How to Get Taken Seriously in Your AmeriCorps Position

by Meghan Oakley

Published October 15, 2009 @ 03:43PM PT

I call it putting on my pointy shoes. At one point in my life, it was actually a pair of pointy, tan BCBG mules that I wore when meeting people for the first time or presenting at a conference. My theory? I might look like I'm 12 years old, but my shoes would remind people that I've been out of college longer than Grey's Anatomy has dominated Thursday night TV.

AmeriCorps members often struggle with getting taken seriously by colleagues and community members in the first few months of their service. I don't know if it is because AmeriCorps members don't get a traditional salary, or if it is because a large percentage of AmeriCorps members are recent college grads. Either way, AmeriCorps members serve as professionals... here area few tips on how to get treated like one:

Wear your pointy shoes. I know what you are thinking... really? Okay, they don't have to be pointy shoes, per se, but take some time to put together a clean, business casual look. You don't have to have fancy clothes (we all know you aren't getting paid enough to buy them). It's not what you wear, but how you wear it. Focus on clothes that are clean, appropriate, and one notch above what you would wear out to lunch.

Check your personal life at the door. We all have days when we want to share a part of our personal lives with our co-workers, and that is a healthy thing. However, silencing personal phone calls, curbing your Facebook time, and keeping Saturday night's funny story to yourself can all go a long way in showing that you mean business. Treat work time like it's work time and people will take you for the professional you are.

Act the part. As Dr. Phil (and later Liz Lemon) said, "We teach people how to treat us." If you want people to talk to you like you are a professional, communicate like one. If you want people to trust you, be trustworthy. If you want to be taken seriously, take yourself, your work, and your colleagues seriously, too.

And pointy shoes can't hurt, either.

Photo attribution: Flickr

AmeriCorps Alum Feature: Meet Brianna

by Meghan Oakley

Published October 08, 2009 @ 03:38PM PT

Name: Brianna Schultz
Program Served In: AmeriCorps*VISTA, Michigan Campus Compact
Location Served: Central Michigan University

What made you want to join AmeriCorps?

I had always wanted to do some type of AmeriCorps program after learning about it in college since service has always been a big part of my life.  After college, I knew I wanted to have a career in the nonprofit sector and thought it would be a great opportunity to serve and also gain some professional experience in the field in which I wanted to make a career.

What your experience serving like?

I served during the first year of the Michigan Campus Compact VISTA* program so I had the opportunity to do a lot of trailblazing.  I was able to lead volunteers in a tutoring program, organize a conference on social issues and also founded a new mentoring program that pairs college students and elementary students together.  There were definitely some challenges - living on a stipend with a lot of credit card debt and being in "limbo" between being a college student and a staff member on a college campus were two of the greatest.  Despite these challenges, the professional development I received was well worth it...the education award was pretty nice too!

How did your experience in AmeriCorps relate to your career path?

After my year of service was complete, I took a job with City Year Cleveland (www.cityyear.org)as a Program Manager in which my responsibilities were almost identical to my responsibilities as a VISTA.  I truly believe that my experiences as a VISTA were the selling points on my resume.  I still work with City Year, but have since been promited to Program Director.  I love it.

What advice would you give to people considering or going into AmeriCorps?

DO IT!!  It will be a year full of challenges, but it will be worth it if you immerse yourself in that year of service.  Your year of AmeriCorps will be as great as the energy you put into it.  Milk it for all that it is worth.

Picture provided by Brianna Schultz

What the Face of AmeriCorps Looks Like

by Meghan Oakley

Published October 06, 2009 @ 06:31AM PT

In previous posts, I have mentioned the magnitude and diversity of the AmeriCorps program, and I've even featured AmeriCorps Alums who have translated their year of service into a lifetime career.

Despite this, it is still sometimes hard to put a face on what AmeriCorps is. But that is exactly what AmeriCorps Alum and Program Consultant for Volunteer Florida, Ericka Zdenek is trying to do.

Zdenek's goal is to collect half a million photos of AmeriCorps members, alumni, and support staff holding "I AM AMERICORPS" signs. The idea came out of the AmeriCorps Alums parade at the Inauguration, when AmeriCorps Alums marched with "I am AmeriCorps Alums" signs.

How can you get involved?

• Check out the "I AM AMERICORPS" Facebook Page developed by Zdenek.
• Post your own "I AM AMERICORPS" Photo on Flickr.
• Join AmeriCorps and become a part of a national movement.

Photo from Facebook.

#1 Way to Improve Your Job Satisfaction

by Meghan Oakley

category: Tips for Alum

Published October 01, 2009 @ 04:27PM PT

We have all experienced it before ... Whether it is total job unhappiness or just a nagging restlessness, most people go through a period of dissatisfaction with their job.

There can be a lot of reasons for this... a unbalanced workload, communication issues with co-workers, underutilized skills, or just plain burnout.

No matter the reason for the current rut, there is one thing you can do that will be sure to improve your situation: Develop a trusting relationship with your boss.

This, obviously,  is two-way street. You need to be able to trust your boss and your boss needs to be able to trust you.

Trusting your boss will help you to have faith in your organization, your career, and your future. Being trusted by your boss will ensure that you have autonomy in your position, receive the support you need, and get open, honest feedback about your performance.

Trusting your boss requires maintaining open lines of communication, forgiving personal differences and have faith in the same vision for the organization. Being trusted by your boss requires you to be dependable, accountable, and open about your ideas and needs.

It's not rocket science, but if it were easy, everyone would have a trusting relationship were their boss. Either way, it's worth the investment. Trust can be your saving grace in a challenging position or in a lull in one that you love.

Photo Attribution: Starpulse

Never Take the First Offer … Unless it is for AmeriCorps

by Meghan Oakley

category: Tips for Applicants

Published September 29, 2009 @ 09:48AM PT

It has always been my mantra: Don’t take the first offer. No matter what.

Not only have I recommended this to others, but also I have lived the advice myself. I like to think that I can squeeze blood from a stone (or at least a few thousand more dollars out of an offer). During negotiations for my first job, I was told that the first offer was not negotiable. I declined it away, and suddenly they came back with another offer.

In every position that I have held, it seems that they almost expect you to negotiate. They offer you an amount a little lower than they are willing to pay you, in anticipation that you will ask for more.

At this point, you are thinking one or both of two things: a). This woman is nuts or b). This woman is going to get burned one day and regret both not taking the first offer and writing this post. One or both of these assertions might be true, but that is not the point of this post.

I have to add a caveat to my advice that you should never take the first offer. The exception is AmeriCorps.

AmeriCorps stipends and education awards are set by federal forces far outside the power of the person who is doing the recruiting and hiring of AmeriCorps members. As much as you think that you are worth more, or as much as you think that the measly stipend is too small, no amount of negotiation is going to change that.

In fact, trying to negotiate (especially at a time when AmeriCorps positions are so sought-after) might put-off the hiring supervisor and encourage them to move down the line to the next candidate.

There are many ways that applying for an AmeriCorps position and applying for a job is similar or the same … negotiating salary is not one of them.

Photo Attribution: Photoexpress

AmeriCorps Alums Feature: Meet Denise

by Meghan Oakley

category: Featured Alum

Published September 24, 2009 @ 05:00AM PT

Name: Denise Riebman
Program Served In: AmeriCorps*VISTA
Location Served:  Denver Indian Center

What made you want to join AmeriCorps?

By senior year of college, I knew I didn't want a traditional job but did want to make a difference in the world.  I looked at PeaceCorps but was more interested in domestic issues so VISTA quickly became a great option for me. I liked the idea of being able to get my "hands dirty" and really work on an issue over the course of a year.  In the spring of 1993, President Clinton came to my college, Rutgers University, to unveil AmeriCorps so I was definitely hooked by then.   It was great to be a part of the first class of VISTA members who were grandfathered into becoming AmeriCorps*VISTA.

What your experience serving like?

Similar to what other AmeriCorps members would likely say, it was the toughest yet most rewarding year of my life!  At times, I felt like I was being thrown into projects and not able to really make an impact and at other times, I felt like I was able to live up the VISTA credo about creating sustainable systems.  I learned more that year than I could ever have imagined - about myself and abilities and strengths I didn't even know I had; about the Native American culture, past and present; about community development and non-profit management; about the devastating impact of poverty and lack of education on individuals and the community.

How did your experience in AmeriCorps relate to your career path?

The AmeriCorps "thread" has been woven into nearly everything I have done since finishing my year of service.  National Service gets into your system and for many of us, it's an allegiance and commitment we will forever be attached to in our lives.  I have managed several AmeriCorps programs through the years, with my work at Communities for Children AmeriCorps*VISTA being one of my proudest accomplishments.  My involvement has continued through being an AmeriCorps Alum Facilitator and I've had the opportunity to do numerous Life After AmeriCorps trainings.  At the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University where I currently work, we partner with AmeriCorps programs and AmeriCorps Alum and are committed to being a school of choice for those who serve so I fortunately am still surrounded by former national service members.   But most of all, I will always remember those moments during my year of service that helped define and refine my perspective about culture, community and change - like seeing a young mother and high school drop-out receive her GED and head to college and meeting people who were trying to support families on less than what I was making as an AmeriCorps*VISTA.  It will forever shape my work and my life.

What advice would you give to people considering or going into AmeriCorps?

It is a tremendous program and will open up a vast and supportive lifelong network afterward.  It will challenge you to expand your perception of yourself and this world in ways that few other opportunities allow, especially for those who enter AmeriCorps in their late teens and early twenties.  It was absolutely worth the small living stipend for the huge long term benefits, professionally, economically and personally that you will gain as a result of doing national service.  I can not say enough to recommend AmeriCorps!

Photo attribution: Provided by Denise Riebman

How to Handle the Full-time Job Search

by Meghan Oakley

category: Tips for Alum

Published September 21, 2009 @ 05:57PM PT

Most people have been there. Whether it’s after graduation from school, after serving as an AmeriCorps member, or even after being laid off, there is something very unique about searching for a job full-time. It can be stressful financially, physically, and emotionally. It can drain your savings, strain your personal life, and just plain wear you out.

Here are a few tips to help keep yourself sane during the long-term job search:

Treat your job search like a job: Set-up a schedule for yourself on when you are going to be “job-hunting” and when you are not. Find a place in your house or your town (i.e. library, coffee shop, etc) and dedicate it to the job search. Put in your time in your designated spot for about 40-50 hours a week, and when you aren’t there, take a break. No one works a 24/7 job (minus parents!), so why would you search for a job 24/7?

Give yourself a break: Although you might have to scale-back your spending or cut-out that pricey yoga class you love, there isn’t any reason why you can’t give yourself free time to relax, hang out with friends, or Netflix a movie. During the full-time job search, you need to recuperate on a daily basis, just like if you were working.

Stay connected with friends and family: The 40-hour-per-week job search can be a lonely endeavor. Make sure to fill your “off” time with plenty of social interaction. Try the best you can to maintain your regular social routines. Don’t have the cash for Tuesday night happy hour? Leave your credit cards at home and bring just enough cash for one drink.

Get plenty of rest and exercise: Searching for a job full-time puts a whole new kind of stress on your body and mind. That’s why it is more important than ever to take care of yourself. Make sure to set aside time in your schedule for plenty of sleep (you know what you need!) and exercise. It is possible (and sometimes likely!) that you can burn yourself out in the job search, just like in a regular job. Make sleep and exercise a priority to give yourself balance and energy to go out and find the job of your dreams.

Photo attribution: EveryStockPhoto