Tomorrow is August 1st. It's slightly daunting. I really need to acquire new employment so I can switch right over and not have any downtime. I had a first interview with the NH Chapter of the March Of Dimes to be a community director (one of two) this past Monday. I think it went well but I'm not sure if I'd be excited enough to commit to the amount of development work they need. As the community director I would be in charge of specific events in certain portions of the state. It would be my duty to recruit event chairs and committees to do the work acquiring all the necessary supplies and spaces for the events and to gather up the people who would raise the money for the event. Meanwhile, I'd be going to businesses and corporations with specific proposals attempting to get funds to pay for the events . The director said that I would be flown out to regional conferences for mandatory trainings on the events, which could clearly be awesome, but I wonder if I would crack under some sort of pressure. However, the position could be quite simple. Just get out there, talk to people, build relationships, have great events. Though "Bikers for Babies" makes me laugh every time I say it.
The Manchester 21st CCLC, the program with which I currently work, has managed to get a position cleared that is basically what I do now. A portion of me would really hate to see all the work I've put into getting sustainability subcommittees together, sitting on community committees, and attempting to build general capacity lose any momentum I may have helped create. I'm certainly applying for the position but it could potentially, like the program as a whole, exist for only one year unless the program is successful in acquiring the 65% grant from the DOE.
Aside from those two options I don't have much else. I've applied for a Federal position in Manchester through usajobs.com (VISTA grants you non-competitive eligibility for 1 year after successful completion of your one year of service), and sent out my resume to a couple other places but so far... I'm just finishing the sustainability plan for the program.
Showing posts with label life after americorps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life after americorps. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Drawing to a close...
The afterschool program is done for this (fiscal) year. Summer programming starts July 7th and goes to August 1st but that's on the next fiscal calendar. Site Coordinators aren't working and here I am sitting in my cubicle. My cube, by the way, has steadily been filled with more and more stuff throughout the year. When I started I had a desk (that I had to build) a chair, a laptop and a phone. Now I have a 4 drawer, professional filing cabinet, a white board on an easel, a second chair, a storage cabinet, 2 broken printers, a little zen camping thing (like those zen gardens except more NH forest based) and a little 2 drawer filing cabinet that doesn't have a top. Oh, I also have the "Community Relations Office" sign David Scannell used to have, but never used. It's odd that just when you actually have all the makings of a real office/cubicle/work space you can only think about what your next one will look like.
2 months and 5 days from now I will no longer be an A*VISTA member. I'll have to be something else. What that is, I have no idea. I realized, this morning, that my year of service has given me a strong basis of experience in everything administrator related except for HR and Budgeting. However, I'm 22 and my degree is in music performance and philosophy. I'd be a more likely candidate as an Administrative Assistant than as an Administrator. I should probably put the feelers out for teaching clarinet wherever I can.
My problem - I may have waited too long to find a good position that is something I would WANT to do rather than simply can do. Right now I'm also up against all of the 2008 graduates desperately trying to find a job and move out. My best bet would have been to try and find something once the new year started, or at least before all the spring breaks. However, I think the real issue is I'm not sure what I really want to do. My experience as a VISTA have showed me a lot but due to my needing to do so much nothing has really jumped out as me as "Hey! I wanna do that!" I did just write an article for Parenting NH and I am currently writing a multi-year sustainability plan for the program but I'm not sure how to start down that road. I already write a column for the American Record Guide and I love reviewing the newest CDs but maybe that means I should be moving back towards grad school.
In less rambling matters, PlusTime NH is currently having a promotional video created for it by Heartwood Media in Manchester, NH. The video will pretty much be used for recruitment/youtube kind of stuff. I was one of the people they wanted interviewed and I really feel that the media company went about things the wrong way. If the intention is going to be a youtube video you have to know about that scene. I asked them, jokingly, if they had ever seen youtube content and one responded with "no, I only watch animal videos." Everyone who was interviewed was standing up, that creates a bit on an uncomfortable situation. The real issue here was that they had called all the people to be interviewed and asked us questions. I could hear typing happening as I talked. I imagined that I would show up and they would have taken the things I said and narrowed down what they wanted to fit a certain storyboard they had envisioned... no such luck here. I was asked a bunch of questions again and, since my dad just told me that I owed him $830 to get my car fixed I wasn't in the best of moods. I had also just realized that my family, and probably most of my friends, had absolutely no idea what kinds of stuff I had been doing for the past 8 months.
If you are ever going to make a video, map it out. Pre-screen people and take that info and tell them to repeat certain things when you film. Remember your audience and tailor it to them. Make sure people are comfortable when they talk. Have familiar people talk to them while filming. Lastly, The Flip Ultra retails for less than $180 and is outstanding for creating the next viral video. Point, record, flip out the usb plug, download to your computer, upload to YouTube. BAM, video diary. The possibilities are many if the nonprofit world can start entertaining the ideal of using the internet to its advantage.
2 months and 5 days from now I will no longer be an A*VISTA member. I'll have to be something else. What that is, I have no idea. I realized, this morning, that my year of service has given me a strong basis of experience in everything administrator related except for HR and Budgeting. However, I'm 22 and my degree is in music performance and philosophy. I'd be a more likely candidate as an Administrative Assistant than as an Administrator. I should probably put the feelers out for teaching clarinet wherever I can.
My problem - I may have waited too long to find a good position that is something I would WANT to do rather than simply can do. Right now I'm also up against all of the 2008 graduates desperately trying to find a job and move out. My best bet would have been to try and find something once the new year started, or at least before all the spring breaks. However, I think the real issue is I'm not sure what I really want to do. My experience as a VISTA have showed me a lot but due to my needing to do so much nothing has really jumped out as me as "Hey! I wanna do that!" I did just write an article for Parenting NH and I am currently writing a multi-year sustainability plan for the program but I'm not sure how to start down that road. I already write a column for the American Record Guide and I love reviewing the newest CDs but maybe that means I should be moving back towards grad school.
In less rambling matters, PlusTime NH is currently having a promotional video created for it by Heartwood Media in Manchester, NH. The video will pretty much be used for recruitment/youtube kind of stuff. I was one of the people they wanted interviewed and I really feel that the media company went about things the wrong way. If the intention is going to be a youtube video you have to know about that scene. I asked them, jokingly, if they had ever seen youtube content and one responded with "no, I only watch animal videos." Everyone who was interviewed was standing up, that creates a bit on an uncomfortable situation. The real issue here was that they had called all the people to be interviewed and asked us questions. I could hear typing happening as I talked. I imagined that I would show up and they would have taken the things I said and narrowed down what they wanted to fit a certain storyboard they had envisioned... no such luck here. I was asked a bunch of questions again and, since my dad just told me that I owed him $830 to get my car fixed I wasn't in the best of moods. I had also just realized that my family, and probably most of my friends, had absolutely no idea what kinds of stuff I had been doing for the past 8 months.
If you are ever going to make a video, map it out. Pre-screen people and take that info and tell them to repeat certain things when you film. Remember your audience and tailor it to them. Make sure people are comfortable when they talk. Have familiar people talk to them while filming. Lastly, The Flip Ultra retails for less than $180 and is outstanding for creating the next viral video. Point, record, flip out the usb plug, download to your computer, upload to YouTube. BAM, video diary. The possibilities are many if the nonprofit world can start entertaining the ideal of using the internet to its advantage.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Moving around and looking towards August...
When I first took the VISTA position I had recently received my undergrad degree and had moved back in with my parents. I was living no more than 5 miles from my place of work and giving my dad about $500 a month. I basically had the upstairs of the house to myself though living with your parents can always be odd and awkward. However, at the end of January I moved to Concord into a condo/apartment thing with my friend Grant. Now I commute to work, about 22 miles I think, have a much smaller room, and pay only $300 a month. I also gained a community building with an exercise room and an indoor pool. Because of the car accident in December, I have a more fuel efficient car which helps keep me close to staying within my allotted $75 gas card. However, it's really the $200 savings from the rent differential that makes the move worth it (besides being able to sit and drink on the couch without my dad asking me if I'm "making the right decisions" with my life). Even with the extra gas cost and food cost I'm not hemorrhaging any money and my bank account is holding pretty steady. I do have to say that tax returns are awesome though.
Since it is now April and I have to do my third quarter report this week it is once again that time of year where you are somewhat allowed to seriously question every major decision you've ever made and become flat-out frightened of the future... especially if you have a liberal arts degree. Grad schools are increasingly hard, and costly, to break into and once you've gone through the undergrad loan situation I feel most people get jaded by it, to put it lightly. Personally, I am amongst those with the highest percentage of unmanageable school debt, meaning that I went to school in NH - a state which, if it increased its higher education aid by 50%, would still be last out of all 50 states. So, since I'm not going to grad school and I cannot reasonably afford to live at VISTA level again, nor at the level of the coveted VISTA "Leader" position, I must use this resume building experience to 1) build an effective resume that fully captures my year of service and 2) get a job that doesn't pay me with dangling carrots and food stamps.
As a VISTA, if you do your job at all, you will have met many people from several organizations that work with yours, regardless of what your work plan says. I think the time has come for me to really plant some seeds that may germinate into real positions. Currently, I work with the Manchester 21st CCLC afterschool program and PlusTime NH. It makes sense that, since they know me the best, I attempt to find a full-time position in those organizations. However, this can be tough as workers in the nonprofit realm understand that they are probably tasked with the work of what would be at least two positions in the private sector. Therefore, even though a new position may be clearly necessary to all involved it does not mean that it will become a reality. The normal option, of course, is to see if somebody leaves his or her position and snatch that up but I'm not really sure if I have the desire to be a full-time site coordinator. Sometimes it's tough to decide between trying to find something you really want to do and taking that which is readily available - especially when lots of kids are involved.
Since it is now April and I have to do my third quarter report this week it is once again that time of year where you are somewhat allowed to seriously question every major decision you've ever made and become flat-out frightened of the future... especially if you have a liberal arts degree. Grad schools are increasingly hard, and costly, to break into and once you've gone through the undergrad loan situation I feel most people get jaded by it, to put it lightly. Personally, I am amongst those with the highest percentage of unmanageable school debt, meaning that I went to school in NH - a state which, if it increased its higher education aid by 50%, would still be last out of all 50 states. So, since I'm not going to grad school and I cannot reasonably afford to live at VISTA level again, nor at the level of the coveted VISTA "Leader" position, I must use this resume building experience to 1) build an effective resume that fully captures my year of service and 2) get a job that doesn't pay me with dangling carrots and food stamps.
As a VISTA, if you do your job at all, you will have met many people from several organizations that work with yours, regardless of what your work plan says. I think the time has come for me to really plant some seeds that may germinate into real positions. Currently, I work with the Manchester 21st CCLC afterschool program and PlusTime NH. It makes sense that, since they know me the best, I attempt to find a full-time position in those organizations. However, this can be tough as workers in the nonprofit realm understand that they are probably tasked with the work of what would be at least two positions in the private sector. Therefore, even though a new position may be clearly necessary to all involved it does not mean that it will become a reality. The normal option, of course, is to see if somebody leaves his or her position and snatch that up but I'm not really sure if I have the desire to be a full-time site coordinator. Sometimes it's tough to decide between trying to find something you really want to do and taking that which is readily available - especially when lots of kids are involved.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
7 months in...
and I'm still going strong as a VISTA. A couple days ago the realization hit me in the face like that time I threw a piece of white bread at a friend during a party. I've been collecting a living stipend, paying for food with an EBT card, and limiting fun outings that cost money to no more than 2 a month for over half a year. To me, this means that I'm almost done - which is fantastic until I realized that it means I'm almost done.
It was about this time last year when, as a graduating senior at UNH, my friends and I all freaked out about our future. Letters from grad schools were opened with cautious care like that of a bomb squad and internet job searching took the place of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Well, it may be time for me to do that again. My few applications to rejoin academia resulted in denials so becoming a full time student clearly isn't an option once I get to late August. My living arrangements have changed and I have been living with a friend of mine in Concord since late January. I have a small commute to work, but I also have a more fuel efficient car and I pay Grant less than my dad so it is working out well. However, our agreement is only until August, at which point I need to make more money than I am currently. Of course, this isn't hard since any job you take after being in AmeriCorps translates into an automatic raise in your eyes. So now I am attempting to plant the seeds of a paying position in one of the organizations for which I work or with which I work. The good thing about being a VISTA is that over the course of a year I have engaged many businesses and non-profit organizations. Sure, I can't apply for a position with them all but I can probably get some key references depending on what I do apply for.
On Friday I will be attending a training day held at UNH-Manchester by VolunteerNH.org entitled "Life After AmeriCorps Day". I'm not really sure what I will get out of it but I signed up for job searching, grant writing, and the resume workshop creatively titled "how to capture your year of service on paper".
It was about this time last year when, as a graduating senior at UNH, my friends and I all freaked out about our future. Letters from grad schools were opened with cautious care like that of a bomb squad and internet job searching took the place of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Well, it may be time for me to do that again. My few applications to rejoin academia resulted in denials so becoming a full time student clearly isn't an option once I get to late August. My living arrangements have changed and I have been living with a friend of mine in Concord since late January. I have a small commute to work, but I also have a more fuel efficient car and I pay Grant less than my dad so it is working out well. However, our agreement is only until August, at which point I need to make more money than I am currently. Of course, this isn't hard since any job you take after being in AmeriCorps translates into an automatic raise in your eyes. So now I am attempting to plant the seeds of a paying position in one of the organizations for which I work or with which I work. The good thing about being a VISTA is that over the course of a year I have engaged many businesses and non-profit organizations. Sure, I can't apply for a position with them all but I can probably get some key references depending on what I do apply for.
On Friday I will be attending a training day held at UNH-Manchester by VolunteerNH.org entitled "Life After AmeriCorps Day". I'm not really sure what I will get out of it but I signed up for job searching, grant writing, and the resume workshop creatively titled "how to capture your year of service on paper".
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