Shiny New College Diploma, but No Job? Great First Job Disappearing Due to the Recession? MASA Israel Has Solution For You!!

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It's true that an economic downturn is really hard, especially on new graduates of colleges and universities and those who have just entered their chosen career field to find, suddenly, that they are being laid off.

So, what do our bright young lights of tomorrow do in the dimming twilight of recession? Take an awesome internship in Israel where you can get some resumé-bulking experience, enjoy some time in your homeland, and get some international experience while sharing your bright intellect and brimming enthusiasm for life with an eager Israeli company.

Wow. It's a win-win!

Now, go to the website and do it!! . . . or visit their facebook page!!
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A little something extra
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3688897,00.html

In the absence of jobs, MASA initiative encourages young Jewish professionals to develop their careers through internships in Israel

Ynetnews
Published: 03.21.09, 12:47 / Israel Jewish Scene

MASA Israel Journey, an umbrella organization for more than 150 five to 12 month internship, volunteer and study programs in Israel, recently launched a campaign targeted at young Jewish adults that touts “Israel. A Better Stimulus plan.”

In an economic climate where two thirds of employers plan to lower or eliminate hiring (according to one recent study) and worsen the drought in the job market for college grads and young professionals, MASA noticed a significant rise in inquiries regarding its post-college programs. And thus the campaign was born.

While 1,800 recent college graduates and young professionals took part in these programs during 2008-2009, the number is expected to surpass 3,000 in 2009-2010.

These type of internships can be just the a good alternative for jobless graduates, by providing experience in a related field that will differenentiate participants from their competitors later on, experts say.

"Internships are valuable for both employer and candidate: they provide a purposeful and useful way to invest your time, and reflect a willingness to assume responsibility for your own future,” said Dr. Wayne Wallace, director of the University of Florida’s Career Resource Center.

Heeding this advice, increasing numbers of young adults and soon-to-be college grads have begun to seek out volunteer and internship placements in lieu of a paying job.

But why Israel?
By offering internships in cities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, MASA Israel Journey gives young Jewish professionals a wide variety of choices for ways to advance their careers and global experience, with a little something extra: The opportunity to build connections to a society and people with whom they have a unique relationship based on history and the ages.

Some of the programs in Israel place volunteers in schools and after-school programs as English tutors and in Magen David Adom ambulance services as emergency workers; others enable volunteers to pursue humanitarian fieldwork in Israel, India, Africa and beyond.

Meanwhile, graduate academic programs at Israeli universities, many with professors who previously taught at top schools, offer advanced degrees to North American students - for half the cost of private programs in the United States.

“When I was laid off from my job a few months ago, I felt like just another statistic,” related Catherine Chiffert of Boston, Massachusetts. “I didn’t want to spend the next six months or a year without doing anything fruitful, so I chose to participate in LIFE, a MASA-accredited program that combines a professional internship with service in both Israel and India."

"I chose LIFE because it will give me a new set of skills and international experience that will undoubtedly prove their value when the economy improves and more American jobs become available,” she said.

MASA is a joint project of the government of Israel and the Jewish Agency.

For more information on MASA or any of its 150+ programs, please contact Ayelet Margolin, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at (212) 339-6055 or ayeletmar@masaisrael.org