Career choices for 2010 graduates

Due to the Great Global Recession, it might seem that fewer career choices are available to 2010 graduates.  It is true that the highly visible on-campus hiring of college graduates by big corporations significantly decreased over the last couple of years.  However, career choices and opportunities to get business done better might actually have been better for 2010 graduates than ever before!

Indeed, businesses that are profitable while creating stronger communities and respecting our environment are growing.  The responsible business imperative is growing as well, leading to more responsible career choices available now than there were 5 years ago.

I could review numbers and lots of trends uncovered by recent surveys to convince you of this, but instead, I would rather let other do the talking...  Gathered by our media team, here are videos featuring three organizations that truly provide boarder career choices for your professionals to get business done better.

Below each video, I will provide guidance on what career choices are available through these organizations for 2010 graduates who are looking for ways to launch their responsible career:

Ed Norton - CrowdRise, an online platform that enables non-profits to raise funds and increase their visibility.


Possible career choices using CrowRise:  Identify a local non-profit you believe in.  Then check if they are part of crowdrise.  If they are not, put together a simple one-page proposal on how you can help them get set up on crowdrise and what advantages there will be for them in doing this (both in terms of their visibility and the additional money they could raise).  Doing so will refine your analytical and writing skills.  Then connect with the organization, and bring them on board.  Once you get their buy-in, set the organization up and follow through with updates and periodical ideas on how they can further leverage CrowdRise to their advantage moving forward.  Don't worry, there is plenty of information on CrowdRise to help you do this quite easily.  Doing this will not only help an organization you care about, but it will also enable you to meet people in other organizations.  In addition, you can list this experience on your resume, which is sure to showcase your innovative abilities and can-do attitude.

Doing this will make you an even better candidate for real jobs advertised on Justmeans.  Remember that job postings are wish lists before getting intimidated with their requirements!  Gaining experience with Crowdrise can help you gain experience for real jobs including this Citizen Outreach Director with Work for Progress or this Online Communication Associate with Active Voice.

Rod Arnold - Charity Water is working to give access to clean water to 100M people.


Possible career choice: Consider taking on an online campaign to raise funds and see where the money you raise is going.   By raising money online, you can not only help more people have access to clean water, but you can also build professionals skills, such as using persuasive communication skills to raise the money needed and then report the results to your donors.  These skills can be then packaged into a strong example of what you can do on real jobs currently available on our justmeans job board. Examples include an Application Support Specialist job at Earthjustice, or a Program Assistant Position with The Hunger Project.

Code For America - This innovative social enterprise leverage technology to enable American cities to do more with less.  This social enterprise is currently hiring fellows to work with them over the next year - See  Marcia Stepanek's post in our social enterprise section for more information!

This is an exciting time, filled with responsible career choices!  They might be less visible than the traditional roles in big corporation, but these career choices are exciting and financially rewarding ways for 2010 graduates to launch a career foundation to get business done better!

Photo Credit.