NPT Jobs Recommends: 8/2/2011

Make sure to take a look at the newest articles from NPT's Exempt Magazine.  We recently put up three articles from the latest issue, and you can take a look at one of them right here.  After you are done with that, take a look at today's recommended job articles:

• 'The 4 Most Effective Sources of Career Referrals'-A good article from AvidCareerist on the best people to contact when doing networking.
• '10 Best Practices for Accelerating the Success of Millenials'-There is no doubt that this generation has landed in one of the worst job markets our country has seen.  That doesn't mean there is no hope, however.  This article gives tips on how young professionals can advance their careers.
• 'The Puppy Dog Close Technique'-Don't be fooled by the cutesy sounding title: This is a very useful article.  In short, it's about what you should do when told there are no openings at a company.  The author suggests the "puppy dog" technique.  What is it?  You'll have to read to find out.

Nonprofit Career Round-Up: 8/2/2011

Here are today's newest nonprofit jobs:

• Executive Director at National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster: The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD) is seeking an Executive Director. The Executive Director will implement the strategic goals of this national membership organization, and who will be responsible for the overall management of National VOAD including its member/partner programs, fundraising, and business operations.
• Membership Manager at Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America: CADCA, a national non-profit organization, seeks a full-time Membership Manager to provide marketing expertise and excellent member services that will ensure membership satisfaction, growth and retention.  (NOTE: This is a featured job!  Apply today!)
• Assistant Director at Bay Cove Human Services, Inc:  Provides for clinical and administrative leadership of the afternoon and evening shift for a busy urban psychiatric Urgent Care Center and Mobile Crisis Center. Provides staff supervision, triages and reviews clinical assessments of all clinicians' work during evening hours, provides on call services on a rotational basis, conducts emergency psychiatric assessments for youth and adults in the UCC and in the community.

Job Locations: Should You Expand Your Search?

When we look for work, we usually browse job locations that are close to where we live.  It makes sense: Why would you want to work for a company that isn't in your area?  Cutting down on commute time can not only save money, but it can also buy you a little extra sleep.  Still, there are some advantages to expanding your job search to areas you would generally avoid.  This is not to say you should be looking for a job in Colorado while living in Florida, but it does mean you might want to consider looking for work that might have a commute longer than an hour.

Pros:

• You will be exposed to opportunities you would otherwise have ignored. 
• Your range of job choices will instantly be expanded.  Everybody on Earth knows we live in a tough job market, so the more options you have, the better.
• Some jobs offer the option to telecommute, so you might not even have to travel at all.  You should consider this option as you browse jobs that might seem far away.
• Being willing to travel farther than you might prefer will show that you are flexible.  It goes without saying that this is an important trait to have as an employee.
• On a personal level, it's a good idea to get out of your comfort zone once in a while.  You'll never grow, otherwise.

Cons

• Besides the "I don't want to drive that far" factor, there is the issue of money.  The longer you drive, the more gas you use; the more gas you use, the more money you are going to spend.
• Long commutes can lead to exhaustion.  You might not realize it, but driving back and forth five times a week can really take its toll on you; and don't even get me started on traffic.
• Being willing to travel far for work does make you appear flexible, but some organizations might not want to hire someone who would require a long commute.  This isn't always the case, so you should make sure before you apply.
• Going back to the exhaustion point, you are going to have to wake up much earlier than you might normally.  Depending on your personality, this might be a problem.

Most decisions in life come down to weighing the pros and cons, and deciding whether to expand your job search to other locations is no different.  There are probably some points I missed, so feel free to add your thoughts.  Personally, I would consider expanding your search, but it's not for everybody.

NPT Jobs Recommends: 8/1/2011

Included in the newest issue of The NonProfit Times is this year's Power and Influence Top 50 report.  If you are interested in seeing which nonprofit executives made the cut this year, I suggest you check it out.  There were certainly a lot of individuals who were worthy of being listed, so it was a hard task.  We certainly value your comments, so feel free to sound off.  Now back to our regularly scheduled program:

• '5 Job-Search Habits to Break'-I don't know if I'd say company searching is ideal for every job seeker, but I agree with the rest of the suggestions in this article from USA News.
• 'References: Are Written or Verbal Better?'-Jessica Hernandez of GreatResumesFast discusses whether its better for you to have written or verbal references for job applications.
• 'The 12 Habits of Highly Connective People'-Do you want to be the best of the best job seekers?  Take these tips from CoversationAgent.com.

Nonprofit Career Round-Up: 8/1/2011

Welcome to August!  It's hard to believe, but this is the last month of the summer.  I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm wondering where the time went.  I guess time truly does fly when you're having fun.  Hopefully you have been having luck finding nonprofit jobs during this summer.  But don't you worry, there are more out there if you haven't found a match yet.  Take these, for example:

• Executive Director in New York City: Executive Director – Internationally-known but small NYC-based advocacy organization seeks an executive director to handle day-to-day issues. Operations handled by founder. Person should have marketing and fundraising background. Person will be responsible for growing and expanding revenue base for 99% volunteer organization. Perfect spot for a marketer/fundraiser to run things.
• Associate Director of Development at American Academy of Arts and Sciences: The Associate Director of Development, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations will oversee the Academy’s development activities with foundations and corporations. The successful candidate will be an experienced self-starter with intellectual curiosity and an eagerness to advance the Academy and its mission. In addition to being self-disciplined and highly organized, s/he will have outstanding writing skills. S/he will work closely with program, finance, and other development staff members to develop comprehensive proposals, stewardship reports, and other documents related to corporate and foundation cultivation and solicitation.
• Executive Director at Five Acres: The ideal candidate will most likely have solid leadership experience in the field of mental health and/or human and social services with in-depth knowledge of fund development, and administration of grant and contract funded programs. It will be important for candidates to have an appreciation for and ideally experience working with and managing residential programs. Experience working with Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services, or a similar agency outside of Los Angeles, would be beneficial.

August Issue Of The NonProfit Times Is Out!

Just thought I would let my readers know that the August issue of The NonProfit Times has been released!   As with the other issues that go up on the site, it contains three articles from the digital and print editions of the issue, a PDF of the Special Report, and three columns.

The August issue contains the newest edition of NPT's Top 50 Power & Influence Report.  In addition, the issue will cover stories ranging from the re-branding of Gifts In Kind International, to animal groups taking issue with the ASPCA.  Check out the NPT website today to get your first look at this exciting new issue!

Hiring Tips: Seven Ways To Train Staff Online

Often times, The NonProfit Times is updated with management tips designed to help nonprofit organizations. These tips cover a wide variety of categories, one of which is human resources. The most recent tip we put up deals with how to train staff online. With most activities being on the Internet these days, this is an important task for all nonprofits to learn. Below is that article in its entirety:

Nonprofit managers are starting to learn what most college administrators know already: that online education can be a low-cost way to offer training and professional development.

Unlike colleges, which are only looking to cut costs, nonprofits can use online training to fulfill the mission.

Laura Quinn, founder and executive director of Ideaware, a nonprofit technology organization in Portland, Maine, offers the following suggestions as options for inexpensive online professional development:

* Use existing recorded seminars. If the training is not organization-specific, utilize existing resources rather than reinventing the wheel.

* Online conferences. If your needs are relatively simple and cost is a concern, consider online tools that share slides, documents or anything else from your computer.

* Video conferencing. If there are trainers with whom you like to work, broadcast videos of them presenting lessons rather than trying to schedule onsite classes.

* Recorded seminars. Online seminars let you record and archive trainings for staff to watch at their convenience.

* Screencasts. These are videos of your computer screen, often with voiceover narrating your onscreen actions. They can be used to help train staff to use a particular software package or website.

* eLearning. This is a term that generally refers to packaged modules that provide a number of ways to interact with materials.

* Learning Management Systems. If an organization has a number of topics to teach, creating and maintaining an online curriculum through a Learning Management System might be the best way to train staff.