How Volunteering Abroad Helps with College Admissions

Volunteers passing out food to people. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Experience is one of the most valuable assets you will have when it comes to preparing yourself for your future. In fact, certain types of experience – like volunteering abroad – can make a big difference when you apply to college. Admissions officers are looking for well-rounded students, and volunteering abroad is one way to show the depth of your character. Continue Reading

Volunteering Your Way to Steady Employment: How to Gain Experience Without Having a Job

Young man carrying a box with food donations. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

One of the main attributes employers look for when reviewing potential candidates for a job is experience in the field. Unfortunately, there’s a catch-22 with this because job-seekers can’t exactly gain experience for the job when employers only hire those with experience. Although this fact might make the situation seem hopeless, one viable solution for gaining experience is by taking advantage of volunteering opportunities relevant to your industry. If you’ve been struggling to gain experience and/or find a job in your field, consider the following advice for finding the right volunteer work for you. Continue Reading

92% of Employers Use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to Hire New Employees

A new survey confirms what most in the recruiting industry already know: the use of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn have become an essential practice amongst human resource professionals with 92 percent of U.S. companies using social networks and media to find talent in 2012, up from 78 percent five years ago. LinkedIn continues to be a dominant recruiting network, while Facebook and Twitter have seen major adoption growth in the past year.

Two-thirds of companies now recruit through Facebook and 54 percent use Twitter to find new talent. Jobvite‘s June 2012 Social Recruiting Survey of 1,000 human resource and recruiting professionals also found that employers scrutinize social media activity, noting more than half of respondents would have a negative reaction to seeing a spelling or grammar mistake in a social profile. Overall, social recruiting has become an essential tool for recruiters and can be expected to become even more important as 89 percent of the companies surveyed report plans to increase hiring this year. Continue Reading

20 Compelling Reasons to Consider Volunteering After College

Having graduated from college, you are now an adult by every meaning of the word. Forty years of work awaits you. You’re hearing the siren song of the rat race. But if you haven’t figured it out by now, the cookie-cutter life path of college-work-marriage-kids-death doesn’t have to be the way it all goes down. Volunteering after college is an adventurous option that you can take to make the world a better place, and benefit yourself a little in the process. Here are 20 reasons why you should give it some serious thought. Continue Reading

More High School Students Choosing to Volunteer Abroad

Before high school students go to college or choose another path in the real world, many are volunteering their time as part of an international experience.

Projects Abroad, which recruits thousands of volunteers worldwide to volunteer in developing countries, reports that increasing numbers of high school students are choosing to volunteer abroad this summer. The leading international volunteer organization is expecting almost 1,000 students to take part this summer in their 2-Week High School Specials, which are structured programs for high school students. Continue Reading

Make Employers Think About Hiring You

Have you thought about what it takes to get a job?  Sure, you know about doing research, having a good resume and cover letter, a good interview, etc., but what can you do for an employer to consider hiring you.  As a job seeker, you want to prove your worth without seeming pushy.  One suggestion is to volunteer somewhere, which is an opportunity to offer your services and get noticed.

Here are some expert tips to remember in your approach to volunteering: Continue Reading

College Graduates with Work Experience May Have an Advantage

While work experience does not guarantee college grads jobs, it can’t hurt their chances.

College students take note: Prior work experience may be a requisite for getting your foot in the door with employers, a new Accountemps survey suggests. Nine in 10 (91 percent) chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed said it is important for entry-level accounting and finance professionals to gain practical experience while in college.

CFOs were asked, “How important is it for entry-level accounting and finance professionals to have gained work experience in the field while in college?” Their responses: Continue Reading

Five Career Tips for College Freshman

If you are a college freshman, time is on your side. How, you may ask. Well for one, hopefully the job market will be better in four years. And for another, you have 4 years to do all of the things you really need to do to set yourself apart from your classmates and the millions of other people that are competing for jobs. I know some college grads that are working in liquor stores or as cashiers in clothing stores. I don’t think this is where you want to work when you graduate (not that there is anything wrong with that). You need to position yourself now to be in the best bargaining position 3 and 4 years from now. Now is your chance to get ahead of the game rather than wishing you had been more diligent. So where to start? Take a read. Continue Reading