When volunteer service workers return home from their service fields, landing a job in the regular workforce can be a difficult and lengthy process, even in the best economy.
To give them some help with their job hunting skills, the second annual Leaders in Transition program was held this week at the University of Notre Dame. The certificate program is presented by Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business in collaboration with Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, Alumni Association and Career Center.
“Our goal is to give these volunteers the tools and confidence they need to transition into a career,” said Marc Hardy, director of Nonprofit Executive Education at the Mendoza College of Business. He described the 47 participants as a diverse group, with backgrounds in volunteer work ranging from the U.S. Peace Corps, to the Haitian Project, to Jesuit Volunteers International. They attended sessions designed to help them select a career that reflects their interests, build their job-hunting skills and transition from a volunteer program into a career.
Speakers included Carolyn Y. Woo, Martin J. Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College, and Roger Parent, who served as mayor of South Bend from 1980 to1988 before joining the Peace Corps. Parent currently operates a nonprofit organization, World Dignity, which provides volunteer services to several international communities.
Funding from the Arthur Foundation underwrote much of participants’ expenses.
For more information about the Leaders in Transition program, contact Marc Hardy at (574) 631-1087 or mhardy@nd.edu.
Contact: Marc Hardy, 574-631-1087, mhardy@nd.edu