Monthly Archives: March 2009

03.06.09
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How to Talk about Your Service Term during a Hiring Process

A recently returning China Volunteer wants to know how to discuss her experiences during the job search. These are my two cents.

Talking about your experience in a service corps in the first year — or five — after completing your term, you may notice a wide range of responses among your listeners: anything from the dazed-over blank stare, to the nervous, fidgety “please change the subject now” glare.

To avoid either response while you are building your professional network or chatting in a job interview, prepare ahead of Continue reading →

03.05.09
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High Schoolers Find a New Way to Serve through Global Citizen Year

A program that offers a nine-month, international service opportunity for recent high school grads is now accepting applications for its inaugural term.

Global Citizen Year aims to give gap-year kids the experience of their life time that will shape their college ambitions, career, and capacity for doing good in an increasingly global world.

Most people I know who traveled or lived abroad as kids have become citizens of the world in adulthood, speaking languages beyond English, reading between the lines of news stories set on foreign shores, and exhibiting a wanderlust and curiosity satisfied only through international travel and making friends from all backgrounds. Service abroad can also have a profound impact on the host communities—check out this video about GCY and what high schoolers can do, given a chance:

If you wish the same  for yourself or your kid, read more about GCY and the application process.

03.05.09
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Reminder from the Corporation’s General Counsel

In this time of hyper advocacy for national service, the General Counsel for the Corporation for National and Community Service gently reminds Corporation-supported grantees, corps members, and sponsoring organizations what not to do.

In a memo issued March 2nd, Frank R. Trinity urges national service folks to: Continue reading →

03.05.09
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Why It’s Wrong to Assume that All Service Participants are Young

How branding national service as an opportunity only for young people does more harm to the movement than good.

Christian Witkin for TIME Magazine

Christian Witkin for TIME Magazine

While many service corps do have upper age limits — City Year, AmeriCorps*NCCC, Public Allies, and many other team-based programs — most programs do not have an upper age limit.

In fact, several programs specifically recruit professionals — Experience Corps, Atlas Corps, CUSO-VSO (the Canadian VSO), Volunteers for Prosperity, and United Nations Volunteers just to name a few. Others like Peace Corps and AmeriCorps*VISTA recruit almost entirely college graduates because of the skill required in carrying out service.

And yet when people speak of service they almost always describe it as an opportunity for young people to give back, receive scholarship money, develop leadership skills, and go an an adventure before settling down with a real job.

What difference does it make if most people think of national or international service as a pursuit for the young?

Here are some reasons:

Recruitment:

If we assume only young people will enlist in a citizen service corps, we won’t recruit new corps members as creatively Continue reading →