Is Your Cover Letter Sabotaging Your Chances at a Great Nonprofit Job?

by Rosetta Thurman

category: Job Searching

Published May 10, 2009 @ 04:10AM PT

Have you ever wondered why you didn't get called in for an interview for that great nonprofit job you wanted? You just knew you were the perfect candidate, but your phone sat silent. A few weeks later, you see that the position was filled, and you ask yourself, what gives?  Chances are, you may have committed one of the many common mistakes that young nonprofit job-seekers make.  I've served as the hiring manager at many stages in my nonprofit career, and often talented, qualified, educated job applicants get passed over simply because their cover letters took them out of the running. Most candidates think that their resume is the most important tool for landing that next step in their nonprofit career, and of course it is. But these days, when it's possible that all of the other candidates have just as much education and experience as you do, you have to take the opportunity to exhibit that extra spark in your cover letter. Or, at the very least, just please don't make these three mistakes.

Dear Hiring Manager
Many nonprofit job seekers are sending out several applications at once, and think a standard cover letter greeting of "Dear Hiring Manager" or "To Whom it May Concern" will do the trick.  Not so. It may save time, but will hurt you in the long run. Please do some research to find the name of the hiring manager.  Nothing looks worse to an organization that posts an ad listing the person to whom the cover should be addressed, yet the applicant still takes the lazy approach of a generic salutation. If there is no contact listed and you cannot locate any additional information, simply use a greeting like ‘Hello' so you are still speaking to the person who is reading your letter even though you don't know their name. By the way, "Dear Sir or Madam" isn't any better. No one even uses those terms anymore.

Right Cover Letter, Wrong Organization Name
I don't know how many times I've opened up a cover letter where the applicant states how excited they are to apply to the Good Health Institute when they are actually applying to a totally different organization. Be sure to include the organization's name in your cover letter, but be sure to proofread to ensure you haven't copied and pasted the wrong organization name in the cover letter. They know you're probably applying to other jobs, but you don't have to let it show by not changing the organization name each time you rewrite the letter.  It's also important to get the position name correct.  It's obvious that you haven't tailored the letter if the position is for a program assistant and your letter says that you are applying for the development associate job.

Got Passion?
Many nonprofits find it difficult to consider a candidate when it's not clear whether they even know anything about the cause. When you apply to a nonprofit job, you need to let them know you have the technical skills to do the job as well as a passion for the mission of the organization. They want to know that you care about the nature of the work you will be doing. Any previous work you've done for a similar cause is helpful to share. Don't be afraid to talk about any volunteer service related their mission. It makes your cover letter stand out from the others and shows that you are knowledgeable about the organization's work.

When a Degree Isn't Enough: 3 Reasons Not to Go Back to School

by Rosetta Thurman

category: Job Searching

Published May 18, 2009 @ 05:15AM PT

In this economy, many young professionals are considering going back to school to obtain Master's degrees, MBAs, MPAs, and even PhDs in the hopes it will help them land a better nonprofit job in the future. Many of my friends here in DC are moving away in the next few months to pursue further education at some of the top universities in the country. They think the advanced degrees with make them more attractive for positions with more responsibility and more pay. Now don't get me wrong, I support lifelong learning and the many benefits it can provide, but I also feel the need to temper some of this growing excitement about getting an MBA and making big nonprofit bucks. The truth is that this is just not necessaily the case.

In this economy, a degree is simply not enough. As nonprofits experience the economic downturn in struggling to maintain fundraising goals and good management practices in a time of crisis, they recognize the value of experience over education. In fact, if you look at what's really happening right now in the nonprofit sector, you'll find several reasons NOT to go back to school and focus on what organizations are really looking for in potential candidates.

Nonprofits are Still Hiring
Young professionals need to stop panicking and responding to the general consensus that having more education will prevent them from getting laid off. Everyone's perpetuating this rumor that all nonprofits are cutting staff, which is not true. In fact, according to the Bridgespan Group's new report "Finding Leaders for America's Nonprofits":

Twenty-eight percent of organizations said they intended to make senior-level hires in 2009.

Experience Trumps Education
Nonprofits these days want and desperately need staff that know how to come in and hit the ground running. It's great that you "learned" how to create logic models and venn diagrams in your graduate program, but if you have no experience putting them to practical use, it's just not that useful to the organization. The Bridgespan report confirms that:

Specific functional experience is the most highly rated criteria for hiring, with 79 percent of respondents rating it as "very important."

Passion Matters
Nonprofits want to know if you're as dedicated to the cause as the other people in the organization. Successful fundraising, program development, community outreach, etc. often depends on how enthusiastic the staff are about the mission. These days, in addition to knowing how to write a grant proposal, it's equally important to show how much you care about the cause that you're fundraising for. The Bridgespan report revealed that:

The most important attributes recruiters are seeking include anticipated relevant experience as well as "cultural fit," or shared passion for the mission.

The truth is, in this challenging economy, you need more than a fancy degree to get hired into a nonprofit organization. More important is your experience and your passion. Instead of jumping on the back to school bandwagon, you might consider different ways to build your leadership skills and share your passion for the causes you care about.

If Google Can't Find You, You Don't Exist

by Rosetta Thurman

categories: Job Searching, Networking, Personal Branding

Published May 19, 2009 @ 06:08AM PT

Everyone thinks that young professionals have completely mastered the art of social media. The stereotype is that Generation Y is always online, and companies are eager to tap the tech savvy minds of the "Facebook Generation". I even took on that assumption during an interview I conducted for a new position my organization was hiring for. I asked the candidate, a recent grad in her early 20s, to share her experience using social media tools. She told me she knew how to use Ning, but didn't know much about Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter. I almost fell out of my chair. For shame! A Generation Y job seeker who didn't even have a Facebook profile? Where had she been living, under a rock with no access to wi-fi? For a job that involved communications and marketing, this was a big deficit in her knowledge. I was also a little miffed that I couldn't find out any additional information about her online.

The nonprofit field is getting more competitive for top jobs as more and more candidates apply for positions with impressive education and experience. Instead of spending a fortune to go back to school, young professionals need to make themselves stand out by developing a strong personal brand that potential employers can view online. Are employers Googling you? Assume that they are. And if they can't find you, you pretty much don't exist. Yes, you can use social media to expand your network and position yourself for your next nonprofit career opportunity. Here are a few ways to get ahead of the game.

Post Your Resume on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is THE place to make purely professional connections with your colleagues in the nonprofit field or even that great speaker you met at a conference. Sign up on www.linkedin.com and fill out a profile with your work experience and educational background. List your accomplishments and professional memberships. LinkedIn also allows other people to post recommendations of your work. There's no better way to market yourself than someone else writing a paragrah about how awesome you are! To see an example, you can view my LinkedIn profile here.

Professionalize Your Facebook Page
I know, you originally created your Facebook profile to keep up with your friends in college. But you've graduated now, and guess what? Your Facebook profile can be Googled. So make sure you remove all of those photos of you doing shots at the bar. All of them. (I know, it was fun. But it's time to let go of the memories. Or at least just get rid of the evidence.) I'm not saying not to be yourself, I'm just encouraging you to consider whether your future employer would want to know about that side of you. Fill in the "Info" section of your Facebook page listing your previous jobs and educational background. And upload a nice headshot of your smiling face that anyone would love to hire.

Start Blogging
Google loves blogs. Google loves blogs so much, they have a special blog search. If you have a blog with your real name listed on it, Google will find it. Sign up at Blogger or Wordpress to get a free blog set up and start writing about issues that you care about, preferably somewhat related to the nonprofit field. It showcases your writing skills, social media savvy, and utter brilliance to future employers. Check out this fabulous resource to get started: Bamboo Project Readers' Guide to Blogging for Personal Branding

What happens when you Google your name? If the answer is "nothing," you've got some work to do!

Why Haven't You Been Called for an Interview Yet?

by Rosetta Thurman

category: Job Searching

Published May 22, 2009 @ 12:16PM PT

It's Friday, the end of the week, and your phone is as silent as an empty library. If you're a young professional that's been job hunting since Monday, and no one has contacted you yet, you may be feeling a little frustrated. Maybe you applied for several jobs that were perfect for you. You thought they were a slam dunk. Shoot, they'd be lucky to have you work for their nonprofit! Maybe so, but you have to maintain a little patience here. Especially in the beginning stages of your nonprofit job search, it's important not to get discouraged. There may be several reasons the organization hasn't gotten back to you yet.

The deadline to apply hasn't passed. Many job ads have a date by which they would like all applicants to apply. Some organizations wait until the end of that timeframe to begin contacting candidates for interviews after they've compared you against other applicants.

The organization is still sorting through the hundreds of applications they received. This is why it's often an advantage to apply on the very first day a job opening is posted so your resume is at the top of the pile.

They're just not that into you. This is harsh, but true. Maybe the hiring manager just didn't see how fabulous you were by looking at your resume. Yours may have gotten tossed because they didn't think you'd be a good fit or your qualifications didn't match up. You like the organization, but they don't like you. Whatever the reason, the feeling just isn't mutual.

If it makes you feel better, go ahead and give the contact person a call to check the status of your application. After that, move on. Keep searching until you find an organization that represents a cause you care about and can appreciate your unique talents.

"I Have a Degree, Hire Me" Doesn't Work Anymore

by Rosetta Thurman

categories: Job Searching, Personal Branding

Published May 29, 2009 @ 07:35AM PT

So you just graduated from college or grad school and you want to do something with your life. You want your job to have meaning for your life and for the community. You want to make a difference and help change the world. You're sure you'd be a shoe-in for a nice little nonprofit job directing an afterschool program or a food pantry. Plus, you're kind of a big deal. With that degree from Yale or Stanford, you've got this in the bag.

Newsflash. Everyone has a degree. Americans are more educated now than ever, with 1 in 3 adults holding Bachelor's degrees or higher. In many metropolitan areas like Washington, DC, it's more like 1 in 2. It's not uncommon for new grads to flock to the nonprofit field to cut their teeth in their first management position. When we recently advertised a job for my organization, we received 200 applications - all of them boasting at least a Bachelor's degree. So whoopty-do. No matter how fancy your degree is, you still have to step your game up and tell the hiring organization what else makes you special.

Some of the job applications we received pretty much said in a nutshell, "I'm graduating from college in May and I need a job. May I please work at your nonprofit? Pretty please, with a cherry on top?" Um, how about no. It takes much more than that to land a great nonprofit job. Much more.

Tell me what's unique about you. If you were a product, why should I buy you? Job searching is all about marketing yourself. Imagine standing in the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store. Why buy the Tide over the Cheer? Guess what, in that moment of choice, you're wondering which one will make your life easier. Similarly, in your nonprofit job search, you need to let the organization know that not only do you have a good education, but you know how to apply it. Emphasize how you can and will solve problems and get things done.

If it's now common to have a degree, you need to articulate what's uncommon about you. Because, "I have a degree, hire me" just doesn't work anymore.

4 Powerful Writing Samples Guaranteed to Get Your Application Noticed

by Rosetta Thurman

category: Job Searching

Published June 01, 2009 @ 04:15AM PT

You know the drill. Often when you're applying to a nonprofit job, the organization will ask you to provide a writing sample as part of your application. Why do they want a sample of your writing? To ensure that you don't write like an 8 year old and they can trust you to pump out basic correspondence on behalf of the organization. Nonprofits also like to see writing samples from applicants to see if shows that you've done anything remotely related to the job you're applying for. How do you make yours stand out from the pack? First and foremost, if the job posting requests a writing sample, SEND ONE. This is not optional if the organization asks for it. If you neglect this important step, your application gets put into the "NO" pile before they even take a look at your resume. Let's follow directions, k?

Here are just a few types of writing samples that will definitely make a nonprofit hiring manager take notice of your application more closely.

1. A sample of a grant proposal you've written in the past. Bonus points if it actually ended up getting funded. Nonprofits like to see that you have the capacity to raise funds for their organization, even if that will not be a core function of the job you're applying for. At least they know that if they hire you, they'll have one more staff person who knows how to write a grant proposal, and could possibly train others in the organization as well.
2. A sample fundraising planning document you've developed. Second-best is something that shows that you can at least plan for the fundraising process, even if you've never raised any funds or written a grant proposal before. This includes any fundraising planning for an alumni event you were involved in, a walk-a-thon you volunteered for, etc. The point is to show the hiring manager that you can present a well-thought out and organized plan of action that translates to success for their organization.
3. A newsletter you wrote and designed. Especially if the position is in a communications or marketing capacity, this is the key. If the job posting calls for both writing and graphic design skills, a newsletter you developed is the perfect marriage to showcase both. Please be sure it is, indeed, primarily your work, though. You don't want to pass off anyone else's design expertise as your own if all you did was edit the newsletter.
4. An article you wrote or op-ed that was published in a newspaper, blog, or other media outlet. This could be very powerful for an organization to see, again especially if the position you're applying for involves communications or marketing. It shows that your writing is so good, it gets noticed by others. I once interviewed an applicant primarily for the strength of an article she published in USA Today. The girl had a byline. One word: impressive.

Nonprofit hiring managers really do read the writing samples you send in with your applications. Believe me, I've read through hundreds of them over the years. Most of them are a waste of paper. Purely unremarkable. You have a great opportunity to make yours stand out from the rest. Think twice before you send in your senior thesis on the Armenian government as a writing sample. It's much better to send something that's more relevant to the job you're applying for.

Photo credit: eHow

Associations Are Nonprofits, Too

by Rosetta Thurman

category: Job Searching

Published June 02, 2009 @ 04:35AM PT

So you're looking for your first job or a new job in the nonprofit sector to further your social change career.  As you seek to find a job that helps you make a difference, you may also want to consider working at an association along with the many direct service organizations out there. But first, you may be asking yourself, "what is an association and why would I want to work in one?" Here is some background information about associations:

Q:  What is an association?

A:  The official definition from the IRS is: “In general, an association is a group of persons banded together for a specific purpose.” That leaves a lot of room for interpretation, since associations are formed for an enormous variety of purposes and provide a huge range of products and services for their members and, in many cases, for society at large.

A sense of community coordination is at the heart of the association profession. People voluntarily join associations because they want to work together on a common cause or interest. America’s associations have deep roots in our history. The first American settlers formed “guilds,” patterned after British traditions, to address common challenges and support each other’s work and lifestyle.

Q: What sort of career opportunities do associations present?

A: As employers, associations require numerous skill sets to effectively serve their members. There are career opportunities in traditional fields like finance and accounting, marketing, advertising, communications and public relations, government relations, legal, and information technology, and in industry-specific areas like membership marketing, foundation grant-writing, event planning, and trade show management.

(FAQs provided by ASAE and the Center for Association Leadership)

Jobs for Change has a ton of association job listings for you to explore in your search. As mentioned above, another great source for you to find our more about working in an association is ASAE and the Center for Association Leadership. ASAE is the membership organization and voice of the association profession. ASAE has more than 22,000 association CEOs, staff professionals, industry partners, and consultants. ASAE & The Center serve approximately 10,000 associations that represent more than 287 million people and organizations worldwide. Here are some examples of several different kinds of associations that are looking for your talent and passion for change:

• National Association of Social Workers
• National Peace Corps Association
• Association of American Medical Colleges
• Countryside Association for People with Disabilities
• The National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
• Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
• Association for Women's Rights in Development

Photo credit: lesterhead