Why Most Nonprofit Resumes Suck

by Rosetta Thurman

category: Job Searching

Published June 15, 2009 @ 05:47AM PT

As a young professional trying to get your foot in the door to work at a great nonprofit organization, sometimes it's difficult to figure out what the agency is looking for in their hiring process. The best question to try to answer in your job search should be, "what does the ideal candidate look like for this position?" Then, your challenge is to convince the nonprofit that you are that perfect person. But here's the problem: you could be the most talented, experienced candidate with the friendliest personality from here to the Aloha State, but if your resume doesn't reflect that, there's no way you're getting close to hired. Many  recent grads and young professionals make the mistake of simply listing everything they ever did in their previous positions, all the way down to making copies as an intern and mopping the floors as a restaurant worker in college. All the while, the hiring manager is reading this sucky resume, wondering, "is that supposed to impress me?" I know, I know, you may think you have to fill in space on your resume if you don't have much experience. You should take comfort in the fact that it's not so much about how many years of experience you've had, but what you've accomplished in each particular position you've held.

How to Frame Your Entry-Level Experience on a Nonprofit Resume

• Focus on accomplishments, not duties
• Make connections between your education and tasks to be performed at the organization
• Show teamwork and “leadership from within" from internships or volunteer experience
• Be specific with scenarios of how you’ve solved problems

Focus on Accomplishments

• Directed operations of X program
• Supervised X volunteers or interns
• Managed X process or X committee
• Implemented X new activity
• Administered X program
• Reorganized X procedure
• Facilitated the launch or expansion of...

...Not Duties

• Prepared packets for meetings
• Made copies of important documents
• Researched information on the Web
• Scheduled important meetings
• Supported program staff
• Answered phones
• Opened mail
• Mopped floors, vacuumed the office, kept the kitchen tidy

Which of the above impresses you more, the list of duties or accomplishments? That's what I thought. Start thinking about your job search from the perspective of the hiring organization. They want someone who can come in and produce results; they don't really care about how wonderfully you opened the mail or mopped floors in the past. So, don't waste your time telling them!

If your nonprofit resume sucks, you may want to consider having it reviewed by a professional search firm. Check out the services offered by the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group!