Best free apps for young professionals: Ask Amber

By Amber Alarid, JVA Consulting

As today’s young professionals search for ways to increase efficiency in their personal and professional lives and gain a competitive edge in their career while on the move, cell phones and tablets have become indispensable resources. Because of their growing ubiquity, I set out to uncover some of the most popular apps, including those that are sure to be the next big “must haves” for young professionals this season. With the help of my brilliant readers and dear friends (and a little Google research), I bring you some of the apps you have to check out TODAY. As a special bonus, these apps are FREE, because who doesn’t love a good deal?

Evernote

When I asked friends and followers on Facebook which apps they couldn’t live without, I was amused that a friend posted that her must-have app was “Evernote!!” Two exclamation points? I had to check it out. After the 50-second introductory video, I admit I fell in love and understood the excitement. This free app is compatible across almost all devices (laptops, Android phones, iPhones and tablets) and allows you to compile voice memos, photos, tweets, to-do lists, links, documents and so much more into one place that you can sync across all your devices and share. Picture this, you’re at a fundraiser or meeting and can capture photos, minutes, next steps and sound bites—all on your phone—that you can access from your computer later. There is way too much exciting information about this one for me to share in a short paragraph, so if you are new (like me) to Evernote, check out its extensive “Getting Started” webpage.

ImpulseSave

This app is a fun suggestion from one of our JVA Facebook friends. If you’re a young professional (or anyone really) trying to master the art of saving in a consumer-driven culture, this may be the app for you. The idea behind ImpulseSave is that even small, random acts of saving—just like small impulse purchases—can add up. The simple act of buying a smaller size coffee and jumping on your smart phone to quickly deposit the difference into a separate savings account can save calories and money, making saving fun. Yes I said FUN. On the flip side, an article in Huffington Post suggests that users weigh the long-term benefits of an “impulse” app and consider also implementing strategies that encourage more formal budgeting and yield higher interest rates.

VolunteerMatch

While I am a big fan of VolunteerMatch, I won’t spend too much time on this one since, sadly, it is not yet compatible with all devices. It is, however, worth mentioning for my iPhone-using readers and those who want to access the traditional website. This app lets you—the moment the urge to volunteer hits—access an extended network of current volunteer opportunities and sort by causes you care about in your neighborhood. VolunteerMatch can save you time and get the momentum rolling if you are in a meeting, class or having a conversation with friends and trying to organize a group volunteer effort. This is also useful when sitting around on a day off wondering what fun activities you can participate in for FREE.

News/Trends/Current Events apps

As evidenced by all of our Facebook friends who provided numerous tips, it is hard to choose just one news or trend app to follow. Here are some of your suggestions (and a few of mine): NPR, Mashable, Harvard Business Review Todayand the Denver Post.

Of course, there were so many great ideas, I have to share a few honorable mentions as well:

• MyFitnessPal
• Mint.com
• HootSuite
• Trello
• MemoPad
• Dropbox
• Cam Card
• Starbucks Locator

Do you have apps to add to this list? Share your favorite apps and how they help you on a day-to-day basis. Or share reviews of the apps listed by posting a comment below.

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