DEAR JOYCE: After unsuccessfully looking for a job for three months, I'm expanding my outreach. A woman in my book club suggested that I volunteer as a way of building my network. Is that real? -- K.G.

Paid or unpaid, work is both a connector and resume gold. When you do satisfactory volunteer work for a nonprofit -- social, health and environmental organizations, for example -- you'll expand your network of people who may pass on news of job openings, and you'll gain good references.

(But don't expect to be considered for a paid job if one opens where you volunteer; nonprofits are cutting paid staff as financial contributions shrink and are filling few vacancies.)

Even though you need a paycheck, perhaps you can squeeze in four volunteer hours a week without shortchanging your job search.

In selecting the beneficiary of your efforts, remember the career focus factor -- don't wander all over the lot. If you're looking for a marketing job, help a museum market its events, rather than serve meals to the homeless.

QUID PRO QUO. Evaluate an organization in which you might invest your time based on what it can do for you in return:

-- Does the organization attract groups of people whom you'd like to know or work with?

-- Does the organization provide training? If so, is the training a general orientation or specific to particular jobs? What skills will you develop?

-- Are the volunteer jobs well defined, or are you told there will be lots of things for you to do? You're not volunteering to do a paid staffer's grunt work -- unless the connections you'll make are super.

-- Will your volunteer hours be recorded, along with your volunteer job description, so they can be used for a future reference? Who will write the reference? Continued...