Job seeking in the Atlanta area? Here’s an event you won’t want to miss: Hiring for Hope’s Impression Management Workshop this Tuesday. (I’ll be speaking, too.) [Read more…] about Job searching in Atlanta? An event you won’t want to miss
Speaking at Digital Atlanta
If you’re in the Atlanta area, you’ll want to know about Digital Atlanta! I’ll be speaking in two programs, both on Wednesday, November 9th. It’s a great series of events the week of November 6th covering pretty much any aspect of social media you can imagine. [Read more…] about Speaking at Digital Atlanta
Career lessons from Steve Jobs
Twitter was buzzing tonight about the sad news of Steve Jobs’ death. The visionary and former Apple CEO (he resigned in August, when health problems prevented him from serving), was only 56, but had been fighting pancreatic cancer for eight years. ABC News broke into programming to announce the death, a significant indicator of the affect he had and his contributions to society. [Read more…] about Career lessons from Steve Jobs
Trends and resources for job seekers
Hiring for Hope is a grassroots movement and a national 501(c)3 organization focused on reshaping the way people and organizations think, talk, act, and interact with each other about career and family issues.
Hiring for Hope is the home of the Job Angels movement founded by Mark Stelzner of Inflexion Advisors. Job Angels’ premise was that each member would commit to a single goal: helping just one person find gainful employment. This simple and effective career management program has already helped nearly 2,500 people find gainful employment.
With the help of about 130 volunteers, Hiring for Hope focuses on empowering more than 55,000 members with the ability to build and maintain economically-viable and sustainable lives and families.
Tegan Acree, Founder and President of Hiring for Hope, has nearly 15 years of experience as a senior human resources, training, and staffing industry executive managing multiple locations and resources nationally. Overseeing an organization serving over 55,000 job seekers, she is uniquely positioned to comment on job market and job seeker trends.
Read her thoughts on my U.S. News & World Report blog.
Thoughts about volunteering and job hunting on a National Day of Service
Last week, there was news from LinkedIn about their new section allowing users to highlight their volunteer experiences, organizations you support and causes important to them. (You can read their blog announcing this news.)
I’ve written about how job seekers can help turn volunteer efforts into a job. I’ve linked to the Encore.org site, which has a very useful (and free) ebook on the subject. They suggest:
- Find volunteer work in an organization whose mission you share.
- Offer your expertise.
- Show your range.
- Make yourself indispensable.
- Identify an organizational need.
- Incorporate your volunteer work into your resume.
The ebook (available to download HERE) offers practical tips and resources and reminds careerists to focus on the experience and its usefulness rather than expect that it will lead to a job.
Volunteering has many good potential outcomes. Some people volunteer to do work to gain experience (via internships, for example), or offer their services free of charge in order to keep their skills up when they are not engaged in paid opportunities. Others recognize the value of working with and meeting people who share a passion or interest. They may volunteer first because that is what they enjoy doing, but may also reap some secondary benefits — meeting new friends and contacts.
All of this is important to remember, but what is the best way to highlight volunteer experience if you’re job hunting? Even though LinkedIn now provides a whole, separate place to focus on your volunteer work, I usually advise clients to consider showcasing in-depth, significant volunteer work as “experience,” without specifically highlighting it as “volunteer work.”
There is no reason to designate your experience on your resume or job search materials as “for pay” and “unpaid.” Your experience is your experience, and if you have been engaged in working for or with an organization, and have skills to describe and accomplishments to showcase, it’s appropriate to do so within the “Experience” section. If interviewers ask if the work was a volunteer efforts, feel free to share why you chose that organization and highlight your altruism after you explain your accomplishments and the skills you used.
I think it’s great LinkedIn is giving everyone a place to showcase their favorite causes, but don’t include your work-focused volunteer efforts in the new section INSTEAD of in the regular experience section. Feel free to continue to highlight your experience as just that — EXPERIENCE!