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I wanted a job that would do two things. One, really make a difference. Even if it was on
a small scale, and secondly I wanted a job that would challenge me and I think that's
one of my favorite things about the non profit sector is, you do not get bored in nonprofits.
My name is Kate Horner, I live in Brooklyn New York and I found my job on idealist. Coming
out of graduate school I was really afraid I wouldn't get employed in time. You know,
being unemployed in New York is not easy and not something that I could do for more than
a few months. When I started my job search I had in mind that I wanted to work in human
rights in some form. My routine was get up get your cup of coffee. I had an idealist
email alert set up so every day I would get an email of kind of jobs that fit the criteria
that i was looking for. It kind of takes a big part of the screening process out for
me. Over the course of my job search I probably applied to forty or fifty jobs. I have the
exact number in a spreadsheet somewhere. I think when I was maybe really feeling the
pressure of the job search I would probably refresh the Idealist page like every hour,
just in the hopes that my job had come through. Especially as kind of the months wore on and
I you know, watched the bank account numbers dwindle I think my perspective and my mood
fluctuated dramatically from day to day so if I saw a job that I really liked and I felt
like I was a great fit for I would get really excited. Then you know every time you don't
get a call back it can be really defeating. I felt like I had a lot to offer and somebody
should just realize that and hire me. One day a job popped up in my email search that
was a program director for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. I had never worked with
veterans before but I had such a connection to the community because my brother is a veteran
of Iraq with the Marine Corps. Seeing my brother come back you know he had a pretty easy transition
but I know that that transition is not easy for all veterans so it felt like this could
be human rights work in a way. Really advocating on behalf of these people that have served
their country and given so much. I was so nervous for my IAVA interviews. My only thought
going in was like, keep your cool project the confidence. You have a lot of experience
you have a great education and you really care and you can do something, you can bring
something to this organization so make sure they know that when you leave. I think I did.
When I got the job I'm pretty sure I immediately called my mom and there was probably a lot
of this in the air. I was so a few things I was incredibly relieved because it meant
I got to stay in New York, and I was employed finally, income something I hadn't had for
a long time I was really excited about it. The really great thing about my role as program
director is that I get to interact with our member veterans. I get to really see the impact
that were making on a day to day basis. We have at IAVA a "wall of why" so I have a photograph
of my brother and I pinned to that wall and I have it kind of by my desk, and it's kind
of just a reminder that I'm doing the work that I do for him and for the men and women
like him and it makes me feel really good. This job with IAVA is exactly the challenge
that I was looking for. It wouldn't have been an organization that I would have you know,
gone to the website to see if they were hiring. I only found that job because it was listed
on Idealist. I am so committed to staying in the nonprofit sector. Its great to get
up and want to go to work in the morning. Its great knowing that what I'm doing during
the day matters and it gives me such a sense of purpose.