Let there be light

I've been reading a lot about how the federal lightbulb efficiency standards that went into effect almost two months ago, on January 01, can not only lower our electricity bills but also help create jobs for the Americans in the longer run. 

Manufacturers and wholesalers will have to meet new standards that are forcing them to improve the efficiency of incandescent bulbs or replace them with newer technologies. What does this mean for us? Lower electricity bills and savings every month.

Comparative analysis of the light bulbs

As for the jobs we can look at the bulb manufacturing sector to start with. 

Since the summer of 2000, our country has lost a startling 32 percent of its manufacturing base. Ohio has been particularly hard hit, losing 282,000 manufacturing positions. Energy-efficient light bulbs, though, are bringing manufacturing jobs back. Not all 282,000 of them, by any means. But they’re an important start.  

To read more on the stats of the jobs created please click here

There are international nonprofits (The Climate Group and others) also who are helping the municipalities in the developing countries to switch to more energy efficient bulbs for street lighting and other purposes, for instance in the municipal/urban local bodies' office buildings. These projects have been undertaken as a part of the larger HSBC Climate Partnership (HCP) funded by HSBC Global.

To read more on these initiatives please click here.

Thomas Alva Edison’s brilliant invention, the incandescent light bulb, will have to shape up or ship out but the ship out won't get any complaints from the consumers or the job seekers in the same field.

This article has been adopted from the original article posted by the NRDC, Kiplinger's and TCG under HCP.

To continue reading, please click on the links above

Volunteering: The Return on Giving

Field assignment being undertaken for the best practices in farming

A few ways in which volunteering can enhance your career as a development professional:
As a recent graduate in environmental sciences in India in the year 2003, my choices seemed to be limited in terms of employment.
Everyone around me was suggesting going for further degree for specializing in a specific area of environment and so on.
Turning a deaf ear to their suggestions, I returned to the nonprofit organization in Meerut, U.P. India where I'd volunteered during my university days. The rest as they say is history.
Having recently relocated from India once again I've turned to the virtues of volunteering at the UNICEF USA while trying to find my bearings in the United States.
My dedicated volunteering during the final year of my master's course in environmental sciences formed the basis of my first employment in the local nonprofit in Meerut. I hope to have the same results from the volunteering at the UNICEF USA.
Regardless of where the volunteers stand in their own career paths, they are attracted to the international development agencies such as the UN, The World Bank and a few others like the Bankers Without Borders. This is because these organizations offer the rare opportunity to the volunteers for making a difference by volunteering their professional skills with organizations who are committed to improving the lives of the poor. They donate every possible skill and service ranging from the grassroots efforts for the uplifting of the poor and poverty alleviation to business modeling, monitoring and evaluation and policy level recommendations.

While all the volunteers’ motivations are fairly selfless globally, they are more than often personally rewarded for their generosity.
Here are a few ways that volunteering services pro bono has helped me advance my careers in development:

1. Get some cred – If you are a recent college graduate, an unpaid internship with a noteworthy nonprofit may be just the credential you need to help your resume shift to the top of the pile for that next paid gig. Even for more established professionals, volunteer activities are no longer seen as something to place next to your hobbies on your resume. The New York Times, for instance, recently highlighted LinkedIn’s new feature where you can prominently list volunteer experience. Its a known fact that most B schools universally prefer the prospective students who have undertaken some volunteer assignments during their studies and spare time.  I landed my very first and most enriching job as a virtue of volunteering. I continue to volunteer with an endeavor to build and expand my professional network and earn the credentials in the new world as much as possible.

2. Explore new directions – Whether you recently lost your job, retired, or aren’t completely satisfied with your current job, volunteering your skills allows you to test just how transferable your skills actually are. A short-term volunteer assignment during my university days gave me the sense of the types of positions within development organizations that were best suited and helped me to understand the different organizational cultures that I encountered in my future assignments and how truly different they were from my current work experience. I used to get increasing requests from my colleagues and friends in India to help them get a volunteer position at the nonprofits where I was working.

3. Build a relevant work portfolio – This was not so relevant for me in the founding years of my career as it is to me today. Now increasingly when I apply to new jobs they demand for the work experience in the social media management. Thanks to my recent volunteering assignment at the UNICEF USA, I am getting to polish not only my social media skills but also my writing ability on a daily basis through the power of sites such as the wordpress, blogger, twitter, LinkedIn and so on.

4. Prove your leadership moxy – A recent Forbes article argues that more companies should encourage their employees to pursue volunteer work early in their careers not simply as a retention or corporate social responsibility strategy, but because it exposes employees to scenarios that test their ability to lead under tough circumstances with limited resources and no direct authority. I've personally experiences this during my days at WWF India. The employees from our corporate donors who participated in the internal volunteer program were far more energetic and enthusiastic in taking initiatives than the nonparticipating ones.

5. Experience new markets – This is an excellent opportunity in terms of exploring the global prospects and expand your horizon while volunteering. More and more international organizations connect volunteers who are willing to donate their time and energy towards the underprivileged people. I have seen this happen throughout the course of my career in India. Volunteers came to all the nonprofits, of which I was a part of, from far and wide with various backgrounds.

6. Expand your network – In the age of social media, our networks are more important than ever. Skills-based volunteer assignments gives us the opportunity to develop deep connections with the organization and people we volunteer with. Research cites that one of the primary reasons individuals continue to volunteer with the same organizations year after year is because of the relationships they form with staff and other volunteers. Besides just think about all the trainings, workshops and seminars within the organization and their network that we get to attend/participate only by knowing people and networking at the place where we volunteer. Who knows - the people you meet while volunteering could lead you to your next job, paying client, or even your future spouse ;)

7. The inside advantage – It is an unspoken but known truth: Volunteering can often give you an inside track to a paid job at the organization for which you volunteer. Remember, we’ll only be competing just to secure a volunteer opportunity. Our expectation should not be to convert your volunteer assignment to a paid position – it doesn’t work that way. But, assuming you are qualified for a future vacancy at the organization, your inside knowledge, proven work ethic, and the commitment you have demonstrated to the mission by volunteering your skills and time could be just that edge you need to outshine your competition. I can very well relate this point to myself precisely as I didn't get an opportunity to volunteer at the environmental nonprofits and groups in the New York City as I have desired. Right now I am facing the hurdle for getting my foot in the door in these desired work places. Had I been lucky, I would have got a volunteer assignment inside the leading organizations in the city and who knows I would have been employed full time by now .

8. Do not loose hope: I would like to add this point as last but not the least. Of all the seasoned professionals that I've got in touch within the NY city to explore the possibility of full time opportunities, they have appreciated and encouraged my effort of volunteering since the day I landed in this country last year.
I continue to volunteer with the same zeal and dedication that I had in the founding years of my career.

If you truly believe in the power of retribution then you must volunteer sometime in your life as blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.

  This article has been adopted from the recent article posted at the devex.com. To read the full article on devex, please click here