Ever Wonder What to do After Your Term of Service Ends?

This just in from Michelle Spevak:

AmeriCorps Program Director -- The Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy seeks a program director for AmeriCorps Project Conserve, a conservation service project which places twenty AmeriCorps members each year at local organizations and agencies in Western North Carolina for ten-month terms of service to meet the conservation needs of our region. Outstanding administrative skills and AmeriCorps or other volunteer management experience desired. Refer to complete job description at http://carolinamountain.org. Competitive salary and benefits. Send resume and cover letter to: P.O. Box 2822, Hendersonville, NC 28793 or info@carolinamountain.org. Resumes will be accepted until July 28.

Working for the service isn't your only choice, of course. But it's definitely something to think about. In fact, perhaps you should consider a government job...only want a piece of advice? Don't wait until your term ends. If you're going to start looking for a job when you're done with your project, start thinking about what you want now.

If you're going to use your non-competitive award status and look for goverment jobs, what type of job do you want? What are your interests? Talents? Abilities? Where do you want to live? Keep notes of what you accomplish during the next year. Think about how to translate what you've done into language that will be understood and admired on your resume.

Don't be afraid to talk to your project supervisor or VISTA Leader about your goals. They might even be able to give you some pointers, or introduce you to the right people.

I've devoted an entire chapter to continuing your careeer after you leave VISTA in the book, but over the next couple of days, I'm going to be adding some additional resources on the blog, so watch for it.

And if you're a former VISTA, VISTA leader or Project Supervisor with comments, ideas and resources, please post them here!