8 Things To Include In A Job Description

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How do you get someone to apply for a job at your organization? The obvious answer is to write a job description to post on your website or on a job board, but not any old description will do the trick.

James Weinberg and Cassie Scarano, co-founders of Commongood Careers, wrote in “Nonprofit Management 101” that, to attract great talent, you need a job description that will leave the candidate no choice but to apply. They explained that a job description is a marketing tool at the end of the day: It must engage potential candidates by communicating the opportunities available through the position, in addition to outlining the requirements.

Weinberg and Scarano listed eight things that must be included in a job description if it is to have its desired effect:

• Title: Keep it short, concise, descriptive of the position, and widely recognizable.
• Organizational Overview: Introduce your organization through a succinct and enthusiastic paragraph that outlines your mission and programs, success to date, growth plans, future opportunities, and culture.
• Position Overview: Use one well-written paragraph to describe the overall function of the position and highlight the opportunities for impact and leadership.
• Responsibilities: Use five to seven bullets to provide detail about the responsibilities of the position. Use engaging and active language and avoid jargon.
• Qualifications: This section should outline the experience and competencies required for success in the position and your organization without being overly prescriptive.
• Compensation Range: Disclosing specific compensation is not required and in fact, is not recommended, as it limits the candidates you will see.
• Application Instructions: Be very specific about how you want candidates to apply for the position.
• Equal Opportunity Statement: It is good practice to have an equal opportunity employer policy and to include that in your job description.

So You Want To Be A Major Gifts Officer

Every nonprofit needs an effective Major Gifts Officer.  That's why you often see openings for this position while browsing job boards.  Do you think you have what it takes to make it in this demanding position?

As the title of the job suggests, a Major Gifts Officer is in charge of securing large gifts from the key donors.  What constitutes a major gift can vary from organization to organization.  For smaller nonprofits, it could be $100.  For larger ones, it could be $100,000 or more.  The major gift officer will have constant contact with major gift prospects, and will generally report to the Chief Development Officer.

So what career skills are required to be a great Major Gifts Officer?  During the Association For Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) International Conference in Boston, Mass., Mark Kostegan, senior vice president of development for the Mount Sinai Medical Center, detailed nine skills that a Major Gifts Officer should have:

• Since you will be working with a number of different donors, often at the same time, it's important to have the ability to build and maintain relationships quickly.
• You must have excellent listening skills.
• You must also have strong verbal and communication skills.
• Can you organize yourself and your time effectively?  If so, you have one of the most important attributes of a Major Gifts Officer.
• You must never be satisfied with the status quo.  Drive yourself to set and reach challenging goals.
• Mental and physical stamina to maintain a hectic schedule.  This includes a lot of traveling.
• A collaborative and collegial work style is a must.
• Confidence and poise to work effectively with individuals of significant wealth.  Money can be intimidating, so this is a lot harder than it seems.

Preparing For An Employee Interview

Job seekers aren't the only ones who have pressure on them during a job interview.  Employers have to be on top of their A-game, too.

Hiring a new employee always comes with risks.  It's up to you, the hiring manager, to make the most informed decision.  That's why employee interviews are so important to the future of your organization.  Good interviews are not just about asking the right questions.  There is a lot more to it, and it all starts with preparation.

It seems kind of obvious, but it can be very easy to not properly prepare for an interview.  The temptation to skim through a candidate's resume can be great, but you need to find a way to fight that urge.  You should go through the interviewee's paperwork multiple times.  If you are going to attract the top candidates to your nonprofit, you are going to have to show them you handle your position with great professionalism.

Another thing that shows professionalism is setting a good tone for the interview.  When the candidate walks in, make sure you give them a firm handshake and express how glad you are to meet them.  This is a simple but effective way to make the individual feel welcome and respected.  You should also be sure to let the applicant know how long you expect the interview to last.  This will allow you both to manage time more effectively.

Here are some other things to keep in mind:

• Tell the interviewee the specific set of skills required for the position.  Even if this information is already in your job description, it's still important to mention so you are both on the same page.  You don't want there to be any confusion on what the job entails.
• Prepare a list of interview questions you want to ask the candidate.  If you want some ideas of what to ask, talk to some people in the organization about the job.  They should be able to give you some suggestions on what to ask.
• Don't be afraid of conducting multiple job interviews.  Does one of the candidates seem too good to be true?  Try to alleviate those concerns in a follow-up interview.  If you still aren't convinced, go with what your gut tells you. 

Conducing A Job Analysis

How well do you know the jobs at your nonprofit?  Even if you think you have it all covered, it's important to undergo a thorough analysis of the positions at your organization.

A job analysis identifies and describes what is happening in the jobs at a nonprofit.  All organizations must undergo this process, as it helps to differentiate job and performance requirements based on job content, specifications, and working conditions.  All of this information will be crucial when developing a job description.

In  "The Big Book Of HR," Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem describe the information your organization should obtain in a job analysis:

• A job's context or its purpose, its work environment, and its place in the organization.
• The duties and responsibilities that employees carry out in the position.
• How people in the job are expected to act while accomplishing their work.

In order to get this information, you should:

• Get direct employee and supervisor input.
• Gather data from multiple incumbents and supervisors.
• Use techniques that yield data that is concise, easy to update, and limits bias.

Re-Post: Writing the Perfect Job Description

Writing a job description is not as simple as saying what the position entails. While that might be the easy route, the description is going to have to be much more in-depth if your organization wants to attract the top candidates. Along with what the work will entail, the overview of the job should also make clear what qualities the ideal applicant should possess. Writing the perfect nonprofit job description requires a lot of time and effort, but I will help your organization attract candidates who are better suited for the job.

Before writing the job description, you should gather a group of individuals from your organization who are familiar with the job you are posting. These employees should be your model of the type of person you want to hire to this new position, so they are a good place to start when deciding on the characteristics of the ideal job candidate. Remember, these qualities should not just be job skills; they should also be personality traits. For example, if you were hiring a person to work in fundraising, the perfect candidate would be someone who is personable, and is not easily rattled. You should never assume that the person applying for the position knows exactly the kind of personality type needed to do the job.

Finally, there is the issue of length. Your job posting needs to provide the applicant with as much information as possible.  But, there is the possibility they won't read it all if it goes on too long. You might question whether you would even want to hire a candidate who wouldn't read the entire description, but it is human nature to want to skim if a listing gets too long. Besides, a job seeker is going to want to spend more time filling out the application than reading. As such, your job description should be concise and easy to read (that means avoiding big blocks of text). And when it comes to listing the key points of the job, bullet points are a good tool to use to catch the reader's eye.

When it comes down to it, the job description is going to be what makes a job seeker apply to a nonprofit. If it is not well written or explained well, they are simply going to move onto the next listing. And in this crowded market of nonprofit jobs, that is something you can't let happen to your organization.