Research on Nonprofit Organizations Hiring Recent College Graduates

Recruiting and Retaining the Next Generation of Nonprofit Sector Leadership: a Study of the (Missed) Connections Among Nonprofit Organizations, College Seniors, and Offices of Career Services, by Shelly Cryer, discusses some of the challenges nonprofit organizations face when seeking to hire recent college graduates. The report draws from surveys and focus groups of college seniors, career counselors, and directors and human-resource managers at nonprofit groups. Ms. Cryer, director of the Initiative for Nonprofit Sector Careers, a project of New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, writes that many charity leaders say that they are overwhelmed by the amount of time needed to review applicants and that many people who apply for junior-level positions lack necessary skills and experience. The report discusses the benefits nonprofit managers say they are able to offer employees and what college seniors list as their priorities when looking for jobs. It also gives suggestions for improving relationships between nonprofit groups and college career offices, with an eye to encouraging more students to apply for jobs at nonprofit organizations. The report was financed by the Forbes Funds, in Pittsburgh. Hard copies may be obtained by e-mailing scryer@erols.com. (For more on this survey, please see article on Page XX.)

Publisher: Forbes Funds, 1 PPG Place, 30th Floor, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222; http://www.forbesfunds.org; 80 pages; free for download from the fund’s Web site.