Steven Pascal-Joiner & Meg Busse Action Without Borders/Idealist

1. Work with Meaning: Finding a career in today’s nonprofit world and beyond Steven Pascal-Joiner & Meg Busse Action Without Borders/Idealist.org

2. About Idealist Since 1995, Idealist.org has become one of the most comprehensive online resources for the nonprofit sector, with more than 70,000 nonprofit organizations from over 180 countries posting their volunteer and internship opportunities, job openings, events, resources, and programs on the site. Our Mission: To connect people, organizations, and resources in order to build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives About Idealist

3. How Idealist connects with people and organizations Online at Idealist.org • 71,000+ registered nonprofit organizations from 180 countries • 7,000+ job opportunities • 12,000 volunteer opportunities • 500,000 daily email subscribers worldwide (350,000 in the U.S.) Real time events • Nonprofit Career Fairs • Graduate Degree Programs for the Public Good Fairs • Idealist Career Days About Idealist

4. How we connect people to organizations Free, online resources for job seekers • Career Center • The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers • Job, volunteer, fellowship/internship search page • NEFE/Idealist publication for financial assessment • Specific Career Profiles • Find organizations, consultants, events, campaigns, speakers, Nonprofit FAQ…

5. Who our Nonprofit Career Initiative connects . About Idealist

6. How is the nonprofit sector defined? • Tax status • 501(c)(3)…plus 25 other 501(c) categorizations • 501(d), (e), (f), 521, and 527 categorizations • By what it’s not • Non-profit • Non-government • Does “good” or addresses an issue • Fills gap between government and for-profit Nonprofit Sector Overview

7. What does the nonprofit sector encompass? • Charities • OxFam • Big Brothers Big Sisters • Humane Society • Foundations • Corporate: Gates Foundation • Family: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation • Community: Oregon Community Foundation • Professional Associations • National Rifle Association • NFL Players Association • American Bar Association • Republican National Committee • Religious organizations Nonprofit Sector Overview

8. What does the nonprofit sector encompass? Common issue areas • Funders • Religions • Advocacy • Health care • International • Social service • Arts and culture • Education/research • Member organizations Data from Nonprofit Nation by Michael O’Neill, 2002 Nonprofit Sector Overview

9. What we know about nonprofit HR professionals • For organizations with fewer than 50 people on staff, HR is usually handled by the Executive Director or Office Manager. • For an organization with more than 50 people, there is usually just one fulltime HR person on staff. • There is often only one fulltime HR staff person until an organization grows to at least 300 people. Nonprofit HR Professionals

10. What are nonprofit hiring cycles? Examples of unusual (or nonexistent) hiring cycles: Fiscal calendar: America’s Second Harvest Academic year: Planned Parenthood Funding: Orlo (The Bear Deluxe) Intangibles: Burnout, better offers, retirement… Nonprofit Hiring Practices

11. How do nonprofits recruit candidates to fill openings? Most organizations do not have a recruitment budget. • 50% of organizations recruit interns to fill openings • 40% of nonprofits use consultants to find candidates to fill positions • 33% of organizations recruit volunteers to fill openings *Numbers based on information from a 2004 Idealist.org survey of nonprofit HR professionals Nonprofit Hiring Practices

12. How do nonprofits recruit candidates to fill openings? Organizations use the following recruitment channels: • Word of mouth (99%) • Current employee referrals (93%) • Local newspapers (80%) • Postings on others’ websites (73%) • Recruitment from recent interns (67%) • Postings on organization’s own website (64%) * Data from the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Listening Project [Workforce Recruitment and Retention Soundings, 2007] Nonprofit Hiring Practices

13. What do HR professionals look for in a candidate? Rank the following candidate life experiences in order of importance to nonprofit HR professionals: ____ Board service ____ Volunteer work with their organization ____ Volunteer work with another organization in a relevant field ____ Internship in a relevant field ____ Experience in the for-profit sector ____ Participation in a term-of-service program (Americorps, Teach for America, etc. ____ Fundraising or grantwriting experience ____ Foreign language spoken by constituents in their program (not essential to the position) ____ Graduate education or certificate program related to but not mandatory for the position Nonprofit Hiring Practices

14. What do HR professionals look for in a candidate? Rank the following candidate life experiences in order of importance to nonprofit HR professionals: ____ Board service _1__ Volunteer work with their organization _3__ Volunteer work with another organization in a relevant field _2__ Internship in a relevant field ____ Experience in the for-profit sector ____ Participation in a term-of-service program (Americorps, Teach for America, etc. ____ Fundraising or grantwriting experience ____ Foreign language spoken by constituents in their program (not essential to the position) _4__ Graduate education or certificate program related to but not mandatory for the position Nonprofit Hiring Practices

15. What do HR professionals look for in a candidate? Rank the following candidate life experiences in order of importance to nonprofit HR professionals: _8__ Board service _1__ Volunteer work with their organization _3__ Volunteer work with another organization in a relevant field _2__ Internship in a relevant field _9__ Experience in the for-profit sector _6__ Participation in a term-of-service program (Americorps, Teach for America, etc. _5__ Fundraising or grantwriting experience _7__ Foreign language spoken by constituents in their program (not essential to the position) _4__ Graduate education or certificate program related to but not mandatory for the position Nonprofit Hiring Practices

16. What do HR professionals look for in a candidate?

17. How job seekers can become stronger nonprofit candidates Self-Assessment Tools • Career Tracks • Collection • Analysis • Synthesis • Application • Four Lenses • Role • Organization • Mission/Issue • System Strengthening Nonprofit Candidacy

18. How job seekers can become stronger nonprofit candidates • Networking • Informational interviews • Internships • Volunteering • Industry publications • Professional associations • Term of service/fellowships • Board service Strengthening Nonprofit Candidacy

19. How job seekers can convey their value to employers In a resume and cover letter… • Every employer wants to know: • Can they do the job? • Will they do the job? • Will they fit in? • Nonprofit employers also want to see: • A passion for the mission or the work • Clearly communicated, relevant skills Strengthening Nonprofit Candidacy

20. What career professionals can do to help job seekers • Help job seekers become stronger candidates for nonprofit positions • Build and cultivate relationships with HR professionals in nonprofit organizations • Make it easy for nonprofit HR professionals to get in touch with someone from your career service office • Become a resource for local (and national) nonprofits • Use alumni to help build connections between your school and local (or national) nonprofits Strengthening Nonprofit Candidacy

21. What works for you or your career service office? What are your best practices or favorite resources for: • Help job seekers become stronger nonprofit candidates • Cultivating relationships with nonprofit HR professionals • Utilizing alumni to connect your office to organizations • Becoming a resource for local nonprofits • Creating a nonprofit-friendly career service center Additional Resources

22. The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers • Free, online PDF book that you can download and print or email to students or clients • Available for download by chapter • Created to help students and mid-career transitioners find nonprofit jobs and create meaningful careers • Designed to support the work of career service professionals • Incorporates current statistics from nonprofit-specific research as well as opinions, advice, and best practices from nonprofit HR and career service professionals www.idealist.org/careerguide Additional Resources

23. More free resources coming soon from Idealist! • Two new editions of The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers specifically geared to: • College students • Mid-career professionals • Career Service Professionals Resource Center with: • Best practices • Message boards • Opportunities to connect with other CSPs • Re-launched Career Center with separate portals for: • College students • Mid-career professionals • A series of Career Profiles geared toward entry-level positions Additional Resources

24. Questions? Steven Pascal-Joiner & Meg Busse Action Without Borders/Idealist.org

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