Transitioning Into a Nonprofit Job: Tweak Your Resume and Cover Letter to Fit - Part 1



By Dalya F. Massachi - So you want to improve your nonprofit jobseeking skills? Good news: You’ve come to the right place!

Are you one of the untold numbers of people who want to “make a difference” or “do something meaningful” — not only as a volunteer or donor but also in their work lives?

You are certainly not alone, as growing crowds of corporate folks set their sights on work in the nonprofit sector. That includes retirees seeking second careers, those displaced from business careers for one reason or another, entrepreneurs seeking new opportunities, and people who have simply burned out on the profit motive somewhere along the line.

A 2006 national survey commissioned by the National Consumers League and Fleishman-Hillard International Communications found that 79% of Americans want to work for a company whose values align with their own. And young workers, those in Generation Y (born 1980-1994), are “proving to be the most cause-focused generation in decades,” according to Dr. Kellie A. McElhaney of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.

The nonprofit sector is poised to lose hundreds of thousands of leaders and executives in the next 5—10 years, primarily due to baby boomer retirement. While this may cause some temporary upheaval, it also points to a huge opportunity for new faces and new ideas to help bring the sector to a new level.

So if you have management or business acumen, your expertise is in demand! With a combined revenue of over $600 billion, the nonprofit sector represents over 6% of the nation’s economy and employs almost 9% of working Americans. Surely, you can find your place there.

One of the first steps is to examine your resume and unearth transferable skills that you can bring to a new nonprofit job. Everyone has at least a couple; all you need to do is tease them out of what may seem like unrelated experience.

Jot down the strongest and most impressive skills that you developed in your past jobs. Don’t focus on the specific corporate context unless it will mean something significant to the potential employer.

The following skills are among those that transfer well to the nonprofit sector. My guess is that you have developed several of them already:

  • analytical and leadership skills
  • balancing tight budgets
  • being flexible as a team player
  • business proposal writing
  • communicating persuasively in written and oral form
  • customer service
  • decision-making and trouble-shooting
  • developing customer relationships
  • facilitation/cooperative learning skills
  • following through on long-term projects
  • generating leads and warming cold calls in new markets
  • managing diverse individuals and teams
  • maximizing advertisement/publicity/promotional opportunities
  • navigating organizational change
  • negotiating and closing deals
  • paying attention to details of your craft
  • prioritizing and multi-tasking
  • public speaking and presentation skills
  • strategic thinking and planning
  • training, mentoring, supporting, and motivating others
For instance, a construction project manager I recently worked with was great at:
  • Working with a variety of both individuals and groups
  • Coordinating several simultaneous projects on different timelines and keeping track of the many details involved
  • Coordinating the many logistics involved in sales and marketing
  • Estimating project costs
  • Interacting with Spanish-speaking employees

Another found that writing proposals for potential customers –a skill she already possessed — parallels grant proposal writing in her desired nonprofit position. A third had sold trusts to senior citizens — clientele that would be of special interest to the potential nonprofit employer because its constituency was comprised of people over 65. She also had helped her previous company expand into new markets: a skill that is always welcome and one that she should definitely discuss.

Once you articulate the solid skills you bring to the table, look for key words in the relevant job descriptions and consider how you match up. Part II of this article will show you how to demonstrate your ability to put those skills to work.

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Got a question about writing in the nonprofit job market? Just want to check in about your experiences? I would love to hear what you have to say! Submit a “comment” on the bottom of this page and let’s get a dialogue going…

Dalya F. Massachi specializes in helping nonprofit professionals advance their missions through outstanding written materials. She has worked with community-minded organizations for more than 15 years: authoring countless successful marketing pieces, articles, and grant proposals; teaching popular writing workshops; and coaching professionals one-on-one.

Download her free tip sheets and subscribe to her free e-newsletter at:
http://www.dfmassachi.net
dalya@dfmassachi.net

NOTE:For many more writing tips, check out my forthcoming book, Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact. If you pre-order right now, you will get a pre-publication discount of 15% at:http://www.dfmassachi.net/wmd.html



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