It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for Hot Jobs! If you are a regular reader of the JobMonkey blog, you know that each Wednesday I post a handful of hot new jobs listed over at the JobMonkey Job Center. Have you visited the Job Center lately? The Job Center features thousands of job openings, in dozens of fields, all updated daily. The best news is that the Center is completely free for job seekers. This week, I am featuring international volunteer jobs, including a community outreach coordinator in Rwanda and a volunteer teacher in Nepal. (Do you get the JobMonkey newsletter...

Thursday is Reader Mailbag day, in which I answer questions about job searching from our readers. Do you have a question? Send me an email or leave a comment! Dear JobMonkey, I am a college senior at a private university in New York City. I will be graduating with a huge amount of student loans, which, given the current economic situation, is really freaking me out. I majored in communications and would love to get a job in my field, but at this point, a steady salary is my number one priority. I’d also like to move up to Boston, where my boyfriend is going to graduate school, but do you...

If you are a recent college grad looking for a job, let me ask you this: Are you freaking out about your student loans? Are you depressed by the lack of job prospects in the current economy? One solution might be to change your perspective. Instead of looking for a six-figure job, consider a change in position: Become a volunteer with AmeriCorps. Created by President Clinton in 1993, AmeriCorps is the domestic version of the Peace Corps, which provides federal funding to nonprofit organizations that want to hire volunteers.  President Obama is about to sign a bill that will triple national...

We all have a desire for meaningfulness in our work. We may even long for our work to nurture us and provide us with avenues for growth. Nestled among the Redwoods on the northern Californian coast in Sonoma County sits the developing Buddhist retreat center, Ratna Ling. Here a dedicated group have come together to create a community offering a life style which combines work with personal and spiritual growth. Tibetan Lama Tarthang Tulku over 35 years ago founded group of organizations in the San Francisco Bay area for the purpose of giving Westerners a doorway to the Tibetan Buddhist teach...

Volunteering has become a popular theme here lately at the JobMonkey blog. The New York Times reported earlier this week on the burgeoning ranks of volunteers in New York City. Laid-off workers are turning in droves to volunteer organizations to help them fill their time and contribute to people in need, while still aggressively looking for a new job. Remember this post from last week about how to volunteer your way into a new job? I’m thinking some of those New York volunteers might be hoping to network, too, while serving up soup or rescuing stray animals. Nothing wrong with that! I...

We talk a lot here on the JobMonkey blog about the importance of networking. And really, I don’t think the impact of effective networking can be underestimated: Career experts tell us that 60-80% of all new jobs are landed through networking connections. But what if you are already talking to everyone you know (and everyone they know), regularly updating your profile on LinkedIn, attending networking parties, and participating in industry events … and yet you still haven’t found a job? How about this non-conventional networking idea: Volunteering? The personal and professional...

I posted last week about the rise in interest in volunteerism among college grads, especially in light of the current economic crisis. You don’t have to wait until school is out to volunteer, though. According to this article from CNN, more and more college students are spending their vacations in “alternative spring break” programs. The programs, which typically cost students around $250, offer coeds the opportunity to get involved in some of today’s most pressing social issues: hunger and homelessness, disaster relief and global warming. Says one student, who spent...

My local paper ran a story in the Sunday edition about job hunting during the holiday season. It got me thinking.  Their job expert said good job hunters know that there is no such thing as a holiday break when you are looking for a job.  She suggested that there are two reasons for the full throttle approach to job hunting during the holidays: * Companies that are planning to hire in January (and there are still some of them) have already allocated the funds for the new employee’s salary — which means, they are interviewing and making job offers NOW. * A lot of job hunters ta...

Every Tuesday, we discuss tips and hints for making the most of your job search. We welcome input from our readers and want to hear about your most challenging job hunting issues.  To get a crash course on Career Planning 101, check out JobMonkey’s section on Job Hunting Tools. Whether you are facing a career change or looking for your first job, one of the biggest challenges is writing a resume that truly markets your skills to a potential employer.  If you don’t have a lot of on-the-job experience, or if you want to pursue a career in a new field, then this task becomes even more d...

Did you all see that article I posted yesterday from MSNBC.com about how to get a job in the Obama administration?  Whether you are a red voter or a blue one (or none of the above), the salient point of that article still applies: Volunteering and networking are two great ways to get your foot in the door, especially in a hyper- competitive job market. Since we have talked pretty extensively on here about career networking, I thought I would take a look today at the power of volunteering. Now, you may have been motivated to volunteer by your Save the World ideology, but do not let your altrui...