Nonprofit Career Tips

Q. Since a layoff four years ago from a corporation’s grant-making office, I have been struggling to find a full-time nonprofit job. I have more than 20 years in corporate grant making and marketing. I have had three temporary, part-time jobs since my layoff, two of them in the nonprofit field, and have tried to create a network of fund-raising contacts in my area. My problem is that I’m stuck between two extremes: my long years of experience, which I’ve been told means I should apply for senior-level positions, and my focus on corporate grants (and lack of major-gifts experience), which I’ve been told relegates me to midlevel jobs. What can I do to promote myself better and land a position?

A. Before you can figure out how to promote yourself “better” to employers, you first need to clarify what your career goals are, says Kathleen Lago, director of annual giving and alumni relations at Marymount College, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Exactly what type of job do you seek, and in which part of the nonprofit field? Are you interested in working for a religious institution, a hospital, a university or college, or a social-service organization? And if, for instance, you are interested in higher education, do you want to work in advancement services, annual giving, alumni relations, major gifts, or grant-proposal writing?

“I don’t think you have to home in on your focus too narrowly – you need to be open to a variety of opportunities – but I do believe you need to have some definite ideas about what you think you will find gratifying,” says Ms. Lago, who worked for 12 years in corporate marketing before making the switch to nonprofit work last August. “Otherwise, potential employers will think that you don’t even have a basic understanding of what makes a nonprofit tick, which is an obvious deterrent to your landing a job.”

You say that some people have told you to apply for senior-level positions, but if you have never worked in development at a nonprofit organization before, you can’t realistically apply for a leadership position. “You do need to get your feet wet somewhere,” says Ms. Lago. Rather than thinking in terms of being “relegated” to a midlevel position, however, she suggests looking at such a job as an opportunity to gain valuable experience for use in future professional endeavors. “While I am currently in a position that is somewhat lateral to the positions I held in the corporate world, I am learning a lot because I have opportunities for hands-on work as well as campaign management,” she says. “I view my position as a steppingstone to acquiring skills and expanding my career horizons.”

Ms. Lago also suggests that you enroll, as she did, in a few fund-raising courses, both as a way to learn some valuable skills and to help you win favor with potential employers. “I not only found the classroom experience beneficial on a practical level, but I believe it increased my credibility in the eyes of prospective employers, because they saw that I was seriously committed to nonprofit work,” she says. “Anything you can do to demonstrate your dedication to skills transfer will help you tremendously.”

Consider also doing some volunteer work while you continue your job search, suggests Ramona Baker, a management consultant in Indianapolis who works for nonprofit clients. Ms. Baker published a study in November on baby boomers who leave the corporate world for the nonprofit one. “Volunteering is a great way to meet other people who are involved in nonprofit organizations, and an advantageous way to find out about job openings,” says Ms. Baker, who before becoming a consultant spent 25 years as a charity leader, most recently as the chief executive officer of the Arts Council of Indianapolis.

Indeed, Ms. Baker suggests contacting your local arts council or United Way to see if they would be interested in having you serve on a grant-proposal review panel.

“Most nonprofits that distribute public or private funds are looking for folks with experience in the area of grants and funding, and you certainly have that experience,” says Ms. Baker. “That would be another way to network with people in the nonprofit area in which you are interested, as well as a chance to be seen for your skills in this area.”

While you have many assets that nonprofit groups may find very attractive – particularly your experience in marketing and your firsthand knowledge about what corporate grant makers are looking for – you can’t just sit on your laurels, particularly when you are attempting to make the transition into a new career. Employers don’t just want to know what skills you have, but how the skills you have can help them, says Ms. Lago: “Learn how to tell your professional story in a manner that is interesting and engaging, and refrain from just rattling off a litany of job experiences and skills that will not help prospective employers clearly see how your background has prepared you for the position you are seeking.”

Most important, be sure to convey your genuine passion for the nonprofit world. Says Ms. Lago: “Make certain that they know that your reasons for entering the field have to do entirely with your dedication to this line of work, and not with any suggestion that you’re trying to ‘take a break’ from what may be perceived as a harsher, colder corporate environment.”