XP is the New USD: When you should work for No Compensation

Work Experience gained via Volunteerism is the new Wage for Unemployed Generation Y Job Seekers.

If you are like me, you have a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and are looking for a good job.  But after looking for a bit, you realize that you either need a) XP, b) More Degrees, or c) Both. I am going to make the case for choosing the either the XP route or combo route over just hiding in grad school.

*BTW, for all of you non-geeks, XP is: An abbreviation for 'experience' in the context of role playing games, usually given in a point value and used to determine a character's level. -Thanks, UrbanDictionary.

Here is why: 

Up up, and away!

Volunteering for experience and training as compensation is a trend that is all the rage right now with unemployed Gen Y-ers and X alike.  Paid internships are just as hard to come by as jobs, and the prices of training programs and college tuition have been skyrocketing.  If you need money and a job now, as well as XP, the best way to go is to get a part time job, intern or volunteer somewhere, and apply for jobs at the same time.

Here's How:

1) Secure an Internship or Volunteer ASAP 

American Red Cross

American Heart Association

Any non-profit...

Local City Offices and Government Organizations

Volunteering can help you make valuable contacts, learn new skills, and get that valuable experience that is necessary for getting a job in a market that demands that you have XP to get XP*.  Make a list of skills that you know you are lacking and kinds of jobs and places near you where you can get those skills.  T

Non-profit groups are also especially lucrative and XP-rich places to volunteer.  The worst thing to a prospective employer (or graduate program) is having a period of time unaccounted for on your CV.  You can seek a job for full time, while gaining valuable training and experience. 

Also, the places that you seek out do not necessarily have to be non-profits or pre-made volunteer opportunities.  Right now, many companies have had to cut back on their employee rosters. This means that public agencies will be especially low on workers and will definitely be the most likely places that will need the extra helping hand.

 If you are really hard-up for a career change, the best method of making that change would be to contact a company that you want to ideally work for, send in your resume/CV, and offer to work for them for free for one to two months, in exchange for experience and training.  Odds are, if they need the help, they will find something for you to do.  XP is the new currency for the unemployed.  Free labor in exchange for XP that will help you gain a permanent position someday.   Also, if you do particularly well, your volunteer status may someday morph into a job offer.

If you are especially well-focused on what you want to get out of the experience, you can research who in that organization has the sort of position that you desire, and contact them directly.  If say, you want to learn how to write Grant Proposals, it is a simple thing to offer your services to a potential mentor.  Though, the best way to do this would be through your own network if possible.    You can also especially wow your potential volunteer supervisors by tailoring your cover letter and sharing your career objectives.  Be honest, tell them that you may be between jobs and are looking for that valuable experience.  Odds are, this candor combined with a well-organized and clearly-directed objective in your cover letter will help convince them to accept your offer.

For first year lawyers, this can also be a great way to get that law experience that will be so vital to getting clients after graduation.  Paid internships are sparse across the board; just as much as jobs are.  The experience that you can get from working in the public sector is varied and useful, so it would be a great alternative to admitting defeat to not obtaining an internship.  From just two days volunteering at my local city office I have learned two new valuable job skills and met some very nice people.  (This part mentions no.5, but hold your horses! We will get there.)

And if you actually need the money (as most of us do), get a part-time job at a restaurant, department store, bar, or other evening venue that will help you make ends meet while you intern. 

2)  Research what You REALLY want

-Use: Monster, Careerbuilder, Smarthires, LinkedIn, Google search, Bing, etc.

Don't start off your job hunt with writing a general resume unless you are going the mentor/intern route in # 1).  Instead, research 1-3 jobs that you want to obtain and think that you have reasonable enough experience for.   Read as many blogs on that subject as you can find online: THEN you can draft your own basic career-oriented resume and cover letters to use as templates and apply for your first target jobs.

Once you find jobs that you want to apply for, you can take these templates and specially tailor them with keywords, relevant skills, and XP that will get you past the computer keyword screening.  If you find that you don't have XP in that field, go ahead and return to step 1).

3) Find more of those Jobs!

Use:  Your own research skills, find local companies, and Google Search

This time, don't rely on high-traffic websites like Munster and careerboulder for more than their job descriptions and how-to articles (which can be very useful).   It is often the case that they get so much traffic, that jobs posted on such sites have an exponentially larger amount of applicant hits than do positions posted on smaller job databases.  Instead, research the nets yourself; check out forums dedicated to those from your chosen profession; and call local companies near you to ask about job opportunities that may not be posted online.

4) Follow-up

Write Thank you e-mails for interviews and even to recruiters for jobs that you were not successful with.  You never know when you might see them next... : )  Also, it is good job searching etiquette.  Righto.

5) Be social!

And by that, I don't mean play Sims Social with people you never really talk to on facebook (aside from asking them to send you more snails or simoleons...).   Join a community group, club, sports event, fundraiser, or volunteer.  Not only is social contact is necessary for your well-being, but it is also a great time to network and make new friends.   One of my college friends was an Engineer grad who had been out of work for nearly two years!  He tutored a girl at a community college course that he took for fun and found out that she had connections to an engineering company.  Bam!  He had a job.  So go forth, be social!

And now, to take my own advice on that last point.