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Careers, Fellowships, and Internships for the Common Good

seeker

How will you channel your community or campus activities into a meaningful career path?

Working for a nonprofit organization is one option. Idealist.org offers many resources that can help you to understand the unique challenges and opportunities related to a career search in the nonprofit sector in the United States, as well as with some NGOs in other countries.

However—in the United States at least—the lines between the public sector and the private sector have begun to blur. There are many ways to make a living while working toward a mission you are passionate about. This page lists some ways you can search for a fulfilling job or internship, whatever sector you want to work in.

Please note that this list is somewhat unique to the United States landscape. If you know of other resources we should include—whether US-based or not—please (link) contact us.

• Jobs Posted on Idealist
  Search for jobs at tens of thousands of nonprofit organizations and NGOs around the world.

• More Opportunities on Idealist
  Search our site for internships, volunteer options, groups, events, speakers, and more.

• The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers seeker, young at heart
  Let's say you've spent some time interning and volunteering, and now you're not sure how to market those experiences to potential employers. Or maybe you know you want to work for a cause, but you're not sure what jobs are available in your area. This book is available free for download in the (http://www.idealist.org/en/career/index.html) Idealist Career Center, and can help emerging professionals pursuing their first position in the nonprofit sector.

  On this same page, Idealist also offers the Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers, so if you're Young at Heart and looking to get involved in youth work, this resource may be of help to you.

• Idealist Career Fairs
  Idealist hosts a series of free nonprofit career fairs where organizations and job seekers can meet face-to-face. Even if you don't have a clear idea of what specific job or organization you are interested in, career fairs can be a great personal way to see what is available and what most interests you.

• The Nonprofit FAQ
  A collection of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to the nonprofit community in the United States. Over the past decade, people and organizations have contributed solutions and suggestions related to questions about everything from volunteer management to nonprofit board meetings.

• Orion Grassroots Network Internship and Career Service
  Listing hundreds of green jobs and internships offered by organizations at work in the areas of conservation, restoration, education, democracy, justice, health, economics, and more.

• Net Impact
  Net Impact is a global network of people who are changing the world through business. Check out their Campus Greening initiative, which supports students who are using business skills to improve universities' impact on the environment and raising awareness of environmental problems and solutions among emerging business leaders.

• Social Edge
  This website "by social entrepreneurs, for social entrepreneurs," has a wide variety of discussions, resources, and features (like job listings) for those who are interested in socially responsible business. To get you started, an interesting discussion to check out is Doing Good While Living Well, which briefly discusses various "work with a mission" options.

• Ashoka
  Ashoka is a global organization of some of the world's leading social entrepreneurs.

• The New Heroes young at heart
  This four hour series produced by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) "tells the dramatic stories of twelve social entrepreneurs who bring innovative, empowering solutions to the most intractable social problems around the world." The corresponding website, geared toward middle and high school students and their parents and teachers, is a nice introduction to social entrepreneurship.

• Private Sector; Doing Well and Doing Good
  The line between non-profit and for-profit work is becoming increasingly blurry with the growing trend of social consciousness within the corporate sector. This New York Times article highlights Timberland as one of a rising number of private companies choosing a business model that is integrally connected to community work and service.

• Best Places to Work in the Federal Government
  Check out this annually updated website for the highest ranked (by their own employees) agencies within the United States federal government.

Fellowships

• Fellowships in Public Service
  An extensive list from the Idealist.org Career Center filled with international fellowships, fellowships in the United States, and nonprofit fellowships.

• Young People For (YP4)
  This year-long fellowship consists of a "strategic long-term leadership development program that identifies, engages and empowers the newest generation of progressive leaders to create lasting change in their communities."

• Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service (FELPS)
  Run by the New York University Wagner School, FELPS "inspires, engages, and connects emerging public service leaders with a unique career planning and professional development opportunity."

Contact us with questions, comments, and additional resources.

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