Jan. 5, 2010
Today I was given packets of detailed information about City Year so I could get more acquainted with the program before the Career and Internship Connections recruitment day at the American Management Association Conference Center tomorrow. I will be shadowing and assisting Diana Vining, the Recruitment Outreach Manager. I needed to be up-to-date on my City Year knowledge because I will be talking to college students about City Year volunteer opportunities.
When reading about the origin of City Year in the recruitment guide, I stumbled upon an interesting fact as to why this organization is called “City Year.” Just like a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year, a City Year is a next step on a student’s educational journey. The manual explained: “This is part of City Year’s vision that one day the most commonly asked questions of a young person will be Where are you going to do your service year?” I hope more students will become aware of the opportunity to take a City Year and give back to their communities.
After reading the recruitment guide, I found the recruitment information to be very detailed when it came to how the organization wanted recruiters to represent the company. Diana explained that how the organization comes off to perspective volunteers reveals the personality of the company. She even told me that some companies have a list of carefully chosen words that their recruiters must use frequently to help convey the company’s personality more accurately. Recruitment is one thorough department!
Though I have only been at City Year for a few days, the hardworking and supportive personality of the organization was made evident very quickly.
At City Year, the personality of the organization is very distinct. After the Charles Hayden Foundation doubled their donation to City Year today, Itai Dinour, the Executive Director, announced the wonderful news by ringing a gong in front of the City Year office. Though I was a bit confused as to why Itai had a gong in the office, I found that it was a really engaging way to get everyone’s attention. “It’s a great way to start of the New Year,” he announced.
Original Author: Samantha Padilla