What is The Campus Kitchens Project really all about?  We’re out to help our communities, reconstruct the way people look at hunger, and find innovative ways to make solutions happen.

But that’s not all.  We’re also looking to make our volunteers into leaders.  And then have those leaders turn into the non-profit professionals of the future.  It seems like a meaningful conversation about where to go in the non-profit world is one that many people aren’t having.  Many of you are probably getting ready to embark on “The Job Search” or already have.  I thought I’d run through a few ways to look for non-profit jobs.

I’ve done a few non-profit job searches in my time, so I thought I’d pass along a little bit of wisdom about this site and what I see as well as some other sites and their advantages as well.

I’ll start with the Jobs for Change site.  The first thing I like about the site is that it’s easy to navigate.  You can find what you’re looking for and it’s quite helpful in narrowing the topics into sections that you may be interested in.  You can quickly browse job categories, FAQs, and ask your own new questions.  The frequently asked questions they list are actually quite relevant, and there is even a specific area for college based questions.  Many of them have been submitted by what we would assume are prospective non-profit workers and the answers seem to be fairly insightful.  If you’re thinking about the non-profit sector or already have some questions, odds are they’ve answered them so take a look.

There are a few drawbacks to the site.  The first is that if you’re looking for job listings, this isn’t your go to place.  But I’d remind anyone that no one place that best.  Remember not everyone posts jobs everywhere so keep your eyes open on some other sites.  It doesn’t seem like they have as many listings as some other sites that I’ve seen, but again, this shouldn’t be a deal breaker for using the site.  It’s usefulness is above and beyond some sites as a resource guide.

When it comes to finding a site that has a lot of contacts, at this point I’d recommend www.idealist.org.  To be honest, I’ve found both of my past two jobs on Idealist and it’s a site that I would also recommend as well.  Idealist also has a lot of resources on non-profits.  But their information is often much more specific and pertaining to fields direct non-profit fields.  This is particularly bad if you’d still color in the undecided box.  For the case of the average college student Jobs for Change is a great resource because it allows you to get answers that are more general.  Often you don’t know how or where or what you’re looking for when you get started; Idealist can be a bit overwhelming at first.  But if you are interested in a gluttony of information that are extensive and specific, Idealist may be the place to go.

The last job search site I would recommend are remembering to use your local resources.  That includes your local newspaper (in our case the Washington Post), craigslist or your college or universities listing.  These all can be great resources for you to remember when you’re looking for a job.  Keep in mind that your dream job can still be found on craigslist.

My best advice that I could give says to just keep looking.  The market is tough right now, and often seems like there is no perfect fit.  Remember to use all the resources you have at your disposal.  And we’ll see you soon, working hand in hand in our communities with us.

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