Non-Profit Articles
Aid for Older Job Seekers
By Edwin Redfern
The current economic downtown has severely impacted the employment status of older jobseekers making their job searches longer and their career counseling needs more nuanced than other jobseekers. As a result, AARP has developed several resources for older job seekers including the Helping Experience Work@50+ Campaign.
Gardening as a Tool for Career Development
By Nancy Miller
Strategies for increasing economic empowerment and job search skills are shared via an interview with a "hands-on" practitioner.
How a Nonprofit Agency Helps Latinos Thrive in Adams County, Colorado
By Mariela Michael
This article will discuss the old ideas that Latinos have encountered for many years. Ideas such as Latinos are not interested in education, they cannot speak English and there are no supports for Latino adults. A program to help Latinos overcome many of these career obstacles will be discussed.
Another Career, Not by Choice
By Mary Probst
Recently the demographics of the unemployed population have changed, and more individuals who involuntarily lost their jobs due to a dwindling economy are now seeking new careers. Establishments like workforce centers, employment agencies, nonprofits and community organizations who serve these unemployed individuals have the opportunity to generate empowerment in the job seekers by identifying transferable skills.
Economic Stress on the Non-Profits
By David Scott
Career services are affected by the stressed economic resources, particularly in the non-profit areas. How is your agency responding?
Launch of New Disability Interest Area
By Julia Elliott
During this time of slow economic growth, career development practitioners could see an increase in the number of clients with physical or mental disabilities seeking assistance in the job search process. Career development professionals now have immediate access to Disabilities resources in NCDA's Interest Areas of the website.
Career Retention for Vulnerable Populations: A Relapse Perspective
By Shan Johnson
In the United States we are facing economic challenges that make getting a job difficult but keeping that job even more crucial. This is especially true for vulnerable populations who can fall through the cracks of our system. Career counselors can benefit from the field of addiction recovery when assisting this population with employment retention.
Working with Foster Youth: An Interview with Alfred Arroyos
By Maureen Nelson
Every year, 25,000 teens leave the foster youth system. Agencies like the Independent Living Skills Program help them make the leap to adulthood, college and jobs. Employment Specialist must reach out to this often-forgotten population.
The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to land a job that makes a difference
Book review by Jennifer Ealey & Samuel Plonk
Career counselors working with clients interested in the nonprofit sector will find Shelly Cryer’s new book useful as a resource tool. This article reviews the book and discusses the potential value for both career counselors and those looking for a career in the nonprofit world.
Depression and Career Development
By Roger Wilcoxen
How can clients successfully establish a career or a change when battling depression?
Welcome New Associate Editor, Non-Profit
Dr. David Scott is now the Associate Editor of the Non-Profit Department of Career Convergence. He invites new submissions in the areas of community/agency, pastoral/religious, rehabilitation, and association/foundation.
Growing Our Own
By Denise E. Jenkins
A creative in-house career development program at a major midwestern metropolitan hospital develops and motivates current employees and reaches out to a challenging and diverse urban community. Denise Jenkins tells the story of how her hospital uses training and development initiatives to communicate to the whole health-care team that the hospital values them.
Faith and Career Development: Complimentary Tools in Reaching Teens
By Roger Wilcoxen
Could a career counselor and youth religious program leader use the same tools to achieve a faith-based, purpose-driven life? Yes! And these tools successfully reach teens.
Knowledge + Engagement = Great Public Policy
by Bridget Brown and Romella Lee
In this third in a series of advocacy-related articles, Bridget Brown and Romella Lee from NCDA’s Government Relations Committee, address the important role that state-level association leaders play in educating members and facilitating a clear vision for the association. They discuss how career professionals operating in the public sector can use public policy as a tool to enhance engagement at the state level.
Care for Yourself First
by Pam Thorne
People who help others for a living often put themselves last when it comes to mental and physical health. This article highlights the symptoms of compassion fatigue and offers some simple solutions. (Ed's Note: This article originally appeared in Career Convergence in 2003 and is being published again due to the valuable and timeless topic).
The Horse Whisperer Goes to Washington
By Bridget Brown & Ellen Weaver Paquette
The "Horse-Whisperer" image provides an excellent visualization of how advocacy works. In this second in a series, Bridget Brown and Ellen Weaver
Paquette continue discussing the importance of advocacy at the state and national level for programs that enhance career development opportunities for all citizens.
Advocacy Myths and Opportunities
by Bridget Brown
This is the first installment in a series of articles providing an insider’s view of some of the misconceptions associated with advocacy. Bridget Brown, from NCDA’s Government Relations Committee, highlights specific tools to help career development professionals working in non-profit organizations become active in the political arena.
Forming A Career Center-Community Bond
by Ursula B. Carmena
What goes together like toast and jam or sea and sand? How about careers and community? At the 2006 NCDA Global Conference, Ursula B. Carmena will be presenting the unique pilot project she directs, a new public library service that enlarges and supplements the field of career development in Louisiana.
Springboard Forward: Engagement, Self-Efficacy and Hope
by Maureen Nelson
Springboard Forward partners with employers and community-based organizations to improve job performance and promote upward mobility for the low-wage workforce.
Encouraging Career Asset Building Among Low-Income Individuals
by Amy Johnson
Urging low-income adults to "get a job, any job" and creating programming based on this position is shortsighted and leads to poor job retention, welfare cycling, inadequate wages, and greater costs than investing in meaningful career exploration and choice. On the other hand, a focus on career asset-building can increase job retention, satisfaction, and performance. Service providers may be interested in an online comprehensive career development program for lower-income adults.
Helping the Homeless
by Chris Hogg
Quite often, being successful in helping homeless people find meaningful work and start (or re-start) careers is as much about the counselor as it is about the client.
Articles Wanted!
Do you work in a non-profit area of career services, such as community/agency, pastoral/religious, rehabilitation, association/foundation? Career Convergence invites you to write about your work!
A Look at Career Development for Persons with Mental Retardation
by John Wadsworth PhD and Karen Cocco PhD
Despite the popular view that career development is lifelong, vocational development theories have seldom been applied to persons with mental retardation. A proposed ecological model of career development for persons with developmental disabilities is discussed here. [Eds. Note: this article originally appeared here in Jan. 2003].
Career Development Strategies for Promoting Employee Development and Retention in Social Service Org
by Debbie Walker
Social service organizations represent an opportunity for career counselors who are interested in consulting. Career counselors can help agencies implement career development programs as an employee retention and development strategy. In this article, the author presents a three-step model for initiating such a system.
CACTI:
The Pre-Counseling Assessment
by Martin Elliot Jaffe
InfoPLACE is a public library based career planning program where adults can get help deciding if they are leaning toward a radical career transition or an immediate job search. The career counselors at InfoPLACE developed the Core Adult Career Transition Inventory, CACTI, to indicate the appropriate depth and direction of counseling before sessions begin.
Effectiveness of Short-Term Training for Self-Sufficiency
by Michael E. Wonacott
This article reviews the literature on the outcomes of short-term training programs for welfare recipients and the services required to meet the self-sufficiency needs of welfare recipients participating in short-term training.
[This article was released for publication by Eric Digest (www.eric.ed.gov) and is available at www.cete.org/acve/].
The Education, Social, and Economic Value of Informed and Considered Career Decisions
by Bridget Brown
This ACRNA special report includes the complete Summary of Key Findings, a link to the ACRNA website for the full report, and a brief overview by the Executive Director.
NCDA Plays Key Role in Delivering CDF Training to Persons who Work with Offenders
by JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey
NCDA's Career Development Facilitator curriculum has been adapted to train Offender Workforce Development Specialists (OWDS). These OWDS help prisoners plan careers, increasing the likelihood that they will stay out of prison after release. NCDA arranges the training of facilitators at the state level. Those trained in each state then provide training to others in their local organizations.
Articles wanted!
Please refer to the $$Link,http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?AssnID=NCDA&DBCode=130285&Action=DisplayTemplate&Page=AWS_NCDA2_careerconvergence_submission.html,submission guidelines$$ if you are interested in contributing!
