Hotline
Tips for returning to the job market after a long illness
Finding information about the nonprofit groups in Britain
Gearing up for a career in communications at a charity
The Chronicle'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 recommendations from experts.
Previous editions of Hotline are available at http://philanthropycareers.com. Send your questions about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world to hotline@philanthropy.com.
Q. I'm starting a new job search after a long illness. I was an executive director of a charity before I got sick, and my résumé reads well except for the glaring five-year gap. How do I address this with potential employers?
A. The answer is simple: Tell the truth, says Louise Shea, vice president for human resources at the International Rescue Committee, in New York. "Be honest and explain upfront why there's a gap," she says. "Otherwise, people will fill in the blanks" with their own theories.
At the same time, Ms. Shea says, it is important not to go into too much detail about the illness itself. "So the challenge is to come up with a compelling sentence or two that states the obvious but moves people beyond it," she says.
Don't use the words "fully cured" or anything that focuses too much on the medical aspect of your situation, Ms. Shea says. Instead, focus on getting across the fact that you haven't lost your drive or commitment, you've simply put it on hold for a little bit. It would be particularly helpful if you can point to any volunteer work or additional relevant training you may have done while unemployed, to show that you had always intended to return to work.
Susan Egmont, a recruiter in Boston who works for nonprofit clients, notes that she recently handled two situations quite similar to yours. In each case, she says, the search committee was very reluctant to ask about the candidate's health issues — and was nervous about being the first employer of someone just back from a serious illness. "They worried that the candidate might not be ready to come back to work," she says.
To improve your chances with a prospective employer, try simply stating in your cover letter that you used the time off to "successfully address a health issue," Ms. Egmont says. "You can wait until the interview to explain any further," she adds. "At that time, be factual and succinct, and assure the employer of your ability to do the work."
Although cancer may not be the actual illness that kept you out of the work force for five years, you may get some helpful ideas from a Web site called Cancer and Careers. If you do a keyword search there on "interviewing" and "job search," you'll find several articles offering examples of language and strategies you can use to keep potential employers focused on your skills and your passion, rather than your medical history.
Q. Is there a Web site or publication dedicated purely to philanthropy in Britain?
A. If you're seeking the official source, you'll want to visit the Web site of the Charity Commission, the British cabinet office that supports, encourages, and regulates all charitable organizations in Britain. Your next stop might be the Web site of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. The organization, which has its headquarters in London, has 5,200 members and offers a multitude of publications as well as live events in support of British charitable groups.
Also check out Philanthropy UK, a Web site that offers resources and advice to "aspiring philanthropists who want to give effectively."
Among its publications is a new book, Why Rich People Give, which looks at philanthropy among Britain's wealthy people.
The Institute for Philanthropy, in London, also maintains a Web site; this nonprofit group seeks to expand and improve philanthropy internationally as well as in Britain, but many of its materials and seminars focus on British philanthropy.
Q. As a disabled person, I am becoming more and more convinced that there is no organized group that specializes in grants for disabled people. I want to start a foundation to address these needs. Can you give me some ideas on how to start this?
A. Let's start with the possibly erroneous premise of your question. While it may be true that there is no single, national-level umbrella group that specializes in awarding grants to individuals of all types of disabilities, there are certainly many organizations that focus on specific disabilities or work in particular regions or cities. The Michigan State University Library maintains an online listing of grant makers that support charities that aid disabled people.
But if you still haven't found the particular foundation you envision, you can learn a lot about starting one yourself through the Council on Foundations, a national group that educates new grant makers through training events and publications. You should also check out the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers; to find umbrella groups that cover particular regions of the country and may offer training sessions in your city.
Q. I'm a college sophomore who has a great passion for philanthropy. What kind of education would prepare me for work at a philanthropic organization, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation?
A. As someone who hasn't even graduated college yet, you certainly can't be accused of a lack of ambition. So don't be too disappointed to hear that the foundation you aspire to work for — the wealthiest of American philanthropies, with $33-billion in assets according to the most recent figures available — isn't really in the market for employees so green, no matter how passionate.
However, Steve Clyne, director of recruiting at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle, offers some guidance for those aiming at a career in grant making. "Because the field is so diverse and there are so many different types of jobs in a philanthropic organization, there is not one kind of education that can prepare you for a career in philanthropy," he notes. If there is a particular field within philanthropy that interests you — for example, education or global health, two of his organization's grant-making priorities — it's best for you to pursue not just a degree in those fields but actual work experience, Mr. Clyne says. In fact, he says, major foundations generally require their recruits to have prior experience.
"This experience not only deepens the person's understanding of the work, but also enables the person to develop needed workplace skills such as collaboration, communication, and teamwork," he says.
So, the short answer: First choose a profession and make yourself an expert in that field, then approach your dream foundation later, when you've got the skills and knowledge to help it further its mission.
Q. I am a recent college graduate looking to get into a public-relations job at a nonprofit organization. How can I get the experience I need to make employers take a chance on me?
A. When seeking entry into the nonprofit job market, volunteering is nearly always the first step. After all, the surest way to prove your commitment to a specific charity or to nonprofit work in general is to offer your talents and time on an unpaid basis.
But John G. Paré Jr., director of public relations at the National Federation of the Blind, in Baltimore, makes an important point about why volunteering is so crucial. "For a nonprofit, and this may be the same for a for-profit company, the biggest thing is that our employees must thoroughly understand the mission and what we do," he says. At his charity, for example, "we have to spend quite a bit of time training people about blindness, a subject most people don't know very well." Volunteering, he says, provides deep and specific knowledge about an organization and the work it does.
Internships can give you a career boost, but many are unpaid — and you might not be able, as a recent college graduate, to afford to take a full-time unpaid position. A paying job in a for-profit public-relations firm or the publicity department of a corporation will teach you the required skills in writing, crafting brochures and other publications, and planning publicity campaigns, and you can apply your skills to a charitable cause in your off hours, or participate in any pro bono charity projects in which your company engages.
And don't forget that traditional public-relations jobs are not the only route to gaining communications skills. For example, while journalists and public-relations representatives sometimes take an adversarial view of each other out in the working world, their respective skills are complementary.
Kara Bussabarger, media-relations manager for the Louisville Zoo Foundation, in Kentucky, orignally worked as a reporter. Today, her early journalistic training still comes in handy as she connects with journalists who might help publicize the zoo's efforts, and prepares zoo staff members for interviews. But she also spent time volunteering for the zookeepers both before and after she was hired at the zoo.
"In PR, especially in nonprofits, you have to have a passion for the mission," she says. "If you haven't experienced it yourself, it's hard to get the message and the passion across. It helps enormously that I have my own stories to tell about when the gorillas did this or that, and that I've been out in the field getting dirty."
These experiences, she says, have also helped her build trust with zoo employees. "I can't do my job without these other people — I need them to be able to tell the story about the zoo's mission," she says. If you're willing to muck around in the animal pens among them, she says, "they have another level of respect for you."