By Amy Potthast.

Want to live the business student life? (Image via University of Salford, Flickr/Creative Commons)

Want to research MBA schools before heading out for one of the Idealist Grad Fairs touring the United States this fall?

Check out the 2011 Business as UNusual Guide, a free download from Net Impact, the international organization that supports and grows business and business education for social and environmental impact, with 280 chapters around the globe.

The 2011 guide offers:

• Student-written profiles of 106 business schools from the United States and abroad
• The voices of 2,500 MBA students, sharing their B-school experiences
• Descriptions of and commentary about what business programs are doing to prepare students for careers that make a positive impact on the world
• Stats about each school, including the percentage of students who are Net Impact members, and how satisfied Net Impact members are with career coaching, connections to alumni, and other support
• Details not easily available on a school’s website, such as whether funding is available to support students interning at nonprofits

Many of the schools that appear in the guide also participate in the Idealist Grad Fairs, so if you’re thinking about getting an MBA — for a career in corporate citizenship or nonprofit leadership — we think it’s a great idea to research schools in Business as Unusual before stopping by one of our fairs.

More resources:

• Beyond Grey Pinstripes from the Aspen Institute is a biennial survey and ranking of business schools, which spotlights innovative full-time MBA programs and faculty that lead the way in integrating issues of social and environmental stewardship into business school curricula and research.
• Idealist’s Grad School Resource Center offers articles on admissions, financial aid, and degree options.
• Net Impact’s Corporate Careers the Make a Difference, another free guide that looks at business careers for the public good. (You can also listen an Idealist podcast featuring this book.)

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Amy Potthast served as Idealist’s Director of Service and Graduate Education Programs until 2011. Read more of her work at amypotthast.com.

Forget wasting hours in a doctor’s waiting room, surrounded by sneezes and bad music. Managing your health might now be a simple click away.

I’m six months pregnant. Throughout the whole pregnancy, I’ve raced to my computer at the slightest inclination of anything amiss: a stomach cramp here, back pain there, suspicion that my liver is about to shift up under my chest. Lately I find I preface every sentence to my doctor with, “It says on the internet…”

According to economics professor Alan B. Krueger, Americans age 15 and up spent a collective 847 million hours waiting for medical services in 2007. Photo via clevercupcakes (Flickr/Creative Commons).

Health and technology are increasingly intersecting, sometimes with mixed results. But there’s a reason why WebMD is popular: it’s easy to find information, costs nothing, and you don’t have to wait for it to call you back.

Here are some sites that are taking cues from what’s already out there to make sure your dose of information is relevant, timely, and won’t make you sick with worry:

1. PatientsLikeMe

People with every condition you can think of—from phobias to disorders to cancers—share their experiences here. Their stories are translated into real-time charts and graphs, and an easy search lets you browse by symptoms, treatments, and profiles that match yours. The idea is that laying your health issues out there for everyone to see can be therapeutic for you and useful for others.

Ultimately, the folks behind PatientsLikeMe hope this open source way of sharing knowledge can change the way medicine is done and delivered. And the best part? You don’t need insurance to take advantage of the knowledge shared here.

Considerations and caveats: If you’re not comfortable with broadcasting your health issues to the world, then this might not be for you. Also, there’s not much gender balance yet: 73.2% of the PatientsLikeMe community are female.

2. Hello Health

Say goodbye to unreturned calls from your doctor and hello to 24 hour access. Hello Health seeks to make communicating with your physician easy, efficient, and fast: you can use it to schedule appointments, check lab results, renew prescriptions, and get this, video chat with your provider.

It costs $120 per year to join, but think about how low your blood pressure will be when you don’t have to wait on hold or sit around reading gossip magazines anymore.

Considerations and caveats: For doctors, increased access has the potential to be overwhelming; managing expectations is a must. Patients who aren’t internet savvy or have limited to no access are also at a disadvantage.

3. Sickweather

Just as your local weatherman tells you when the next storm is coming through, this site alerts you when the next sickness is advancing in your area – minus the corny jokes. Scanning social networks and public sources, Sickweather lets you know which neighborhoods, restaurants, and more to avoid when the forecast calls for germs. It’s an interesting way to keep up with health trends all in one place.

Currently in beta, Sickweather is now accepting testers. But keep an eye on this site; in the space where health and technology meet, it just may be prove to be a barometer of success.

Considerations and caveats: Hypochondriacs should probably forget what they just read.

I’m curious what you think. Would you use these sites to manage your health? Why or why not?

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Other Idea File posts you might enjoy:

• No internet? Just call Question Box
• Three creative ways to address homelessness
• Geezer Gallery paints new picture of “old”

This is the third in a three-part series for job seekers. You might also enjoy Can social media help you land your dream job? and Applying for jobs? Four free tools to keep the process simple.

Job applicants prepare for mock interviews. (Photo: DC Central Kitchen, Flickr/Creative Commons)

The headlines about jobs are very doom-and-gloom, but this summer the number of jobs posted on Idealist has actually increased (knock on wood, there are currently more than 7,000 jobs listed on our site). If you’ve found yourself saying “there just aren’t enough hours in the day to stay on top of everything,” here are some tools to help you save time and keep your search organized and on track.

RSS feeds: For those who aren’t familiar, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. You can set up a reader to serve as a one-stop website that automatically fills up with the personalized content you’re looking for.

All you need is a free RSS reader (like Google Reader) and a job site that supports RSS feeds (like ours!). To get started, run your favorite Idealist search, click the orange RSS button, and paste the URL into your reader. You’ll no longer have to constantly visit unique sites and run unique searches. All of your content will be in one place that’s easy to scan.

Google Alerts: Let’s say you’ve done some self-reflection and right now you’re motivated mainly by the desire to support a specific organization’s mission, by filling a specific type of role. (The “five lens framework” exercise can help you figure this out.)

If you know you want to be a Development Associate at the Alzheimer’s Association or a Program Officer at Room to Read, for example, create a Google Alert using those keywords. Then you’ll get an email whenever there is content posted on the web that matches. Even if you’re less sure about the exact job title you’re after, you can easily tailor alerts that pull in new jobs based on your area of interest or expertise.

Idealist Email Alerts: Similar idea, but specifically built into Idealist to help you stay on top of your searches there. They’re really easy to set up.

Social media: If you know you want to work at The Nature Conservancy, for example, be sure to like their page on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and LinkedIn, and connect to them on Idealist. Organizations will often reach out to their networks first before publicizing positions on major job boards.

Your turn! What other tools do you use to simplify your job search?

Social networks can help you with your job search. Photo by Dean Meyers (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Remember when people said you should hide your social media profiles during a job hunt? Now I would argue the opposite. Become active in social media – just remember that the person reading your tweets, blog posts, etc. could be your future manager! Here are some tips.

Twitter: Follow the organizations that you’re interested in working for, and the causes that you’re passionate about. Tweet about topics that are relevant to the job you want to land. Interested in fundraising? Follow, RT, and engage in conversation with people already in fundraising. Staying on top of new developments in your field, and being public about it, highlights your growing expertise to future employers.

Facebook: Stop reading and go check your privacy preferences. Put up a photo that’s at least semi-professional and make sure to include your past work and education experience in your profile. Unlike pages that might scare away a potential employer and replace them with the pages of the organizations that you’d like to work for. Engage with their posts when the opportunity presents itself; it will help demonstrate that you’re knowledgeable about their work if and when the time comes for them to hire.

LinkedIn: I’m not even job hunting and I’ve received offers for interviews just because I have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile. Take the time to make your LinkedIn profile as beautiful and informative as your résumé. Keep it up to date with your accomplishments and find and connect to everyone that you know professionally. It can definitely pay off, especially when you’re applying to jobs and looking for someone in your network at a company or organization.

Google profile: For whatever reason, you may have something showing up in a Google search that you don’t want employers to see. Cultivate online content that you control by creating a free Google profile. (And read my last post to learn more about how free Google tools can help you manage your job search.)

Idealist: Create a free profile and let hiring managers see your skills, interests, experience, and the causes that you’re passionate about. You can also connect directly to the organizations that you’re interested in so that you’re in the know when they post new opportunities.

Free blogging tools: If you’ve got a skill, a talent, or a passion for something that is related to your career, start a blog on a free blog service like WordPress. A well-maintained blog is an awesome way to show off your expertise, writing skills, and personality to potential hiring managers. (Not sure where to start or how to maintain your blogging mojo? Lots of folks have written about these topics, including Rosetta Thurman, Badi Jones, and Allison Jones.)

And finally: Put the networking back into your social networks. Whenever you apply for a job, check your social networks for contacts that you have at the organization, or even friends of friends of friends at the organization. If you’re looking for a job, be proactive and message your contacts on all of your networks to let them know what you’re looking for. People usually want to help, and if they know what you’re looking for, they’ll think of you first if something similar opens up at their organization. Knowing someone that can vouch for you to the hiring manager is the easiest way to land an interview.

Your turn to weigh in! What other ways can you use the social web to make your job search more successful?

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Other posts you might enjoy:

• Career Corner: What if you’ve just joined “Club Laid Off”?
• Career Corner: Don’t search for jobs, search for people!
• Five New Years’ resolutions for job seekers

By Amy Potthast.

Can you make the world more sustainable by working for a corporation?

According to Net Impact and its free, downloadable career guide Corporate Careers that Make a Difference, you can.

Everyday, business leaders make a positive environmental and social impact in their companies – both in dedicated green jobs, as well as in more conventional job functions.

On this episode of the Idealist Careers Podcast, Idealist’s Amy Potthast chats with Abby Davisson from Net Impact, a national nonprofit dedicated to engaging business in making the world sustainable, and Yonnie Leung, Principal of Environmental Sustainability for Shared Services at Pacific Gas and Electric Company in California and one of the professionals profiled in the Net Impact career guide.

During the conversation, they also briefly mention Net Impact’s Business as UNusual Guide to MBA programs that have a focus on corporate citizenship. The 2011 Guide launches this week; if you’re in the market for MBA programs, you can download it free from Net Impact. You can meet many of the schools mentioned in Business as UNusual this fall at the Idealist Grad Fairs taking place across the country.

Ready to listen? Download the show or subscribe in iTunes.

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Amy Potthast served as Idealist’s Director of Service and Graduate Education Programs until 2011. Read more of her work at amypotthast.com.

Recently at the Social Media for Nonprofits conference in NYC, as Andy Steggles talked about developing mobile strategies for nonprofits, I tweeted: “Is your nonprofit using QR codes? How?”

Have you seen a compelling campaign that involved QR codes? (Photo: Brian Suda, Flickr/Creative Commons)

For those who aren’t familiar, QR (short for “quick response”) codes are those pixel-y little boxes you might have seen popping up on store windows or in magazine ads. If you have a smart phone, you can use it to snap a picture of the code and it will take you to the web address of, say, a coupon, a video, or any number of things.

My pal Emily Goodstein wrote a long post about QR codes for Convio’s Connection Cafe blog recently. Check it for a much better explanation than mine, and for an example of how the National Partnership for Women and Families used a QR code to occupy conference attendees as they waited in a long security line. There’s also a helpful intro post up at Nonprofit Tech 2.0.

I was curious about the ways that organizations like yours might be using this technology. Here are some of the responses to my tweet, from folks with lots of different goals.

Spread awareness

• CAMBA Inc., a Brooklyn-based human services organization, recently included QR codes on transit posters for an HIV anti-stigma campaign. (Click that link to see the Facebook note that accompanied the campaign as well as the poster.)

Inspire an action

• Hope & Heroes, the children’s cancer fund at Columbia University Medical Center, is considering adding a QR code to a save the date postcard for an upcoming walk event. Anyone who sees the postcard could scan the code and go straight to the registration page.

• Miss Representation, a documentary film and nonprofit aimed at raising visibility of women leaders, tweeted: “We used QR codes to help spread a petition! Check it out: http://j.mp/mOBrgV.” They posted the codes around San Francisco and, though it was hard to track, found that it increased the number of signatures.

• Larry Schooler of Austin, TX, noted: “We’re a city government, not nonprofit, but we use QR codes to send people to websites where they give input on city policy.”

Share a video

• Independence First, an organization that serves people with disabilities in greater Milwaukee, WI, said: “Honestly we use them on almost everything now. Ads, flyers, event invites, brochures. Love em!” A second tweet clarified that for each of those examples, the QR code takes you to a video – one might be an invitation to a big event; another a more general “About Our Work” video.

• Small Change Fund, a collective giving campaign based all over Canada, added a QR code to the backs of their staff business cards. The code “links to video of our founders explaining who we are & why we exist!”

More ideas, plus a caveat

• Rebecca Saidlower, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications at The Jewish Education Project, wrote “we discussed using them on conference badges as mobile business cards.”

• And finally, a word of caution from social media manager Josh Ness, who says that if you’re thinking about developing a QR code, you should “try to avoid these QR mistakes!”

Your turn! Have you ever bothered to snap a photo and see where a QR code might take you? Has your agency or organization incorporated QR codes into your campaigns? I’d love to hear about it.

Use these to hammer out applications and nail your dream job. (Photo: Kimmo Palosaari via Creative Commons)

Remember that old saying about how searching for a job is a full time job? Staying on top of all those deadlines, applications, cover letters, résumés, and job descriptions isn’t easy.

One of my favorite sets of tools for staying organized is the full suite of Google Apps. Here are a few tricks that you can try to help you stay above water during your job search. All you need is a free Gmail account to use them.

Docs: Save each cover letter that you write as a unique doc like “Cover letter for social media position” or “Cover letter for arts organization.” You’re already writing unique, tailored cover letters for each position that you apply for, so having them all readily accessible and searchable will save you a lot of time when you apply to similar positions in the future.

While you’re at it, save a copy of each job description as soon as you begin the application. (Here’s an example.) Once a listing comes down from Idealist or any other job site, it’s gone, and you’ll be less prepared for your interview if you can’t refer back to the specific requirements and description of the of the job that you’re aiming for.

Spreadsheets: You can use a spreadsheet to track everything that you’re doing in your job search. Feel free to copy this example I created (click on it to view full size):

Having everything in one place—information like where you’re finding the jobs that you’ve applied for, links to your cover letters, modified résumés, and even types of organizations that you’re applying to and whether you got a call back—will reveal trends that over time can help tailor your search.

Calendar: Nailed a phone interview for next week? Schedule it on your calendar and set reminders for a day and for a few hours beforehand. You don’t want to be late!

Gmail: If you’re applying to any job that requires a demonstrated understanding of technology or social media, you should be using the best tech tools that are available to you. As silly as it might seem, some hiring managers are biased against people that are using more “old fashioned” email services.

Are you on the hunt right now? What are some other online tools that can help manage the application process?

Guest blogger Heather Jarvis provides education and training “for student loan borrowers and the people who love them.” Here she sums up what college students, recent graduates, and folks considering grad school need to know about the debt ceiling deal.

Do those peaceful hours studying feel like a long time ago? It's never too late (or too early!) to understand your student loans. Photo via Tulane Public Relations (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Last week the House and Senate passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 [PDF] just ahead of the deadline, and President Obama has signed the act into law. Key student aid programs are largely intact, and I am relieved to report that the new law avoids some of the proposed cuts that would have hurt students the most.

There are three main provisions in the debt ceiling deal related to higher education:

• Funding is provided for the Pell Grant program.
• The in-school loan interest subsidy for graduate and professional students is eliminated beginning July 1, 2012.
• “Repayment incentives,” or cost reductions earned by certain borrowers, are eliminated for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2012.

Now for some Q&A…

Q. Students shoulder $4.6 billion of the deficit reduction (so far)?! How is that possible?

The elimination of the graduate and professional interest subsidy and the loan repayment incentives are estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to produce a savings of $21.6 billion. $17 billion of that savings will go to shore up the Pell Grant program, and $4.6 billion will be used to reduce the deficit. Read on for more details about all of these changes.

Q. I have student loans. What steps should I take?

• Always borrow federal student loans first and only consider more expensive private student loans if you must.
• If you are still in school and you can afford it, consider paying student loan interest as it accrues.  You’ll lower your costs over time.
• Choose the repayment plan that makes the most sense for you. Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is a good option for people with low income compared to their student loan debt.
• Pay off your most expensive loans first.
• Find out if Public Service Loan Forgiveness can help.

Q. Is my Pell Grant safe?

Pell Grants are safe for now; the White House indicates that the funding will be sufficient to keep them at their current level of $5,500. If they  had been cut, students may well have had to increase their reliance on student loans. Thankfully, the Budget Control Act shores up the Pell Grant program by providing $17 billion in funding over the next two fiscal years. However, with spending cuts anticipated in the future, Pell Grants remain at risk.

Q. What should graduate and professional students expect?

Graduate and professional students will pay more for student loans. The Budget Control Act eliminates the in-school interest subsidy for graduate and professional students, so these folks will pay more interest over time.  However, it does not eliminate the interest subsidy for undergraduate borrowers.

Subsidized Stafford Loans have historically been available to both undergraduate and graduate borrowers with demonstrated financial need.  In the case of Subsidized Loans, the government pays the interest that accrues on the loan while the student is in college.  Without the subsidy, students must themselves pay the accruing interest as they go, or have the unpaid interest added to the principle amount of their loan and pay it later.

(Ed. note: You can learn more about financial aid on our financing your graduate education page.)

Q. What about repayment incentives?

To encourage borrowers to repay on time, the Department of Education was previously authorized to provide certain incentives, including an origination fee rebate and interest rate reduction.  Borrowers would earn these benefits by making on-time payments over 12 months.  Beginning on July 1, 2012, the Department of Education is no longer authorized to provide these repayment incentives, but may continue to allow an interest rate reduction for borrowers who enroll in payment by automatic electronic debit.

Q. Is it possible that there will be even more cuts to student aid?

Yes. The Budget Control Act requires Congress to come up with a lot more deficit reduction by Thanksgiving.  Additional spending cuts may come in part from higher education. Stay tuned…

Do you have additional questions we can try to answer? Leave a comment below and we’ll do our best!

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About the author

Former capital defense attorney and long-time public service advocate Heather Jarvis dedicates herself to helping students make informed decisions about their student loans. Since 2005, Heather has helped more than an estimated 25,000 students understand and overcome college debt through in-person and online trainings and resources. As Senior Program Manager for Advocacy and Outreach at Equal Justice Works, Heather played a role in the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which made IBR and Public Service Loan Forgiveness a reality.

Want to learn more about Public Service Loan Forgiveness?  Register for one Heather’s popular free webinars and get the scoop.  Heather provides free tools and information for student loan borrowers and the people who love them at www.askheatherjarvis.com.

By Amy Potthast.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Anthony Buchanan gets a hug after reading to children on "Read with a Hero Day." (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Kilka, Creative Commons)

In 2010, Daniel Finan separated from the Navy. He told us recently, “I was sure I was going to get stuck doing some kind of intelligence work or defense contracting because of my military background. Not what I wanted to do, at all.”

For veterans, the task of searching for a rewarding job—something in the civilian world that is as satisfying and selfless as service-to-country—has its complications.

• Military service is more than a job — it’s a mission, it’s a challenge, it’s an identity, and it involves caring for the people you serve with. You can’t leave that kind of high-stakes job and be satisfied with just anything that pays the bills.
• Over a million vets are unemployed, and their spouses (who move around frequently) are facing unemployment rates of 25 percent.
• As sector switchers, vets entering the nonprofit sector must learn to translate their experiences and skills so that civilian employers get it.

After four months of searching and applying for positions he found on Idealist, Daniel landed a job at the Institute of International Education, as program manager of the International Visitor Leadership Program sponsored by the Department of State’s Educational and Cultural Affairs Division.

If you are like Daniel, hoping to transition from military missions to nonprofit missions, you may benefit from these insights:

1) Network. Your path to a satisfying public service career at home is paved with relationships. Relationships will help you figure out your new career niche, learn where to look for jobs, and familiarize yourself with the lingo and philosophies of the sector.

Resources to check out:

• Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers, Chapter 4 — the chapter on networking! The career guide is a free downloadable book, but you can also buy a hard copy if you prefer.
• Young Nonprofit Professionals Network — with chapters in 35+ cities, YNPN is all about networking and professional development.

2) Volunteer. A great way to build relationships in the nonprofit sector is to volunteer with organizations that mean something to you. You should list your volunteer position and job duties on your resume — in line with paid positions. Search volunteer listings here on Idealist or refer to these other resources.

Resources to check out:

• Mission Serve, a program of ServiceNation, connects vets and civilians through volunteering — often an entry point to careers in the nonprofit sector. Its blog is filled with stories of vets who have found meaning in service here at home.
• AmeriCorps isn’t technically volunteering, but it is full-time, stipended service here at home. Opportunities exist throughout the States and Territories and service comes with an education award of about $5,000 to put towards school.

3) Lead with issue. Many sector switchers wonder, “what employer needs my skill set?” Coming from military training and service, it’s clear you have a strong set of unique skills that a nonprofit will put to good use.

But in the nonprofit sector, more important questions to ask are, what am I passionate about? What change do I want to see in the world? Consider the social or environmental issues that you are most concerned with, and find ways to work on them professionally.

Resources to check out:

• Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers, Chapter 3 – with exercises on self- and career-assessment.
• Idealist Career Center’s “issue” section.

Your turn to weigh in! Are you transitioning out of the Service? What secrets or success stories can you share?

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Amy Potthast served as Idealist’s Director of Service and Graduate Education Programs until 2011. Read more of her work at amypotthast.com.

Tons of sites are putting a do-gooder spin on the Groupon model.

A few months ago I wrote about G-Team, the cause-based, collective action website that eventually sparked Groupon. Groupon is no longer running solo with LivingSocial, Google Offers, and Facebook’s Deals, amongst many others, now competing in the local, social deal business.

The huge success of these platforms has also caught the eye of some new startups that see the potential to use this model to support the work of nonprofit organizations. Here are just a few of them:

• 

  Has your organization joined GoodTwo? What do you think so far?

  goodtwo: Nonprofits can create a page, pick a deal, and then share with their constituents through tools that the company provides for social media and email promotion. About 25% of each sale goes to the nonprofit, so it’s a unique, fun fundraising opportunity that puts a modern twist on the old bake sale and wrapping paper model.

• Philanthroper: They say they’re another daily deal site, but instead of selling something, they’re sharing the story of a new nonprofit every day. If you identify with the story, you can donate a $1 to the organization to help fund it’s work. It’s a great way to disconnect from that shop ‘til you drop mentality, and connect with new nonprofits that need your support to scale their model.
• CAUSEON, The Daily Hookup, and so many others. CAUSEON sends 20% of each daily deal sale to local community causes, while The Daily Hookup pitches deals relevant to the gay community, then sends 5% of each sale to local 501(c)(3)s that support LGBT organizations.

There are hundreds of daily deal sites now (DonorBuy.com just joined our site, for example), so it’s great to see some of these companies trying to differentiate themselves from the competition by pursuing models that benefit the nonprofit sector.

Know of any others I didn’t mention here? Ever snagged a particularly awesome deal? Shout it out in a comment below.