responsibility, without the need for a Masters degree—or years of working your way up the ladder.

So, yes, there are fewer jobs out there this year than two years ago.  There are, however, going to be roughly three to four times the number of AmeriCorps positions, and organizations will be hungry for people ready to work for social change. Is that you?

AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) is the oldest of the AmeriCorps programs. It was started as a part of the War on Poverty in 1965. Over 40 years later, AmeriCorps*VISTA members are still fighting that war in projects that focus on mentoring youth, fighting homelessness, ensuring successful reentry of the incarcerated, and other issues that relate directly to poverty in nonprofits and community organizations across the country.

Other than its 40-year legacy, there are a few other things that set AmeriCorps*VISTA apart from other AmeriCorps programs, and it's a good thing to know these things before you dive into an application or just some preliminary research on vista.gov:

• AmeriCorps*VISTA positions focus on capacity-building and sustainability, so most positions focus on developing and sustaining programming, grantwriting, training and technical assistance, and other "behind the scenes" work. Direct service is actually prohibited by the AmeriCorps*VISTA program, so don't expect to spend your time directly mentoring youth or building nature trails.
• AmeriCorps*VISTA strongly values the concept that VISTA members are most effective when living within the community that they are serving. As a result, the living stipend is only 5% above the poverty line. If you think of the stipend as a salary (which you probably shouldn't do), this is the lowest-paying of all AmeriCorps programs.
• AmeriCorps*VISTA members commit to being available to serve "24 hours a day, 7 days a week." There is no magic number of serve hours that you need to complete your term. Your term of service is one year, whether you work 40-hour weeks or 65-hour week.
• With this in mind, there are a few other things that "rule" your non-working hours... AmeriCorps*VISTA members can't be full- or part-time students and they can't have any other form of income (nope, not even babysitting). This all relates to the idea of living among the community that you are serving and being available for service 24/7.

There are about 6,500 AmeriCorps*VISTA placements at nonprofits, local government, and colleges and universities, at any one time. While the foundation of the program is eliminating poverty, projects have a variety of foci, including education, environment, health, housing, and community development.

If you are ready to commit a full year to serving your community, and don't mind giving up school, other jobs, and daily trips to Starbucks.... AmeriCorps*VISTA might be for you. To search current openings, go to www.vista.gov.

One of the too-infrequently touted benefits of serving in AmeriCorps*VISTA is Non-Competitive Eligibility for one year after their term of service. What exactly does that mean? Well, it essentially means that you are eligible to apply for federal jobs without having to compete with the general public and that more positions might be available to you.

For example, if you are really passionate about the environment, and you want to work in Obama's administration with the EPA (or one of the many other offices that will be opening to forward social causes), one year of AmeriCorps*VISTA will enable you to apply for positions at the EPA as an internal candidate.

Why does this matter? Because being considered as an internal candidate means that you are competing against a handful of other people, rather than the (literally) thousands of people who apply for federal jobs.

How exactly does it work? If you have completed a full term of AmeriCorps*VISTA service, and you are within a one-year period of your end of service date, complete an application in USAJobs.com and click "I'm a person with non-competitive eligibity."

Very cool.

Picture from: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=female+boxer+-dog+-puppy&page=2

If you didn't make it out to this year's National Conference on Volunteering and Service in San Francisco, here's your chance to check it out from your own computer. This conference is the world's largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors. AmeriCorps members and alums are abundant at this event.

The Conference has plugged into several web resources, so everyone can find out what's going on.  Check it out:

Streaming of some conference proceedings and Blog are at [Business Boomer]

Videos from the opening session and located on YouTube

Recording from the conference session will be posted on the conference webpage

For many AmeriCorps*VISTA sponsoring organizations, recruitment season is approaching rapidly. (For me at PACC, it starts tomorrow!) With the economy in the dumps and AmeriCorps in the spotlight, there are sure to be record numbers of applicants.

How do you make yourself stand out in the crowd?

You need to learn about the AmeriCorps*VISTA program and market yourself specifically towards its unique characteristics. Here a few of the defining attributes of AmeriCorps*VISTA:

Indirect service: At the core if its mission, AmeriCorps*VISTA is a capacity building organization. All VISTA members participate in indirect service like volunteer coordination, fundraising, and program development. VISTA members don't send much of their time (if any!) in direct service to people (like painting houses and delivering meals). Why is this important? As a candidate, you want to highlight your interest in working in a "behind the scenes" capacity and your experience working in community empowerment, capacity building, and program sustainability.

Living among community members: Another aspect of VISTA that distinguishes it from other AmeriCorps programs is that it requires members to live at the economic level of the community that they are serving. As a result, the VISTA program provides a stipend at 105% of the poverty line and prohibits VISTAs from having other jobs or forms of income. In your application and interview, be sure to talk about why you want to serve and your own thoughts on the theory that members should live at the economic level of the people they are serving.

Professional skills: Most AmeriCorps*VISTA members are placed in non-profit and community organizations and have the same level of responsibility and workload as the professionals around them. Organizations are looking for VISTA members with the professional skills to fit with the needs of their project and organization. In your application and interview, focus on your office skills like taking initiative, working independently and with teams, and communicating effectively.

Photo attribution: Odesk.com