Steps into the nonprofit workplace

Looking for work in the nonprofit field, but want to try out the organization first, then volunteer. Volunteering gives you a chance to see if the organization is really doing good, and it gives the organization a chance to see if you'll be a good fit in its family.

Volunteering is also a good way to show your strong work habits when inbetween jobs.

There are a number of websites that collect Volunteer listings. Here are a few of the biggies: Idealist.org, Volunteer Match, Network for Good, and Points of Light.

Of course, you don't need to be looking for a job to volunteer.

ID Theft and your resume

It's a sad fact of living in the world today that one must be constantly on the guard for ID Theft. But if you're doing a job search you're constantly sending out your personal information potentially into the hands of those who would use it to do you harm.

So how can you mitigate the chances of ID theft happening to you. The most important is probably to never give out your social security number on anything but an official application you fill out in the HR office. Mail can be intercepted. Online applications may not be sent securely over the net.

More controversial is to not put your street address on your resume. Instead do something like

Joe Strong
(street address withheld for privacy)
City, State

This would prevent anyone who intercepts your resume from associating details of your background (such as current employer) with your current address. I'm not sure how I feel about this. If I were reviewing resumes would I doc that person for points, or reward them for being cautious with their personal information and hoping they would do the same with the companies info.

A quandary for sure.

Fired! Laugh along with these famous firings.

Before you get hired in a new job you've either quit or been fired from your old job. If it's the latter then you'll probably want to get this book to comfort yourself in what could be a depressing period in your life. Fired! : Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, and Dismissed, by Annabelle Gurwitch, is a hilarious look at the firings of some famous people who've been fired at one time or another.

Some of the celebrities interviewed include: Felicity Huffman, David Cross, Bill Maher, Brian Unger, Anne Meara, Tate Donovan, Judd Apatow, Jeff Garlin, Tim Allen, D.L. Hughley, Robert Reich, and Andy Dick.

You may also want to visit Gurwitch's web site which encourages people to turn in tales of their own firings.

[ Tags: job, career, fired, annabelle+gurwitch, celebrities, humor, funny, book+review, resume ]