A Checklist For Nonprofit Managers

The first day at a new job is one of the most nervous moments for any person. That anxiety is usually associated with the new employee, but the manager has equal reasons to be nervous.

Nonprofit managers have a lot on their plate on the first day of a new hire. They have to make sure everything is in order so that the day goes as smoothly as possible. The last thing an already nervous employee wants to deal with is more anxiety and disorganization from the employer, so it's important to get rid of those butterflies.

One of the best ways to do this is to go back to the basics and create a checklist to ensure that you are prepared. In "The Big Book of HR," Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem laid out the following nine items to go over before the new employee arrives. If all of these questions are answered in the affirmative, then you will be ready to make sure your employee's first day of work is successful:

• Does security know the new hire is starting?
• Does the employee know when and where to report on Day One?
• Is the work area ready with computer, phone, supplies, and welcoming items?
• Do your staff members know when the new hire is arriving?
• Do you have a plan for the first day and beyond?
• Does your schedule include time for the new hire?
• Does the new hire have a copy of the person’s job description?
• Does the new hire have a copy of the organization’s strategic plan and mission statement?
• Does the new hire know what to do in case of an emergency in the workplace?

One more thing: Make sure you are available on the first. If there's an emergency that requires you to be out of the office, select someone to help the new employee out in your stead.

You can get more hiring tips like these in our upcoming jobs eNewsletter, which will be out Wednesday.

Featured Nonprofit Job: Director Of Learning And Development

Hope everybody had a great Easter/Passover weekend. Now that you are (theoretically) refreshed after days of eating, it's time to get back to the job search; and I can't think of a better way to start off than a new featured nonprofit job!

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is currently looking to hire a Director of Learning and Development for its Phoeniz, Ariz. offices. Since 1980, the organization has made headlines for granting wishes to children with life-threatening diseases, whether it's bringing a famous athlete to visit, or taking them to Disney World.

The Director of Learning and Development is the perfect job for individuals who are great at multitasking. Duties and responsibilities include:

• Building a customer-centered learning and development operation.
• Developing specific initiatives to blend cultural, business, and technical responsibilities.
• Communicate commitment to learning and development strategy to all internal and external customers.
• Articulate how establishing learning and development will benefit the organization.
• Monitor expenditures to ensure conformity to budget.
• Lead the development, planning and execution of nationally based conferences, orientations, national office training sessions and webinars.
• Establish and maintain learning and development dashboard metrics to evaluate effectiveness of learning outcomes and to implement enhancements as needed.

The ideal applicant should meet the following qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field.
• 7-12 years of related experience and/or training.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficient in Instructional Design technology.
• Experience with information technology enabled delivery.

Interested in this job? Apply today via our career center.

What's The Buzz On Resume Buzzwords?

It wasn't too long ago that a great resume just included your employment history and various accomplishments. These days it's a little more complicated.  If you send a resume to an employer today, you're going to find yourself in the rejected pile pretty quickly.

Today's modern resume must hit a number points, referred to as "buzzwords," to be considered successful. The first one is quantifying your accomplishments. Drop words like "streamlined," "enhanced" in favor of more specific examples that give a better indication of your impact (i.e., "Increased revenue by X amount in my first year"). This will back up your claims and give the hiring manager a better idea of how you could help the organization.

The next buzzword employers look for is some variation of "outside-the-box thinker." This one is a little tricky because it can lose all meaning if you don't explain what makes your thinking so unique. Anyone can say they are creative, so you have to put some weight behind your words. For example, explain how you define "outside-the-box," and how it has impacted your work.

Including any references to volunteering or community service will greatly help your cause with nonprofits. You should explain what you learned during these activities, and how these experiences will help you in the future. Don't worry if it was some time ago; every little bit of information counts.

Are there any other buzzwords you think are important? Let us know what they are, and why you think they make a difference for resumes.

Featured Nonprofit Job: Development Support Analyst

Remember Marklund? The Geneva, Ill.-based nonprofit has posted a new job to our career center that is sure to excite job seekers interested in fundraising.

This new position is for a Development Support Analyst. The chosen candidate will serve as a member of the Development Team and will be responsible for maximizing the effectiveness of the organization's donor database through data management, analysis, and reporting. You will also be taught best practices for using the data management system and periodically update co-workers on new procedures to efficiently and accurately accomplish tasks within the database to support Marklund's vital fundraising goals.

Other responsibilities include:

• Updating constituent records on an ongoing basis to ensure accurate information.
• Working directly with the Development Team to capture, maintain, and extract detailed data in a timely matter regarding the organization's donors, events, volunteers, and clients through the donor management database.
• Filing gift entry paperwork and implementing the gift acknowledgement process in a timely basis with the highest level of accuracy.
• The identification, removal, resolution, and integration of conflicting duplicate records.
• Maintaining and correcting of all demographic and personal data.

As always, you need to make sure you have the necessary qualifications before you apply. Let's take a look at some of those:

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field.
• At least four years of progressively responsible experience in nonprofit database management.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with great attention to detail and data verification.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel and nonprofit database management software, such as Raiser's Edge.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of highly sensitive donor, client, and volunteer information.

Think you have what it takes for this job? Apply today on The Nonprofit Job Seeker. 

The 50 Best Nonprofits To Work For In 2012

There are a lot of factors that go into making a great workplace. Great pay is always nice, but organizational culture plays an important role as well. Have you ever wondered which nonprofit jobs ranked up there with the best in the country? The NonProfit Times has that answer for you.

In the recently released 50 Best Nonprofits To Work For 2012, organizations were ranked based on a survey that was sent to the employers to get information policies and practices. This was followed by a survey sent to the nonprofits' employees, which contained 72 statements to which they responded using a five-point agreement scale. These statements covered topics such as role satisfaction, work environment, pay and benefits, and relationship with supervisor.

Out of all these questions came the final list, headed by the Wounded Warrior Project for the second consecutive year. Other qualifiers included:

• Brighton Center (#2)
• Alzheimer's Association (#5)
• IREX (#13)
• LiveStrong (#26)
• Playworks Los Angeles (#33)

You can read the rest of the list on our website. Have you ever applied to any of these nonprofits?

Featured Job: Manager Of Individual Giving

NPT Jobs has a new opportunity for job seekers looking to play a leadership role in concept and annual fund development. Intrigued? Then read on for more details.

Geneva, Ill.-based Marklund, a nonprofit serving the healthcare needs of disabled Americans, is seeking a Manager of Individual Giving. The chosen candidate should be prepared to work in a fast-paced environment where he/she will oversee all aspects of direct mail fundraising and appeals. Using various mediums including mailings and e-blasts, the Manager will seek to expand the lower-level annual giving program (gifts up to $5,000).

Reporting to Marklund's Chief Development Officer, other responsibilities of this position include:

• Identify, cultivate, and solicit current and prospective donors.
• Thank and recognize donors.
• Enlarge the donor base in terms of number of donors and dollars raised.

Think you have what it takes for this job? Make sure you meet the following requirements before applying:

• Bachelor's Degree in nonprofit management, marketing, business management, communications, or another related field.
• At least six years of progressively responsible experience in annual fund and donor engagement in the nonprofit sector.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and work independently, with a strong attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong proficiency with donor database function and navigation.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office programs, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Experience working with direct mail and e-mail vendors and printers.

Read more about this job, including more requirements, on our website. If you think you would be a good fit, don't hesitate to apply!

Should You Wait For The Employer?

Hiring managers will usually conclude a job interview by saying something along the lines of "You should hear back from us within a week or two." This is done to set expectations and to protect them from getting follow up calls too early. What do you do when those two weeks go by without any word from the employer?

The common thought when this happens is you didn't get the job. The reality is that there are many different things that can delay employers from getting back to you. Sometimes a new candidate enters the fold at the last minute, and the nonprofit wants to do its due diligence by setting up an interview. The review process could also take a lot longer if you applied to a particularly large nonprofit.

The first thing you should do if the specified time has passed is to e-mail or call the person who told you the time frame. I recommend calling, as that will give you the best chance of speaking to the person directly. Ask if they have any update on the status of your application. If they tell you it's going to take a little bit longer, ask if they have any specific time in mind. You will hopefully get a better idea of when you should be hearing back and whether you need to intensify your search for other jobs.

If you are in a position where you have received a job offer from another organization, but really want to work for the place you are waiting on, you can try and force the issue by mentioning this. If you're the candidate they really wanted, there's a possibility they may offer you the job immediately. Only use this tactic if you have been waiting a long time and need to get back to the other offer.  Bluffing isn't going to get you anywhere, even if you're the best poker player in the world.