June 19, 2003 | Read Time: 4 minutes
Q. I am a career fund raiser with more than a dozen years of progressively responsible experience, a history of measurable successes, and a set of glowing but old references. Recently, though, I’ve had three fund-raising jobs that lasted between 8 and 16 months. The jobs didn’t work out for reasons beyond my control — the last one, for example, I left because the executive director who hired me was unexpectedly fired, and the new boss was verbally abusive. Now I’m looking for a new position, but I feel like a failure. How can I explain my recent job history, and can I honestly commit to stay for years in my next job?
A: First things first: Try not to feel like a failure, because you are certainly not the only one in your situation right now.
“If you’re out there working hard, you’re going to have some good experiences and some not so good ones. In the late 1990s, when everything was go-go-go, three short-term jobs would really stick out, but in the last two or three years, things have changed,” says Mark Roithmayr, senior vice president for revenue development at the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation in White Plains, N.Y. “We’ve all become realists. If your circumstances had something to do with the economic downturn or the shakeout from September 11 or even if your boss was let go or the organization was downsizing — that’s real.”
Mr. Roithmayr says he has willingly interviewed people with checkered pasts, and is most concerned with the successes and positive experiences in a candidate’s track record. “Whatever your past is, I’m looking for a skill set that I can mold within my shop. The most important thing, the holy grail, is to connect your past experiences with the needs of the job.”
As we emphasized in January’s Hotline, job candidates need to be candid about their experiences without badmouthing previous employers and sounding like habitual complainers. In short, Mr. Roithmayr urges, “Be honest, but don’t trash.”
When being candid, pay attention to your tone — try not to vent. Mr. Roithmayr says he has seen “many people come into the interview and begin by saying, ‘My other boss was verbally abusive.’ I immediately start to worry that if I hire that person, they’ll start spinning negative because I looked at them the wrong way in the hallway.
Although your recent past has made you nervous about committing long-term to your next position, you really have no other choice, says Richard J. Geswell, executive vice president of marketing and revenue generation at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, also in White Plains. Job longevity is not much of an issue for a junior-level person, he says, but is important for more senior positions. “When I look at a résumé, I want to see at least five years in one location,” Mr. Geswell says. Particularly in major-gifts work, he says, it usually take two to three years to learn the ropes of a particular organization and then bring in and manage larger donations. The longevity expectations may be less in other positions, he notes, such as in special-events fund raising.
Using your network of connections and perhaps even going on a few informational interviews might be your best bet, rather than sending your résumé cold, Mr. Geswell says. If you’re still having trouble persuading a prospective employer to overlook your recent string of bad jobs, you may want to offer yourself up for a six-month trial period, or an initial consultancy arrangement that can lead to full-time employment. You may also want to consider taking a step back in responsibility in order to prove that your recent record was an anomaly, he adds.
But whatever you do, he says, you should be very, very careful about the next job offer you accept — don’t let desperation lead you into a bad decision.
“Do some due diligence on the organization and make sure the environment suits you,” Mr. Geswell says. “Do they get angry if you come in after 9 o’clock? Are you free to go visit clients on your own schedule? Most people have this kind of information before they take a job, but ignore it.”
In your situation, he says, it’s crucial to pay attention to any clues that your new job will become your fourth short-term position. If that happens, he warns, “you may end up having to change careers.”
Got a question about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com.
