Steven Pascal-Joiner & Meg Busse Action Without Borders/Idealist.org Work with Meaning: Finding a...

Steven Pascal-Joiner & Meg BusseSteven Pascal-Joiner & Meg BusseAction Without Borders/Idealist.orgAction Without Borders/Idealist.org

Work with Meaning: Finding a career in today’s nonprofit world

and beyond

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview

Nonprofit HR Professionals

Nonprofit Hiring

Practices

Strengthening Nonprofit Candidacy

Additional Resources

About Idealist

Since 1995, Idealist.org has become one of the most comprehensive online resources for the nonprofit sector, with more than 70,000 nonprofit organizations from over 180 countries posting their volunteer and internship opportunities, job openings, events, resources, and programs on the site.

Our Mission:

To connect people, organizations, and resources in order to build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives

About Idealist

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



How Idealist connects with people and organizationsOnline at Idealist.org

• 71,000+ registered nonprofit organizations from 180 countries

• 7,000+ job opportunities

• 12,000 volunteer opportunities

• 500,000 daily email subscribers worldwide (350,000 in the U.S.)

Real time events

• Nonprofit Career Fairs

• Graduate Degree Programs for the Public Good Fairs

• Idealist Career Days

About Idealist

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



How we connect people to organizations

Free, online resources for job seekers• Career Center

• The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers

• Job, volunteer, fellowship/internship search page

• NEFE/Idealist publication for financial assessment

• Specific Career Profiles

• Find organizations, consultants, events, campaigns, speakers, Nonprofit FAQ…

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



Who our Nonprofit Career Initiative connects

.About Idealist

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



How is the nonprofit sector defined?

• Tax status

• 501(c)(3)…plus 25 other 501(c) categorizations

• 501(d), (e), (f), 521, and 527 categorizations

• By what it’s not

• Non-profit

• Non-government

• Does “good” or addresses an issue

• Fills gap between government and for-profit

Nonprofit Sector Overview

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



What does the nonprofit sector encompass?

• Charities• OxFam• Big Brothers Big Sisters• Humane Society

• Foundations• Corporate: Gates Foundation• Family: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation• Community: Oregon Community Foundation

• Professional Associations• National Rifle Association• NFL Players Association• American Bar Association• Republican National Committee

• Religious organizations


About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



What does the nonprofit sector encompass?

Common issue areas• Funders

• Religions

• Advocacy

• Health care

• International

• Social service

• Arts and culture

• Education/research

• Member organizations

Data from Nonprofit Nation by Michael O’Neill, 2002


About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



What we know about nonprofit HR professionals

• For organizations with fewer than 50 people on staff,

HR is usually handled by the Executive Director or

Office Manager.

• For an organization with more than 50 people, there is usually just one fulltime HR person on staff.

• There is often only one fulltime HR staff person until an organization grows to at least 300 people.


About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



What are nonprofit hiring cycles?

Examples of unusual (or nonexistent) hiring cycles:

Fiscal calendar: America’s Second Harvest

Academic year: Planned Parenthood

Funding: Orlo (The Bear Deluxe)

Intangibles: Burnout, better offers,

retirement…

Nonprofit Hiring Practices

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



How do nonprofits recruit candidates to fill openings?

Most organizations do not have a recruitment

budget.

• 50% of organizations recruit interns to fill openings

• 40% of nonprofits use consultants to find candidates to

fill positions

• 33% of organizations recruit volunteers to fill openings

*Numbers based on information from a 2004 Idealist.org survey of nonprofit HR professionals


About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



How do nonprofits recruit candidates to fill openings?

Organizations use the following recruitment channels:

• Word of mouth (99%)

• Current employee referrals (93%)

• Local newspapers (80%)

• Postings on others’ websites (73%)

• Recruitment from recent interns (67%)

• Postings on organization’s own website (64%)

* Data from the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Listening Project [Workforce Recruitment and Retention

Soundings, 2007]


About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



What do HR professionals look for in a candidate?

Rank the following candidate life experiences in order of importance to nonprofit HR professionals:____ Board service

____ Volunteer work with their organization ____ Volunteer work with another organization in a relevant field ____ Internship in a relevant field ____ Experience in the for-profit sector ____ Participation in a term-of-service program (Americorps, Teach

for America, etc. ____ Fundraising or grantwriting experience ____ Foreign language spoken by constituents in their program (not

essential to the position) ____ Graduate education or certificate program related to but not

mandatory for the position


About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices




Rank the following candidate life experiences in order of importance to nonprofit HR professionals:____ Board service

_1__ Volunteer work with their organization _3__ Volunteer work with another organization in a relevant field _2__ Internship in a relevant field ____ Experience in the for-profit sector ____ Participation in a term-of-service program (Americorps, Teach

for America, etc. ____ Fundraising or grantwriting experience ____ Foreign language spoken by constituents in their program (not

essential to the position) _4__ Graduate education or certificate program related to but not



About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices




Rank the following candidate life experiences in order of importance to nonprofit HR professionals:_8__ Board service

_1__ Volunteer work with their organization _3__ Volunteer work with another organization in a relevant field _2__ Internship in a relevant field _9__ Experience in the for-profit sector _6__ Participation in a term-of-service program (Americorps, Teach

for America, etc. _5__ Fundraising or grantwriting experience _7__ Foreign language spoken by constituents in their program (not

essential to the position) _4__ Graduate education or certificate program related to but not



About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices




About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



How job seekers can become stronger nonprofit candidates

Self-Assessment Tools• Career Tracks

• Collection

• Analysis

• Synthesis

• Application

• Four Lenses• Role

• Organization

• Mission/Issue

• System

Strengthening Nonprofit

Candidacy

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



How job seekers can become stronger nonprofit candidates

• Networking

• Informational interviews

• Internships

• Volunteering

• Industry publications

• Professional associations

• Term of service/fellowships

• Board service


Candidacy

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



How job seekers can convey their value to employers

In a resume and cover letter…

• Every employer wants to know: • Can they do the job?

• Will they do the job?

• Will they fit in?

• Nonprofit employers also want to see:

• A passion for the mission or the work

• Clearly communicated, relevant skills


Candidacy

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



What career professionals can do to help job seekers

• Help job seekers become stronger candidates for nonprofit positions

• Build and cultivate relationships with HR professionals in nonprofit organizations

• Make it easy for nonprofit HR professionals to get in touch with someone from your career service office

• Become a resource for local (and national) nonprofits

• Use alumni to help build connections between your school and local (or national) nonprofits


Candidacy

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



What works for you or your career service office?

What are your best practices or favorite resources for:

• Help job seekers become stronger nonprofit candidates

• Cultivating relationships with nonprofit HR professionals

• Utilizing alumni to connect your office to organizations

• Becoming a resource for local nonprofits

• Creating a nonprofit-friendly career service center


About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers

• Free, online PDF book that you can download and print or email to students or clients

• Available for download by chapter

• Created to help students and mid-career transitioners find nonprofit jobs and create meaningful careers

• Designed to support the work of career service professionals

• Incorporates current statistics from nonprofit-specific research as well as opinions, advice, and best practices from nonprofit HR and career service professionals

www.idealist.org/careerguideAdditional Resources

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



More free resources coming soon from Idealist!• Two new editions of The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit

Careers specifically geared to:• College students• Mid-career professionals

• Career Service Professionals Resource Center with:• Best practices• Message boards• Opportunities to connect with other CSPs

• Re-launched Career Center with separate portals for:• College students• Mid-career professionals

• A series of Career Profiles geared toward entry-level positionsAdditional Resources

Steven Pascal-Joiner & Meg BusseSteven Pascal-Joiner & Meg BusseAction Without Borders/Idealist.orgAction Without Borders/Idealist.org

Questions?

About Idealist

Nonprofit

Sector Overview


Nonprofit Hiring

Practices



Idealist.org search page

Area of Focus:

Art, Architecture, Music

Disability Issues

Energy Conservation

Farming and Agriculture

Immigration

Microfinance

Veteran’s Issues

Job Category:

Accounting and Finance

Clerical and Data Entry

Communications

Engineering

Public Relations

Research

Telemarketing

Steven Pascal-Joiner & Meg Busse Action Without Borders/Idealist.org Work with Meaning: Finding a...

Documents

Transcript of Steven Pascal-Joiner & Meg Busse Action Without Borders/Idealist.org Work with Meaning: Finding a...