Paid Positions at Nonprofit Organizations

An article in The Dallas Morning News, December 12, 2014, edition, “Career Opportunities Abound in the Nonprofit Sector”, on page 1J by Metro Creative Connection identifies several paid positions in nonprofit organizations.

We often think of jobs in nonprofit organizations being staffed by volunteers.  While it is true that almost all nonprofit organizations depend on volunteers to staff many of their positions, they usually also employ a number of individuals in paid staff positions. 

In most nonprofit organizations, volunteers typically work one or two days each week.  Some volunteers work periodically with no set schedule.  Consequently, in order to functions effectively, nonprofit organizations require a staff of full-time employees.

The article describes the following full-time paid positions:

1. Executive Officer:  The executive director reports to the organization’s board of directors and has the strategic and operational responsibility for nonprofit staff.

2. Chief Financial Officer:  Depending of the size of the organization, the CFO position will vary in responsibility and scope.

3. Fundraisers:  Since fundraising is a key component for nonprofits, the job includes annual funds, alumni affairs, direct marketing, grant seeking, and donor relations.

4. Public Relations: Public relations or marketing professionals work with senior management to develop a communication plan for the organization.  Use of multi-media in order to communicate with organization volunteers, donors, and clients is important to the organization’s success.

5.  Administrative Roles: Accounting and financial professional, office administrators, human resources, information systems and IT workers are some of the administrative roles.

Many of the above roles are consolidated in to one position depending of the size of the organization.  However, the functions need to be addressed.

If you enjoy helping improve lives of those in need, a full-time position with a nonprofit organization can be very rewarding with a competitive income.

Individuals who have worked for a nonprofit organization are encouraged to share your experience in this bIog or email at mailto:glynjordan@gmail.com.   

 

Thanks!  Glyn

Programming Apprenticeships

An article in The Dallas Morning News, December 7, 2014, edition, “Cracking the Code”, on page 3D by David Nicklaus of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses a programming apprenticeship named LaunchCode.  LaunchCode, a not-for-profit organization, founded by Jim McKelvey of St. Louis, Missouri, provides opportunities for individuals to become programmers.

With no programming experience, applicants are typically rejected from consideration by organizations needing immediate assistance with programming tasks.  Many individuals would like to get a programming job, but they lack any formal training in the field.  Further, many do not have the financial resources to get the needed training while maintaining a job to support themselves and their families.

The apprenticeship pays $5 an hour for a typical three months period.  Launchcode graduates have earned a medium salary of  $50,000!  Applicants to the program must pass a basic programming aptitude test and convince the Launchcode’s interviewers that they are motivated for success.

I encourage everyone who has the desire to get into programming to visit the Launchcode website to learn more about the career possibilities provided.  (https://www.launchcode.org/)

 

Please comment in this bIog or email at mailto:glynjordan@gmail.com if you are aware of other organizations in your area that have similar programs to Launchcode.   

 

Thanks!  Glyn

Passive or Active Job Search?

A passive job search means you are waiting for something to happen – like someone calling and offering you a job.  I am wondering if the passive job search is working for you.

If you are still waiting by the phone for someone to offer you a job in response to the 100’s of mailed resumes and online applications, but the phone is not ringing, I suggest that you adopt a more active job search strategy.

What does an active job search strategy include?  Below are my suggestions for your active job search strategy:

1. Plan each day to include job search activities (2 as a minimum) – keep a record of your daily job search accomplishments and evaluate your successes and failures.

2. Make a list of every one you know including family, friends, or formal business associates that may have suggestions for your job search.  Contact each person on your list, explain your situation, and request their assistance.

3. Attend trade or industry related association meetings in order to network among members and guests.

4. Develop a list of business references who have knowledge of your past work experience. Contact each reference and ask his/her permission to provide their contact information to potential employers.

5. Consider volunteering at non-profit organization.  Frequently members of such organizations may provide job leads.

6. Be active in social media such as Linkedln, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. 

7. It is most important to maintain a positive attitude and in your conversations with everyone avoid all “poor me’s”.  Further, your must continue to exert high energy in your job search activities.    

 

Please comment in this bIog or email at mailto:glynjordan@gmail.com your advice or suggested strategies for job seekers.   

 

Thanks!  Glyn

Biggest Resume Mistake

An Internet article by Dr. Phil, titled “Money” quotes Tony Beshara, recognized as the number-one placement and recruitment specialist in the U.S. by the Fordyce Letter. Tony is also the author of The Job Search Solution and has developed a system that has helped more than 100,000 people find jobs.   (http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/606)

Here is list of his biggest resume mistakes:
 

·         Writing the wrong content
Resumes that do not reflect the requirements of the hiring company.   The content may mean something to the applicant instead of to a prospective employer.

·          Distracting formats
Fonts, and garbage, and colors and big, full pages of nothing but objectives, which get read in 10 seconds. Hiring companies want to know what you have done, who you worked for and how successful you were, and if that information does not meet their needs, they will throw it away.

·         Using a one-size-fits-all approach
Be sure your qualifications are specific not general such as: "team player," "adaptable," "integrity."

·         Having a résumé that is too long

·         Not showing performance
Don't describe your job, describe your performance e.g. this is what I did and this is how successful I was.

·         Avoid errors in objectives, dates, titles and other basics

I recommend that resumes be tailored to the specific organization.  The resume should reflect an applicant’s knowledge of the hiring company.

Please comment in this bIog or email at mailto:glynjordan@gmail.com your advice or suggestions for resume writers.   

 

Thanks!  Glyn

 

Unconventional Tips for Job Seekers

I found a very interesting article posted on the Internet by Jacquelyn Smith of Forbes Magazine,  

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/02/27/10-unconventional-but-very-effective-tips-for-job-seekers/

Ask any successful person how he/she got hired, they typically cite unusual approaches. 

We’re not saying you should discount or disregard traditional job seeking advice altogether. But it can’t hurt to mix it up and try less conventional approaches until you achieve your goals, says Teri Hockett, the chief executive of What’s For Work?, a career site for women.

 

“Times are always changing and while it’s always good to follow the basic advice, we also have to get rolling with the times,” says Amanda Abella, a career coach, writer, speaker, and founder of the Gen Y lifestyle blog Grad Meets World.

 

Here are ten unconditional tips for job seekers:

 

1. Be vulnerable. It’s okay to ask people for advice! “Too often we think we have to sell ourselves as this know-it-all hot-shot to get a job, but I have found the best way to build relationships with people whom you’d like to work with (or for) is to start by being vulnerable, sharing your admiration for their work, and asking for advice,” Adney says. “I recommend doing this with professionals at companies you’d love to work for, long before they have a job opening you apply for.”

2. Don’t always follow your passion. “Follow your passion” is one of the most common pieces of career wisdom, says Cal Newport, author of So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love. “It’s also wrong.” If you study people who end up loving their work, most of them did not follow a pre-existing passion, he says. “Instead, their passion for the work developed over time as they got better at what they did and took more control over their career.”

Adney agrees to some extent. She doesn’t think job seekers should completely disregard their passions–but does believe that “challenging this conventional wisdom is vital, especially since studies still show most Americans are unhappy in their jobs.”

3. Create your position. Don’t just sit around waiting for your “dream job” to open. Study the industry or field that you’re looking to move into, and determine a company or two that you’d like to work for, Hockett says. “Then figure out their challenges through relationships or public information. With this, you can craft a solution for them that you can share directly or publically through a blog, for instance. The concept here is to get noticed through offering a solution to help them with no expectation of anything in return.”

4. Learn how to listen. Job seekers are so caught up in conveying a certain message and image to the employer that they often fail to listen.

“Powerful listening is a coaching tool, as well as an amazing skill to have in your life,” Abella says. “The art of conversation lies in knowing how to listen– and the same applies to job interviews. Know when to talk, when to stop talking, and when to ask questions.”

When you practicing for interviews, don’t just rehearse your answers to questions like, “can you tell me about yourself?” “why do you want this job?” and “what are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” Practice listening carefully and closely without interrupting.

5. Start at the top and move down. We learned from Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) in The Pursuit of Happyness (the biographical film based on Gardner’s life) that you need to start from the top and move down. “Why approach human resources in hopes that your resume makes it to the hiring authority?” Parnell says. “Just get it there yourself. Be careful to use tact, respect and clarity during the process, but nevertheless, go straight to the decision maker.”

6. Build a relationship with the administrative assistant. While you want to start at the top (see No. 5), you’ll eventually want to build strategic relationships with personnel at all levels.

“A terribly underutilized resource is an employer’s administrative assistant,” Parnell says. “As the manager’s trusted counterpart, there is often only a slight social barrier between the two. They know the manager’s schedule, interests, responsibilities and preferences. Making friends or even engaging in some quasi-bartering relationship with them can make all the difference in the world.”

7. Don’t apply for a job as soon as you find it. The worst part about job hunting is the dreaded scrolling of an online job board, applying for job after job, and never hearing back, Adney says. “When you find a job online that you’re really interested in, applying is the last thing you should do. Instead, research that company and the professionals who work there, and reach out to someone at the company before you apply for the job, letting them know you admire what they do and would love their advice.” Then, ask questions via e-mail or phone about what they like and find challenging at their job, and ask if they have any tips for you. “Most likely they will personally tell you about the job opening (you should not mention it) and then you can ask them about getting your application and resume into the right hands,” she says. “It is a great way to keep your applications from getting lost in the black hole of the Internet.”

8. Focus on body language. You’ve probably heard this before—but job candidates don’t take it seriously enough. “Body language is incredibly important in job interviews,” Abella says. “Watching yours (posture, your hands, whether or not you’re relaxed, confidence) will help you exude confidence,” she explains. “Meanwhile paying attention to the interviewer’s body language can let you gauge whether or not you’re on the right track.”

9. Don’t focus on finding a job you love now. Don’t obsess about how much you’ll enjoy a particular job on day one, Newport says. Most entry-level positions are not glamorous. “The right question to ask when assessing an opportunity is what the job would look like in five years, assuming that you spent those years focusing like a laser on developing valuable skills. That’s the job you’re interviewing for.”

Adney agrees. “When choosing a job early in your career or early in a career change, focus less on how much you would love doing the functions of the job and focus more on where you will have the greatest opportunity to add value to the company, network with top people in your industry, and have the ability to get your foot in the door of a company that mostly hires internally.”

10. Become their greatest fan. Once you find a company you’d love to work for, become their biggest fan. “Becoming a brand loyalist may lead to becoming an employee,” Hockett says. “But of course, you have to establish or participate in a forum where you’re constantly communicating that message; one they will see.” Organizations ideally want employees to love their company and be enthusiastic about their job. Loyal fans are passionate as consumers, and often make great employees because of this, she concludes.

I do not know if these tips will work for you; however, they certainly will give you another approach in finding a job.

Please comment in this bIog or email at mailto:glynjordan@gmail.com if have found any of these tips helpful to your job search.    

 

Thanks!  Glyn

Saluting All Veterans

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz writes “Hiring Veterans is Good Business” published in the November 9, 2014, issue of The Dallas Morning News Parade Magazine, on page 8. “Veterans don’t want your pity or a handout – what they deserve is a genuine appreciation for the skills gleaned from serving in the military.”

Many veterans come with can-do spirit and possess leadership and decision-making skills.  They know how to take and follow orders and exercise initiative.  With more than 1.5 million post 9/11 veterans already home and another million to follow in a few years, they deserve an appreciation and understanding for their sacrifice.

Schultz encourages returning veterans to take full advance of GI benefits including educational opportunities to earn college degrees.

There are multitudes of Internet sites listing employment opportunities for veterans including:

http://jobs.xcelenergy.com/content/military/?gclid=CjwKEAiAvvyiBRDzrYuuldy6wB8SJABPJWOb531gLlWiyxgGWQSVUhScr2auvZIqegzWSpHsPrsBKhoCLJDw_wcB

http://careers.hireahero.org/jobs/search/results?IsFeatured=Y&gclid=CjwKEAiAvvyiBRDzrYuuldy6wB8SJABPJWObrGdSWCZxDFKKk9fBFwC-COhSWiYaRc3TwiLUQW12aBoCjc_w_wcB

http://www.military.com/newmembers/veteran-job-search?ESRC=ggl_mem_vetjobs_phrase_jobwebsite.kw&np=1&gclid=CjwKEAiAvvyiBRDzrYuuldy6wB8SJABPJWObrl23zrZlCBObBKys7YBJAajbfsdDDDE2RfqDgm-CfRoClmrw_wcB

https://www.vetjobs.com/

As Veterans Day approaches, I am dedicating this blog to all the military past and present.  Please comment in this bIog or email at mailto:glynjordan@gmail.com your suggests for veterans seeking employment.   

 Thanks!  Glyn

Networking by Freelancers

An article in the November 2, 2014, issue of The Dallas Morning News, on page 2D, “Word of Mouth Still Sets-up Jobs”, by McClatcht News Service discusses how freelancers find jobs.

There are estimated 17.9 million Freelancers, sometimes called “solopreneurs”, in the US with another 12.1 million people doing freelance work part-time.  This group includes not only dog walkers and lawn mowers but also techies, accounts, lawyers, and executives.  Approximately 2.7 million earn over $100,000 annually.

According to a survey by Harvard Business Review’s MBA Partners, 75 percent of freelancers got assignments from word of mouth referrals, 12 percent from agencies, and only 3 percent from online sites.

I am not surprised by this study.  Individuals looking for jobs frequently find that networking is the best source for employment opportunities. 

Please comment in this bIog or email at mailto:glynjordan@gmail.com your experience using networking as the source for employment or finding freelance assignments.   

 Thanks!  Glyn