January 2, 2012 by Sandra Rogers.

Dear Readers,

I’m very excited about 2012 because I’ll be going back to school for my doctorate in Education.  This has been a dream of mine for many years.  I’ll continue to work full-time while I’m attending school.   Subsequently, our organization is looking for volunteer or interns.  If you’re interested in blogging for us about the job hunt, please send me an email.  Additionally, we have several social media platforms that will need tending, such as our twitter account, YouTube channel, and weekly e-newspaper.   While these don’t take up much time, they need to be consistently updated with fresh and reliable content.

We had an intern this past year from The University of Alabama, and she was very helpful.  It also made me think the intern tasks through, so if you volunteer, I have explicit instructions and tutorials ready for you.  Social media evangelism is the current job title for the work that you do to promote something you really believe in online.  The job perk is that you can telecommute—that is you can complete the work online from your home or coffee shop.  We can arrange virtual meetings via Skype to plan.  Basically, the rest of the volunteer work would include reading emailed directions and  logging into our social media platforms to tweet or blog about job opportunities and advice.

As you may have read from my past blogs, we focus on the use of social media as a career tool.  We’d love to hear your stories about the use of these tools for landing an interview or job.  Any takers?  I surely hope so.  Also, don’t forget about all the resources we have shared on our 20-page website: http://brokebutnotforlong.org/1.html.  One of our ideas for an outreach project is to host Job Clubs and invite speakers or demonstrate how to use social media for the job hunt.  Would you like to host a Job Club in your area?  You are welcome to use our website’s resources and informational blog to share with job seekers.  Just let us know.

Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Sandra Rogers,

Founder

sandra@brokebutnotforlong.org

Posted in Internships, Volunteer!, Social Media, Philanthropy | Print | No Comments »

July 18, 2011 by Broke_Intern.

by Linda McIntosh

A very interesting article entitled “Pulling off the Ultimate Career Makeover,” from the July 4, 2011, issue of Fortune, emphasizes the importance of personal reinvention in today’s economy, where career changes are becoming the norm.  The article highlights the stories of five people in various industries who lost their jobs because of changes in business paradigms or layoffs.  Rather than becoming victims to their circumstances, these people took control of their situations and reinvented themselves through “learning by doing.”  Their success stories reveal several strategies for changing careers.

1. Pare down your expenses.  When David Kahn, former Blockbuster franchise owner, realized that his business model was no  longer viable, he downsized his home and vehicle.  He recommends going “into survivor mode.”  After a short stint as a Subway franchise owner, Kahn founded Yogurt Mountain and owns 35 stores.
2. Reevaluate your skill set.  Tom Murray, formerly a strategic development and communications director for a Best Buy subsidiary, charted what he likes to do as well as what he is good at in order to determine his next job move.  This exercise released him from being industry specific.  He now works for PointB, a consulting firm.
3. Exploit the power of social media.  When Mike Merrill was laid off from his job as a sales executive at NetApp, he immediately began reinventing himself through blogging and social media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  Merrill eventually landed his current job as director of marketing for ReachLocal, an internet marketing firm, after an employee saw one of his presentations on social media.
4. Consider contract employment.  When the dotcom bubble burst, Mae Tai O’Malley lost her job as an attorney.  She began performing legal work on a contract basis and created her own firm, Paragon Legal, which provides project-based legal assignments in other firms.  Her business model is reshaping the legal industry.
5. Update your technical skills.  When mystery writer Paul Levine realized that the sale of used books on Amazon would severely diminish his royalty income, he accessed Amazon’s “Direct Publishing” page to learn the art of e-publishing.  Levine bought the rights to his out-of-print books and now e-publishes both his new works and his formerly published books on the internet.

Of all the strategies explored in the article, exploiting the power of social media was the most important strategy for making a career change.  The “Social Media as a Career Tool” page on the www.brokebutnotforlong.org website is an excellent resource for personal reinvention.  In fact, the website provides a myriad of information about job searching in today’s market.  Additionally, they have a newly formed group on LinkedIn.com to engage job seekers in discussion of the use of social media.

Tweet

Posted in Career Advice, Internships, Social Media, Job Hunt | Print | 3 Comments »

March 29, 2011 by Sandra Rogers.

Dear Teachers,

Would you love to work from home?  How about applying for freelance work with the Educational Testing Service (ETS).  I’m an online rater for ETS.org and score the spoken Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), as well as the written California Assessment of High School Exit Exams (CAHSEE).  I have a California teaching credential and therefore qualify to score the CAHSEE, as well as a Masters in TESOL that qualifies me to score the TOEFL & TOEIC.  There are many other k-12 and college entrance tests that you could score if you qualify.

While at the TESOL convention, I spoke to ETS regarding my desire to score the written TOEFL, something I haven’t done before.  Plus, I love the job’s  high level of professionalism on a daily basis: interrater reliability calibrations, reviewing benchmarks, utilizing a rubric, and instant feedback from a scoring leader.  Moreover, I like the flexibility of telecommuting/working online.  ETS allows you to pick your work schedule: a.m., p.m., week days, weekends, even holidays!  One thing that I’ve learned is that you have to be flexible with your work schedule.

ETS handed me a flyer with a list of freelance work and internships!  Their summer interns develop test materials for the TOEFL, TOEIC and/or K-12 assessments.  View their internships online at www.ets.org; they have some in Princeton and Ewing, NJ and San Antonio, TX.  Send questions to the ELL Summer Institute Coordinator, Jeanne Malloy at jmalloy@ets.org.  I noticed that there are other internships  throughout the year.  Remember that you’re never too old to intern and/or learn something new.  Interns earn $25 an hour while online raters earn $15-18 an hour depending on the programs.

Freelance work includes writing for the TOEIC listening test; send your resume to Carol Gitzendanner at cgizendanner@ets.org.  As well as, rating TOEFL and TOEIC tests from your home computer.  Additionally, they’re looking for photographers at the professional and amateur level; send your email to pfreeland@ets.org or ncates@ets.org.  On their career page, you can also find full-time work.  I don’t live any where near Princeton or Ewing, NJ nor San Antonio, TX; consequently, I telecommute to work as an online rater.  Best wishes in finding your new online job!

Your blogger,

Sandra Annette Rogers

Posted in Internships, Telecommuting, Professional Dev., Job Hunt | Print | 2 Comments »

December 11, 2009 by Sandra Rogers.

In recognition to all the young displaced workers, especially the recent graduates, I’d like to share my experience volunteering for the Peace Corps.  It’s an alternative to the 9 to 5 job and can lead to an international career.  Given the current economy, looking for work outside the US may be the right move for you! When I graduated from college, I joined the Peace Corps in 1985.  I remember how many of my friends and even professors thought that it wasn’t a good idea for my career.  In fact, I had difficulty finding references for my application because my professors didn’t approve of my decision.  One professor did; she told me that it’d be the best decision that I ever made.  She was right!

How was I selected to go?  I had received my bachelor of science in clothing, textile and design and was accepted to work as a nutrition educator because many of the volunteers in this branch were also working with clothing cooperatives, as income generating projects for destitute women.  I also grew up with the Spanish language spoken at home.  I served in a small village in the state of Copan in Honduras, Central America.  I was a nutrition educator and worked with the local nurse and school teachers to give presentations on health and nutrition, as well as arts and crafts.  Besides working in the village, once a month, I assisted another volunteer in teaching some children in a remote village where there was no formal schooling.

I received three months of language training in Tegucigalpa, as well as cross-cultural communications and nutrition classes.  All the volunteers lived with Honduran host families to help us acculturate to our new setting and learn the language.  We even attended language classes on Saturdays.  Training was extremely stressful but also a wonderful time to meet other volunteers from all over the US.  After passing the language exam and being sworn in, I was placed in San Jose de Copan.  It was an impoverished village with dirt roads, no electricity or indoor plumbing.  However, my village was better than most because past volunteers had lived and worked there and implemented several projects.  The history of collaboration between the Peace Corps and Josefinas (as the villagers were called) contributed to my success as a volunteer.

I continued working with an existing clothing cooperative, but provided more authentic designs to the products.  I incorporated the Mayan Indian designs from the nearby ruins of Copan.  In the past, volunteers have helped the villagers produce embroidered clothing with tourist motifs such as palm trees, setting suns, and hibiscus.  I was able to improve on the design of the clothing by utilizing my degree. After I felt comfortable in my new setting, I started other artisan projects.  There were several women who worked with different mediums: clay, seeds, guacales (gourds), and loofahs.  It was such a great experience to work with these women to see their own creations and work on marketing the products.

During my two years’ service, I also made great friendships with the Honduran families in my village.  I like to read literature and write poetry and was able to do both of these, as there was nothing to distract me.  I wrote about the characters in the village.  Even after I left Honduras, the images, smells, and music remain with me.

The Spanish language has stayed with me, as well.  When I returned to the US, I was able to teach Spanish to pay for my graduate studies, as a teaching assistant.  I received tuition remission and a stipend plus teaching experience at the college level!  My professors were amazed!  I had to take a few advanced grammar classes to professionalize my speech because the majority of my Spanish language interactions in the village were in the local dialect and not formal speech.  Fortunately, I’ve used Spanish as part of my work since that time.  I  became a bilingual elementary teacher and used my Spanish to educate children in East Los Angeles to become biliterate.  I also worked for an educational publisher that produced Spanish and English as a second language books and materials.

I didn’t realize what irreplaceable gifts I’d receive from serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  The gift of interacting with a culture different from your own; the gift of learning a second language; and the gift of having served others!  I first got interested in the Peace Corps when noticing a poster on the wall in my college.  It said, “Peace Corps, the toughest job you’ll ever love!”  They weren’t kidding around.  It definitely is difficult on your health, your mental health, and your long distance relationships.  If you’re interested in learning more, here are the links:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatispc

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.returned.thirdgoal

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.  The Peace Corps’ mission has three simple goals:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Sandra Annette Rogers

sandra@brokebutnotforlong.org

Posted in Internships, Volunteer!, Job Hunt | Print | 4 Comments »