The Job Search Daily

The thought of having to be involved with the job search every single day is pretty overwhelming. Unfortunately, that's what you are going to need to do if you want to be successful.

Job hunting is too often thought of as just sitting at your computer and browsing job boards or building your network via LinkedIn. These are big aspects of it, but you can incorporate job search activities into every part of your daily routine. The worst thing you could do for your psyche is to engage in the same activities every day, so here are some other ways you make progress in your job hunt every day:

• If you live in an apartment, post your resume on the bulletin board in the lobby. You can do the same thing at local stores if they allow it.
• Tell your friends and family about your efforts. These conversations could lead you to a great opportunity.
• Post a status update on Facebook or Google+ about your job search.
• Attend any networking events or career fairs in your area.
• Be on the look-out for opportunities to expand your skill set. You can never have enough knowledge.
• Check in with your college's career center for help. You can do this even after you graduate.
• Visit local nonprofits to see if they are looking for part-time/volunteer work.

Writing A Great Nonprofit Job Description

Cross-Posted From The NonProfit Times Blog

Is your nonprofit interested in posting a job with our online career center?  Great!  But before you get started, you must know how to write a nonprofit job description that will attract potential candidates.

Some employers make the mistake of believing that describing a job is as simple as saying what the position entails.  That's part of the equation, but the best job descriptions offer a lot more than that.  If you are going to attract the top job seekers, you are going to have to get way more in-depth about your job.  Before you start writing, gather some employees in the organization who are familiar with the position in question.  They will be able to best tell you the kinds of characteristics that an ideal candidate should possess.  The biggest mistake you can make is assuming the applicant knows the kind of personality they need to possess for the job.  Information like this should go in the "requirements" section of your job posting.

Finally, there is the issue of length.  How long is too long?  It's a hard question to answer, but it's a balance you are going to have to strike.  If you submit a job posting that is too long, you run the risk of job seekers missing important information.  Your description must be concise and easy to read.  Consider using bullet points to highlight the most important information, or bolding important words.  Whatever you do, avoid what I like to call "walls of text."  You've probably seen what I'm referring to: It's those really long paragraphs that never seem to have any breaks.  Make sure you are including paragraph breaks in your posting!

To view samples of typical nonprofit job posting, visit our job search page and see what other organizations have done.

Measuring Job Search Progress

The job search can be a long and arduous process.  You will likely apply to countless jobs every day and get in touch with networking contacts, among other activities.  It can be difficult to determine how well you are actually doing with so much on your plate.  Difficult, but not impossible.  Measuring your job search progress will help you determine which of your strategies is working the best, giving you a smoother path to getting hired.

The first thing you should keep of are resumes getting the best results.  If you have been reading this blog consistently, you will already know that you should never be using the same resume for different job applications.  That doesn't mean you can't have a single that you consistently use.  Experiment with different layouts and see which ones get you the most responses.

You should also keep note of which job boards have served you best.  Using multiple job boards is essential.  There's no question it will be a hassle to keep track of multiple sites, but it's the best way to get the most results.  You should be able to tell after a few weeks which sites are worth using.  If you find there are some that are giving you little to no help, take them off your list and move onto a new one.

Remember to keep track of which networking contacts have given you the most help.  You probably contact many different people every day, so it's important to know exactly which individuals you can rely on to help you.  You don't want to be wasting your time contacting people who have consistently provided you with little assistance.

Use Networking In Combination With Job Boards

Without a doubt, searching for a nonprofit job is a lot simpler than it was before the advent of the Internet. Now that we have access to nonprofit job boards, we can find the latest available positions with just the click of a mouse. However, this new technology doesn't mean that we should abandon traditional job hunting methods like networking.

Job networking is one of the most important tools in your arsenal. Without it, you will not have access to contacts in the nonprofit sector; and believe me, knowing people at jobs you want to apply to is still as key as it was before the Internet. Of course, the Internet has made networking for jobs easier, as well. If you haven't already, you should create a profile on LinkedIn. Essentially, it is Facebook for job seekers. By using it, you can instantly see if you have any connections at a job you are applying. Still, attending job networking events and career fairs is still something you should consider, as conversing face-to-face is more helpful than having e-mail conversations, as they tend to be less fluid.

So while browsing through job boards and sites over the net, make sure you put in the proper networking time.

NPT Jobs Recommends: 7/11/2011

The beautiful yet horrible weather continues this week on the east coast.  Although the skies have been blue, the heat has been almost unbearable.  Luckily air conditioning exists.

• 'Sorry Gang.  It Takes Effort'-An interesting post on job boards.  The author believes they should be used mainly as a tool, not a primary source for your job search.
• 'Motivation Monday: Visualization'-The Career Sherpa writes up a useful meditation-like exercise on how you can visualize your perfect job.  This isn't for everybody, but I find it very fascinating and I think it could be useful for a lot of people out there.
• 'Are Job Fairs a Good Use of Your Job Search Time?'-Job fairs are definitely a good use of your time, but you should definitely heed the advice of this article: Before you attend, make sure there are organizations there that are of interest to you and, most importantly of all, make sure they are actually hiring.

Nonprofit Career Round-Up: 6/20/2011

Hope everyone had a fantastic Father's Day weekend.  But now that the festivities are over, it's time to get back to the job search grind.  Here are today's links to help make it a little bit easier:

• 'Top 100 Skills by Job Demand (And Average Salary)'-Curious to know what are the types of skills that are in the most demand today?  This list will give you those answers, as well as the type of pay you can get.
• 'Encouraging Job Seekers'-I've mentioned many times how important it is to keep a positive mindset when searching for job.  This article gives advice on how to give and seek out encouragement when the going gets rough.
• 'Finding Unadvertised Jobs'-Open jobs aren't always posted on job boards.  This article gives you tips on how to find those unadvertised jobs.

Why Use a Nonprofit Job Board

We live in a digital age. Although there are still a good amount of people who still purchase and read newspapers, more and more people are relying on the Internet for many things (according to Google, 78% of the US was connected to the Internet in 2009), including job searching. Indeed, a nonprofit job board is becoming the main way for job seekers to get work in the nonprofit sector these days. Most nonprofit organizations have caught onto this trend, and are beginning to put their listings on these job boards. However, there are still some companies that are continuing to rely on print for their job postings. Although change is hard, if your organization is among these companies, it is imperative to start using a nonprofit job board to attract the highest quality candidates out there. At the end of the day, using these job boards presents many advantages over traditional job ads.

One of the big disadvantages of using print classified ads for your job postings is the space constraints. The majority of newspapers and magazines place strict word counts on job ads, which makes it hard to put a detailed description of the position. As a result, potential job candidates will have less of an idea of what the job entails. On a job board, however, the word counts are less hampering. Most allow you to write up to 1,400 words, which allows plenty of room to give the reader an excellent idea of what will be expected of them. Of course, with these additional words comes additional responsibilities. Simply put, it is not enough to just say the job requirements; a non profit job board listing should also give the job seeker an idea of what kind of work they will be doing, what they will learn, and who they will be working. Basically, it must also let them know what's in it for them.

Another reason to use nonprofit job boards is to reach the most active job seekers. I hinted at this before, but these individuals do most of their job searching on the Internet, not in print. You are going to want to get the most bang for your buck out of a job ad, and the Internet is the best way to get that. While a newspaper can be thrown away or easily lost, an online job posting will exist as long for as the time you paid for. In addition, many nonprofit job boards allow, for an additional fee, you to have make your posting a featured job, which gets it placed on the site's front page. This is the kind of feature that makes using a job board so helpful for your organization's future.

So the next time you have a job opening, make sure to take advantage of the ease of use the Internet offers, and use a nonprofit job board.

How To Judge a Job Posting

Almost everyday, a job posting is placed on job boards across the Internet.  With the onset of the digital age, job seekers are using these sites more and more as their preferred method of employment search.  Yet not all job postings are created equal.  It is up to you, the nonprofit job hunter, to determine which jobs are worth your time and effort.  Of course, it will not always be so obvious which jobs are not up to par; it's not always as simple as the job doesn't pay well enough, or something like that.  Sometimes, you have to look a little deeper to find out the quality of the organization that is writing the ad.

The first thing you should do when looking at a job posting is to determine the level of effort put into it.  Most online job boards allow employers to enter up to 1,400 words to describe the position.  Now don't worry, you won't have to individually count the words to see if they used them all.  What you need to do here is see if the employer describes the position in a way that leaves no doubt in your mind what you will be expected to do.  If, on the other hand, the job posting reads as if it were just copy and pasted from a stock description, you have to ask yourself whether this is the kind of organization you would want to work for.

Another thing to keep in mind is what the position is going to offer you.  A poor jobs posting will focus on only one thing: the requirements you have to meet to be the ideal candidate.  This is definitely something an employer will need to know, but it is also not enough to attract top candidates.  A good job posting will also add what you, the potential nonprofit employee, will get to learn, who you will be working with, and what you will ultimately accomplish. 

Finally, you should keep an eye out for job postings that not only describe the position, but also the culture of the company.  Let's face it, your dream job is not only going to have to gel with the skills you have, but it's also going to have to be a place you look forward to going to every morning.  The ideal non profit job is going to be a place that is serious, yet also has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  There is nothing worse than having to work in an environment where interaction is limited.  If you eventually go in for an interview, this is the kind of information you can confirm by observing the interactions of the other employees.

Remember, you don't have to apply to every jobs posting that catches your interest.  There is no need to expend energy on an organization that doesn't put the same amount of effort into writing their ads.

Job Key Words-Tips and Strategies

Everyday, there are millions of non profit jobs posted on job boards. How is a job seeker supposed to weed out the ones the jobs they really want from the ones that are irrelevant? Thankfully for job seekers everywhere, most online job boards offer the ability to search for a position by its job key words. What are job key words? Simply put, they are the terms that help describe the skills that are needed for the position. Now, like any job search skill, entering the right job keyword is an art; if you are too broad with your search, you might have trouble finding your dream job. So with that in mind, here are some strategies to help you enter the right job key words:

• First off, you should make sure that every job keyword you enter is in lower-case letters. This might go against our grammatical instincts, but it is necessary to do this if you want to get the best results back. Why? Well, if you capitalize a key word, the system is only going to send back jobs that has that word capitalized. If you have everything in lower-case, on the other hand, it will send back results whether the word is capitalized or not.
• If you are trying to find a job that requires two specific keywords, make sure to use the word AND between them. For example, if you wanted a marketing/PR job, your search would be marketing AND PR. You may have noticed I capitalized "and;" this is not just for emphasis. This is because the word "and" is a Boolean Operator, which means it is telling the system a specific command. In this case, it is telling the job board to return all jobs that require both marketing and PR skills.
• In the same vain, use the Boolean Operator "OR" if the keywords you search for are both acceptable for the non profit job you want. For example, you can search for jobs in "New York City OR Trenton."
• If you are not sure which key words best describe the job you want, take a look at your resume and enter the terms that you list under the skills you list.
• Use quotations if the keyword you are using is a phrase, and not a word (such as "well paying job).

Hopefully, you will find these job key word tips helpful to you. Now that you have a basic idea of how to best search for nonprofit jobs, head on over to our job board and get started!

What are the Most Popular Nonprofit Jobs?

If you are reading this blog, then you are obviously interested in finding nonprofit jobs.  Of course, there are many types of jobs in the nonprofit sector, all of which provide a diverse range of work.  I can't tell you exactly which non profit work will be the best for you, obviously; but I can tell you some of the most popular jobs in the nonprofit world.  For your information, this information was taken from The NonProfit Times' 2010 Salary and Benefits Report.

• Fundraising jobs are particularly prominent with nonprofits.  This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as fundraising is a huge part of the success of any nonprofit organization.  If you have good people skills, are well versed in mathematics, or have had any success in raising money in the past, this is the type of non profit job you should consider applying for.  The kind of jobs in this field include Development Director positions.  The Development Director is in charge of developing fundraising strategies, among other duties. 
• Philanthropy jobs are also very popular among nonprofit job seekers.  Giving is another big part of any nonprofit, and it is also one of the things that attracts people to work for them in the first place; the opportunity to do work that helps improve the lives of others is a big draw.  While browsing non profit jobs, you may notice many job titles related to philanthropy, including Annual Giving Director.  These positions are responsible for the giving programs that the nonprofit runs, like telemarketing and direct mail programs.
• Like any company, marketing is very important for nonprofits.  As such, you will find tons of marketing jobs while browsing a non profit job board.  Marketing Coordinator is one job that you will often run into.  Under the supervision of supervisors, you would help run the nonprofit's various marketing campaigns.  You would also be responsible with coming up with marketing proposals.
• Finally, you should expect to see a decent amount of grant-making positions.  Creating grant proposals is a huge part of the funding for the various projects a not for profit organization will undertake, so if you are a skilled writer with a good sense for numbers, this is a position you should consider.

Hopefully, this gave you a good sense of the kind of nonprofit jobs you will encounter during your job search.  There are plenty other types of jobs, of course, but these are some of the more prominent types of positions you will encounter at a non profit.

Create Your Own Nonprofit Internship

In these challenging times, it is especially hard for college students and recent graduates to find work in the nonprofit sector.  Even though the economy is recovering, the field is still very competitive to the point where it can be hard to make yourself stand out as a young professional trying to establish a nonprofit career.  I have talked in the past about the importance of looking for nonprofit internships as an alternative to a paid position.  A lot of times, you can find great internships or co-ops by searching through non-profit job boards, but sometimes these opportunities can be created by making a simple call.

It may not be a particularly comfortable experience, but you should seriously consider getting a list of popular nonprofit organizations in your area and just giving them a call to offer your services as an unpaid intern.  Even if these organizations might not have a position listed online, it doesn't mean they don't have use for some free labor.  The truth of the matter is that nonprofits (especially up-and-coming ones) are always in need of help.  This help may not always be glamorous, but it often will lead you to a nonprofit job if you do a good job and make a great impressio on your co-workers.  Even if you call up and find out the organization doesn't need any help, make it a point to give them your name and contact information, as you never know when the next opportunity will arise.  And I know I mention this a lot, but taking initiative is one of the most impressive things you can do.

Now, before you make the phone call, it's a good idea to create a little script of what you want to say (thogh try and memorize it before you call, so you don't sound stilted).  It should be no more than a 60 second blurb describing your interests and skills; just something to give the employer an idea of what you can do.  Also, make sure that you are directed to someone in Human Resources as they will know better than a secretary whether there are any internship opportunities available.  And remember, the most important thing is to sound confident.  It's a little nervewracking doing what really amounts to a cold-call, but confidence breeds success.  And with any luck, you will have landed yourself a chance at a nonprofit internship or co-op.

A Different Type of Job Interview

We've discussed the nonprofit job interview in great length already, but today I want to talk about a different kind of job interview: the informational interview.  What is it exactly?  Well, it's just like a normal job interview but with less pressure and here's the kicker: you are doing the questioning, for the most part.

A lot of times during the nonprofit job search process, we rely on learning about nonprofit jobs by browsing job boards and then submitting our resume and cover letter for consideration.  There's nothing wrong with this, of course, but there are ways to go the extra mile that will really impress the organization; and this is where the informational interview comes in.  Many nonprofits that are offering jobs are usually willing to grant these kinds of job interviews; all you have to do is ask.  Of course, this is where contacts you have gained from networking will help, because if they know someone at the organization, they can help you find the appropriate person to contact.

So what is going to happen at an informational interview?  Well, as the title implies, you are going to be getting more information about the available job.  You should prepare at least ten questions to ask the interviewer, and you should also bring your resume and cover letter (even if you have already submitted it) to hand in.  That way, they will have all the information about you in front of them.

Just because the informational interview is a little less stressful, it doesn't mean it is any less formal, however.  You should dress as you normally would at a regular nonprofit job interview, and conduct yourself the same way.  You should also be sure to attempt to build a strong rapport with the interviewer; the more he/she remembers you, the better chance you will have in being offered a position.  And of course, after the interview you should write a thank you note to express your gratitude.

Anyone have any experience with informational interviews?  I'd love to hear your stories!

Are You Treating Your Non Profit Job Search Like a Job?

When going through your nonprofit job search, you might be thinking how the process feels like a job itself.  Indeed, with all the time and effort you put into finding the right not-for-profit job, it might seem like you are already employed.  Well believe it or not, this is a good thing.  Because the fact of the matter is, the more you treat your job search like a job, the better chance you will have in actually getting the position you desire.

Granted, this can be hard.  It's difficult to convince yourself that sitting at home on the computer browsing a nonprofit job board is your employment, but it really is the best way to get employed fast.  This doesn't mean you have to get dressed up in a suit and tie everyday while you browse (though honestly, it doesn't hurt the effect), but it does mean you should set up a job search schedule for the week.  In fact, I would recommend putting aside 20 hours a week to look for work.  That might sound like a lot; and it is.  However, it doesn't have to be as tedious as it sounds. 

Looking for work doesn't just mean browsing job pages, though that is a part of it.  It also means, however, volunteering and doing some major networking.  So for an example, you could spend a few hours a day looking for nonprofit work on the internet, and the rest of the day attending a networking event in your town.  As long as you have a schedule set up, you will be successful.

When it comes to the normal job search, however, you should be as organized as possible.  Whenever you apply for a job, you should immediately write down what that position was.  That way, you won't waste time looking at a position you have already applied to.  This list will also help you in other ways; it's a good way to keep you motivated (by seeing all the work you have accomplished during the day), and it will help you keep yourself accountable (the same way you would be accountable to your supervisor at work).

All in all, if you treat your job search like the job you want, you will find you will be more successful than if you just do it casually.  Besides, when you actually do get the nonprofit job of your dreams, you will find all the organization you have done will help you do better at your job; it's all about getting yourself in the right frame of mind!