If you are among those considering a nonprofit job, here are a few tips to help you in your job search.
1. Find your nonprofit job among the causes you are most passionate about.
You will be a much more desirable nonprofit job candidate if you speak passionately about your desire to work on a particular nonprofit cause. You are also likely to know more about an area if you have been following it for some time. So what do you care about most? Health care? The environment? Immigration? Poverty?
2. Look for your nonprofit job at organizations that share your commitment.
Start your nonprofit job search with your own city or town. There are likely to be several grass roots organizations locally even if you live in a small or medium-sized city. In larger cities, you will find many local chapters of national nonprofits. If you are in the mood to move, take your nonprofit job search nationwide. Check out online nonprofit job listings and subscribe to key publications. Most organizations now list their nonprofit job openings right on their websites, so bookmark your favorite ones and check in regularly.
3. Find your nonprofit job by doing informational interviews.
Most people who are working in nonprofits are quite willing to grant an informational interview to people who are looking for nonprofit jobs. Use your current contacts to locate appropriate individuals. In an informational interview there is no pressure. You are seeking information...you are really doing the interviewing. However, it is not unusual for these interviews to actually lead to job offers. It is a great way to make some good contacts. Prepare ten questions before the interview and be sure to send a thank you note within 24 hours.
4. Find your nonprofit job by volunteering for your favorite nonprofit.
Volunteering is an excellent way to try out an organization. You can tell a lot by volunteering, such as how organized the group is, how seriously it takes training, and what the level of resources is. The contacts you make will be valuable later in your job search. You may even have the inside track when it comes to knowing about openings. Many volunteers have become paid staff.
5. Find your nonprofit job through a nonprofit internship or co-op.
If you are still in school, create your own internship by contacting nonprofits and offering your services. Your college or university may be able to place you in a nonprofit through its own channels. Many nonprofits advertise their internship opportunities on their websites and in special interest publications, and you may be able to find them listed on the many nonprofit job search sites. This is a great way to get the inside track to a nonprofit job.
6. Find your nonprofit job through online social networking.
Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are examples of the social media you can use to search for nonprofit jobs. It is the same as looking for any job using these methods, except that you will look for nonprofit organizations and people connected with nonprofits. Most nonprofits now have a presence on Facebook and MySpace, and it is easy to search on keywords such as "nonprofit" on all the social networking spaces. Follow some of the good nonprofit job sites such as Opportunity Knocks, Idealist and Jobs for Change.7. To find your nonprofit job, cast your net broadly.
There are nonprofit jobs in just about any field you can think of. Consider higher education where they not only need teachers but also people with a broad array of skills. Think about health care where the need for services for aging Americans is nearing crisis proportions. Take a look at museums--the American public is visiting them in record numbers. Many nonprofit jobs exist in social assistance agencies. More nonprofit causes are identified each year and organizations to serve them are created at a rapid rate.
