YNPN Wednesday: How to Identify Your Dream Nonprofit Job

by Rosetta Thurman

categories: Job Searching, YNPN Wednesday

Published June 24, 2009 @ 06:49AM PT

Welcome to YNPN Wednesday, my weekly blog series highlighting stories and advice from members of Young Nonprofit Professionals Network chapters all over the country. Each week, I'm sharing an interview or guest post from a young nonprofit professional just like you! Today's guest blog is the first of two posts from Heather Carpenter, a member of YNPN San Diego and a blogger at Nonprofit Leadership 601. Heather recently attended a nonprofit career conference and is graciously sharing all of the insider information with you below!

How to Identify Your Dream Nonprofit Job

by Heather Carpenter, MMNA

Last week I was in beautiful Atlanta Georgia attending and presenting at the Opportunity Knocks Career Conference.  Miranda Austin, Vice President of Development of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits and Opportunity Knocks presented the first session about the "Third Sector" and provided a lot of resources and statistics about the types of jobs and work that is available in the nonprofit sector.

Types of organizations and jobs available in the nonprofit sector

• Health care organizations have the most jobs, followed by higher education organizations.
• Although human service organizations make up the majority of nonprofits, they tend to be small organizations.
• For a full list of the types of nonprofits check out the National Taxonomy of Exempt Organizations (http://nccs.urban.org/classification/NTEE.cfm)

Workers or types of work in the nonprofit sector
Overall, there are three types of nonprofit jobs or people working in the sector.

1. Professionals - e.g social workers, doctors, nurses, psychologists, artists.
2. Subject/issue specific experts - e.g historic preservation, water conservation, health policy
3. Sector specific specialists - e.g development directors, volunteer managers, advocacy experts.

Identifying the right nonprofit job

• Use your knowledge of the nonprofit sector to inform your search (e.g. small versus large nonprofits; limited staff)
• Research potential organizations on Guidestar. See Rosetta's post about using Guidestar to negotiate your salary.
• Evaluate the financial health of the organization that you are interested in working for. (Look at the organization's IRS Form 990 or Annual Report.)
• Schedule informational interviews with the organization. Ask someone to do a warm introduction for you (possibly through your LinkedIn network).
• Find out how the organization is regarded in the community.
• Volunteer for those nonprofits that are of interest to you (will allow you to get an insiders view of the organization and what it would be like to work there). Find a balance between volunteering and looking for employment.
• The more you know about the nonprofit sector, the better nonprofit employee you'll be.  Professional development is key, attend nonprofit workshops to learn more about the nonprofit sector (e.g. nonprofit sector speak, nonprofit culture).

You can connect with Heather on Twitter @heathercarpente