A photo from our NYC fair

Next week our annual grad fair tour will take us to…

• Denver, CO (Monday, October 25)
• Seattle, WA (Wednesday, October 27)
• Portland, OR (Thursday, October 28)

If you’re near one of those cities, we hope you’ll join us. You’ll have a chance to meet recruiters from 60-80 graduate degree programs ranging from conflict resolution to law to social work to journalism.

A prospective doctoral student recently wrote to ask whether he should travel to one of our fairs. He was curious what to expect and wondered: W hat is the value of attending a grad fair?

Amy Potthast, our Director of Service and Graduate Programs, offered her take:

Each fair takes place in a large room where each school staffs a table with more information, and where representatives chat with prospective students.

One value of a grad fair is that you can potentially build rapport with an admissions staffer at your prospective schools. You’ll then have the name of someone with whom you can follow up, ask questions, and meet on campus. You can make an initial in-person impression with a school representative — which is more powerful than over the phone.

Another value of the event is that you will learn more about schools you’d like to apply for and you find other programs you hadn’t set your sights on yet.

You can also ask basic questions and weed out other programs that aren’t going to be the best fit for your goals — saving you time and money.

We’ll have a Q&A panel where a number of recruiters will offer frank advice about admissions and financial aid so you can hear from a range of admissions experts at once.

On-campus visits are also a good idea, and we have an article on our site where you can learn more about how to plan for campus visits.

Learn more about grad school in our Public Service Graduate Education Resources Center.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

This post by Elena Martín originally appeared in Spanish at Idealistas.org.

Spending time volunteering is a great first step in defining and setting goals for your career and it doesn’t just have to be a selfless way of supporting a cause that you feel passionately about. If you want to work in the nonprofit sector, it’s practically required that you have some volunteer experience, so it’s OK to volunteer with your own future best interests in mind. Why is volunteering such an asset in your job search?

• Getting out there working for a cause with other motivated and connected people will give you the invaluable opportunity to expand your network of contacts. Other volunteers or even staff can quickly become references for future, paid positions.
• A volunteer opportunity can help you learn new skills and refine the ones that you already have. In many cases, organizations are strapped for time and resources and are willing to hand over big responsibilities to willing volunteers. This is great experience to list on your resume.
• Volunteering for an organization where you’d one day like to work puts you in a unique position if and when a position opens up. Having a few months of experience within the organization to show off how great of a candidate you are gives you a leg up in the hiring process. Be careful, though; you should never volunteer for an organization expecting to be offered a paid position at some point during your work there. Your interest in the cause and your desire to help carry out the mission of the organization should always be your primary goal.
• Volunteering can be a great way to test out a future career move. Do you feel passionate about urban gardening but currently work in insurance sales? You can see what it’s really like to get your hands dirty for a living with little risk by dedicating some of your time to an organization that works in the sector that you’re interested in.
• Being a volunteer turns you into an agent for social change. The commitment of your time that you make to an organization is seen as a real asset by nonprofit hiring managers, and it will definitely set you apart from people who have no previous work or volunteer experience in the nonprofit sector.

If that’s not enough, studies have shown that people who volunteer are healthier, happier, and less likely to be affected by stress. If you’re looking for a volunteer opportunity, search Idealist now!

For more strategies, tips, and resources for landing a job in the nonprofit sector, check out The Idealist Guides to Nonprofit Careers, online and in print.

Photo via Alishba Zarmeen.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

By Flickr user Ton Rulkens (Creative Commons)

If you visit our site often, you probably know that we run a series of graduate degree fairs every year. The idea is to bring together prospective students with representatives from all sorts of graduate programs whose graduates go on to serve the public good.

To complement the fairs (or to supplement them, for those who can’t make it in person), we have created a series of “degree overviews” — snapshots of several types of graduate programs you may be considering.

Today we’re spotlighting our public health degree overview. Public health is a multidisciplinary field that spans areas from maternal and child health to global health and health education, and encompasses a half dozen other specializations in between. This broad field focuses on improving the health of people and communities through research into illness and injury prevention and through efforts to promote healthy lifestyles and habits.

As a graduate student of public health, you will learn about the issues that affect population health and how to address and prevent the health problems that arise within a community. The flexibility of this field also allows for some interesting and surprising degree combinations: have you ever thought of a public policy and dentistry dual degree? Or public policy and occupational therapy? The possibilities abound.

To read more, or to access our full downloadable overview, click here.

We’re also getting excited about our graduate fairs in the United States (and in Toronto, Canada!) this fall. New York is first up, on September 16. Learn more about our fairs here, and mark your calendars now!

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

By Flickr user Kim Rodriguez (Creative Commons)

If you visit our site often, you probably know that we run a series of graduate degree fairs every year. The idea is to bring together prospective students with representatives from all sorts of graduate programs whose graduates go on to serve the public good.

To complement the fairs (and to supplement them, for those who can’t make it in person), we have created a series of “degree overviews” — snapshots of several types of graduate programs you may be considering.

Today we’re spotlighting our education degree overview. A graduate degree in education can take various forms (or be paired with a degree in another area of study), and can prepare students for a range of careers spanning from teaching to counseling, public policy, and even athletics. This versatility is appreciated by a number of different possible employers. While schools may be an obvious choice, many nonprofits, governmental agencies, museums, and companies also count amongst the employers that value the skills or specialties a teacher may bring.

To read more, or to access our full downloadable overview, click here.

And don’t forget, we’ll hold more graduate degree fairs in cities across the United States (and in Toronto, Canada) this fall, starting with New York, NY on September 16 and Providence, RI on September 20. Learn more about our fairs here, and mark your calendars now!

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

If you visit our site often, you probably know that we run a series of graduate degree fairs every year — and the 2010 series kicks off this week! The idea is to bring together prospective students with representatives from all sorts of graduate programs whose graduates go on to serve the public good.

To complement the fairs (or to supplement them, for those who can’t make it in person), we have created a series of “degree overviews” — snapshots of several types of graduate programs you may be considering.

Today we’re spotlighting our nonprofit management degree overview. While nonprofit organizations can differ wildly in the communities they serve and the people they engage with, they have a few basic characteristics in common. Nonprofit organizations all work towards a mission, whether broad (“abolish world hunger”) or narrow (“improve community resources in our neighborhood’), that serves the common good. Nonprofits also all have managers behind the scenes making this good work possible. Nonprofit management degree programs educate future nonprofit leaders in general operations, human resources, strategies, and fund development, amongst other skills essential to making a nonprofit run effectively and efficiently.

To learn more about nonprofit management, click here.

Better yet, if you are in New York City or Washington, DC, come visit us at our upcoming fairs this week! We will be in NYC tomorrow, June 15, and in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Click here for more information on our grad fairs.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

Know someone who’s about to receive a diploma, isn’t quite sure how they’re going to use their new degree to change the world, and is in the thick of a job search (or about to be)? Consider giving the graduate a shiny hard copy of the Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers!

Staff photo – we love seeing the book in stores!

If you go to college or grad school with the intention of becoming a doctor, an accountant, or a lawyer, it’s fairly clear-cut what you have to do: there are certain associations to join, certain conferences to attend, and certain courses that simply can’t be skipped. But if you want to earn a paycheck while addressing climate change, fighting for human rights, or working on other critical issues, and you think you might want to explore the nonprofit sector…well, the path can be a little more cloudy depending on what information you’ve been able to access so far.

These free books offer useful advice, strategies, and resources for those sorts of people. Written by the staff of Idealist.org and other experts, the books are available in two flavors (one edition for first-time job seekers, the other for sector switchers) and available as free PDFs. But now, if you want a gift for someone to unwrap, you can buy the printed versions from Hundreds of Heads books in independent bookshops or from Amazon, Borders, or Barnes & Noble.

Learn more about how to own (or gift!) a copy of The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for First-Time Job Seekers or The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers.

Congratulations to the Class of 2010!

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

Bloggers Dan Malin and Lauren Foukes spell out their LVI pride. Photo by Flickr user danielemalin.

Every year more and more people are traveling to Latin America to live, work, travel, and learn. And while these adventure seekers continue to check out the vast cultural, social, and environmental riches of the region—from the samba to tango, the Panama Canal to Patagonia—they are also increasingly looking for new ways to get involved. Instead of simply being a guest in their host communities, many are seeking to connect on a deeper level by helping out in whatever way they can — as volunteers, interns, friends, colleagues, and leaders.

If this sounds like you, share your experiences via the La Vida Idealist blog!

La Vida Idealist is a group blog that gathers stories and resources from idealists throughout Latin America into one space. From simple steps for volunteering abroad to dealing with conflicting emotions post-experience, creating your own volunteer project to musings on what it means to be a foreigner, the wealth of information you will find spans a wide range of topics. By including an array of voices that speak to the positive and not-so-positive aspects of community work abroad, we hope to inspire you, to support you, but most importantly, to help you remember that you are not alone in your own journey.

Currently, we are looking to expand our community of bloggers to include voices from countries we haven’t yet covered. So if you’re already rolling your r’s (or are about to) and have a knack for storytelling, we’d love to hear from you. To learn more and apply, go to: http://idealist.org/lavida/bloggeropp

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

By Flickr user cambodia4kidsorg (Creative Commons)

Last week, we launched a new global network of idealists — people who believe there’s more all of us can do to move from good intentions to action.

A lot of people agree—10,086 people from 159 countries and counting—and since the launch I’ve been the person they can contact when they want to share an idea, suggestion and/or story related to this initiative.

One wonderful story came from Sally Smith in Washington, D.C. Last Christmas, Sally was unable to afford a plane ticket home to Texas and instead decided to stick around the city to lend a hand. She posted an ad on Craigslist looking for others to volunteer with her and within hours, Washingtonians from all different ages, backgrounds and experiences responded. Over the course of two days, 100 random strangers participated in five events, including giving gifts to patients at the local Veteran’s hospital and handing out clothes and blankets to the homeless.

Sally’s story is great example of the power of technology to bring people together face-to-face, and I love how a simple online ad encouraged people to move from their intentions to action. If you have time off this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving and you’re thinking about adding some goodwill to your gobble, why not follow Sally’s lead? You can search Idealist’s database of volunteer opportunities or browse the profiles of people in your area to find company. You never know — there might be someone in the apartment above yours who would be thankful for the chance to spread a little holiday cheer.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

By Flickr user phylevn (Creative Commons)

Every year more and more people are traveling to Latin America to live, work, travel, and learn. And while these adventure seekers continue to check out the vast cultural, social, and environmental riches of the region—from the samba to tango, the Panama Canal to Patagonia—they are also increasingly looking for new ways to get involved. Instead of simply being a guest in their host communities, many are seeking to connect on a deeper level by helping out in whatever way they can — as volunteers, interns, friends, colleagues, and leaders.

If this sounds like you, share your experiences via the La Vida Idealist blog!

La Vida Idealist is a group blog that gathers stories and resources from idealists throughout Latin America into one space. From challenging gender norms to how to make the most of your tax dollars from abroad, photo slideshows about shantytowns to tips on helping locals volunteer abroad, the wealth of information you will find spans a wide range of topics. But the one trait these posts all share is honesty. By including an array of voices that speak to the positive and not-so-positive aspects of community work abroad, we hope to inspire you, to support you, but most importantly, to help you remember that you are not alone in your own journey.

Currently, we are looking to expand our roster of bloggers to include voices from countries we haven’t yet covered. So if you’re already rolling your r’s (or are about to) and have a knack for storytelling, we’d love to hear from you. To learn more and apply, go to: http://idealist.org/lavida/bloggeropp

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

By Flickr user NatalieHG

Every year, more and more expats are settling down in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whether for a few months or an indefinite period of time. Most come to hone their Spanish skills, some to perfect their tango moves, others to study at a university or simply embark on a new adventure. Whatever their reason, many of them have one thing in common: they want to give back to their adopted community. But where to start?

Join us for the More than Mate II: Volunteering in Argentina meet-up on November 11th to find out!

With over 2,000 nonprofits in Buenos Aires alone, we know it can be hard to navigate the nonprofit landscape in Argentina and find free opportunities. So we’re teaming up with Voluntarios Sin Fronteras and South American Explorer’s Club to host an event dedicated to you, the international volunteer. There will be group discussions centered around the topics of your choosing, a chance to chat with volunteer coordinators from nonprofits in the city, and a trivia game about Argentina’s social sector.

We welcome anyone interested in community work who wants to meet like-minded people, whether you’re a volunteer coordinator at an organization, are looking to become involved, or are an experienced volunteer.

To learn more and RSVP, please go to: www.idealist.org/servoluntario/argentina/en

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]