Hotline - Philanthropy.com

Article tools

Printer friendly	E-mail article	Subscribe

Discuss any Chronicle article in our forums

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Philanthropy Careers section asks its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruiting, and management challenges in the nonprofit world. In our advice column, we respond to some of those inquiries with tips about resources and suggestions from experts.

Previous editions of Hotline are also available on the Philanthropy Careers Web site. Send your questions about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world to hotline@philanthropy.com

Q. I am considering accepting a position that is less important than the senior director position I lost last month. Do I add this new job to my résumé while I continue to look for an executive position?

A. You face a difficult dilemma, having lost your job during a time when layoffs are becoming more common; and good positions are tough to find. Even so, unless it's absolutely critical for financial reasons that you accept the "less important" job, you might want to strongly consider your alternatives, says Kara Leppert, a recruiter in Nashville who works with charities. "It costs organizations money and energy to hire a new employee, and to have the new employee not fully present in what they've been hired to do — I have some ethical questions about that."

Rather than accepting a job knowing you're going to leave, she says, perhaps you could pay the bills by doing temporary work or consulting until you are able to find the executive position you really want.

If you do have to take the job, says Lea Sloan, a career coach in Washington, you shouldn't worry that prospective employers will hold it against you that you took a step down the job ladder.

"In this economic time, with a lot of people being laid off, employers understand that people have been laid off and they have to take positions in order to be financially stable," Ms. Sloan says.

But in such cases, she adds, the job seeker will have to explain his or her choice to potential employers in the future, "in a matter-of-fact kind of way, rather than an apologetic kind of way or a defensive kind of way," she says. For instance, she says, when interviewing for a new position, you can say, "I took a job below my level because I wanted to be responsible."

While you could leave the interim job off your résumé, Ms. Sloan says, you would have to explain the gap and why you left the position you lost. And since it's possible that your search for an executive post could take six months to a year, she instead recommends that you reorder your résumé.

First, list your progressively advancing jobs in chronological order. Then, in a section titled “Additional Experience,” list the new, less prestigious job and other experiences you’ve had that are not as relevant to the position you are seeking. Ms. Sloan says that such an approach could be used if you don’t take the job you are considering now and instead consult or do temporary work.

The Web site of Bridgestar, a program of the nonprofit management consultant group Bridgespan, in Boston, focuses on nonprofit leaders and people who have moved from businesses to charities, including profiles of people who have made the switch, like you.

Another online resource is Encore Careers, a site for professionals interested in second careers at charities or in social entrepreneurship. The site is a project of Civic Ventures, a think tank in San Francisco that focuses on promoting civic engagement among older Americans.

If you prefer to find like-minded people the old-fashioned way, try calling your local United Way, says Art Mollenhauer, chief executive of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, who came to his job from the business world.

"Many corporate folks are connected to charities through the United Way," he says, which means United Way staff may be able to point you to other career switchers. Mr. Mollenhauer also suggests talking to executive recruiters, your peers at other nonprofit organizations, and members of your board.

"If you build a good board, a lot of those folks are on other boards, and they've hired folks from the corporate world," he says.

The Chronicle's Regeneration Web site, which focuses on opportunities in the nonprofit world for people over age 50, includes a list of state and local organizations that can offer you the chance to build a network of other career switchers.

Q. I worked in Africa for a human-rights group for more than four years, during which I had a range of responsibilities. Upon returning to the States, I took a few months off to recharge my batteries. Now, despite my overseas experience (plus a related academic degree and fluency in three languages), I haven't had a nibble from human-rights groups in America. Do I need to accept a job far below my qualifications in order to rejoin the domestic job market?

A. The answer depends on how desperately you need the job. The human-rights-group representatives we spoke to say your skills, experience, and academic training should make you an attractive candidate. But you're searching at a time when many organizations are tightening their belts and freezing hiring.

"We all took salary pay cuts," says Maxine Hart, director of human resources at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a human-rights charity in Cambridge, Mass. The only open position the committee aims to fill is for a fund raiser. Otherwise, the group isn't hiring, she says.

Similarly, Advocates for Human Rights, in Minneapolis, doesn't expect to open any jobs for at least six months, according to Robin Phillips, the group's executive director.

That said, you may be having trouble because of a phenomenon Ms. Hart sees year after year, regardless of economic conditions: Job seekers who apply for jobs for which they are not qualified. "I need three to five years' experience, and they have one year, and they apply for the job and think they should get it," she says. So be sure you're applying for appropriate positions, she says.

And do all you can to uncover the open slots, says Robert Herman, director of programs at Freedom House, a Washington charity that promotes human rights and democracy. "The idea that just because you have a skill set doesn't mean, here, give me a job. They have to work the network. Jobs that come open are not always advertised," he says. "Being good is not good enough, and that's going to be even more true in tough economic times."

Your contacts from your years in Africa are a natural starting point, Ms. Phillips says. And you may need to give yourself longer to look, Mr. Herman says, because after a four-year absence, reconnecting with the people in your network or building one from scratch may take time.

And since hundreds of people apply when a position opens up at human-rights groups, even in a strong economy, be sure to make yourself stand out in your cover letter, Ms. Phillips says.

"The cover letter is really the selling point," she says. "It should be short and to the point and make clear why you're a good candidate." Cite each qualification listed in the job description, she says, so that someone using a checklist to vet candidates can easily see that you're a good fit.

A. The philanthropists and experts we spoke to noted three prominent trends among grant makers: shoring up the charities they already support, tackling the needs of people hit by economic hard times, and bolstering education and improving school operations.

"Funders are very focused on sustaining their current grantees and maintaining commitments, often with severely reduced endowments," says Ronna Brown, president of the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers, in New York.

Donors are also supporting programs that provide such basic needs as food, clothing, and shelter. "We're seeing a significant increase in donors interested in emergency assistance," says Laura McKnight, president of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, in Missouri.

Some foundations are responding to the recession by financing foreclosure-prevention programs, financial counseling, and research into the causes of the crisis, The Chronicle has reported.

While the economy is driving some giving, Ms. McKnight and others say, many grant makers have kept their focus on education — particularly in urban areas — or are turning their attention to it. Reginald Jones, executive director of the Steans Family Foundation, in Chicago, says his foundation has shifted its focus from broad social services in one city neighborhood to overhauling and strengthening education there. "Neighborhoods will change when education quality improves," he says. "I think a number of foundations are beginning to drill down on this."