How to get a job in the not-for-profit sector

If you are committed to finding a role at a not-for-profit (NFP) organisation, the first thing to accept is that you should regard yourself as a product which needs to be promoted to its potential buyers.

In marketing terms, it is all about brand awareness and the way in which the purchasers of what you have to offer are targeted. Business cards and resumes are prime examples of the collateral by which you position yourself.

Networking

The next step is to devote as many hours as you can to profiling yourself to prospective employers. Attending networking events is a key part of this, and you should never make the mistake of going to any kind of industry gathering without bringing twice as many business cards as you think you might need.

Anyone who is not currently employed needs to prepare their own personal calling card. This only has to have three items of information on it. These three things are your name, your mobile phone number and your private email address. In reality, all your next employer needs to have is these three pieces of information. Any further information is optimal, although it can actually limit your appeal to others if you add further information which can tend to pigeonhole you.

Personal contacts

One vital aspect of networking is the way in which you make use of the contacts and linkages you have established during your career. No doubt you have made connections with a wide range of people in various situations, and even those you have met socially may be in a position to open doors for you regarding career progression.

If you are looking to move jobs you cannot of course publicise the fact that you have itchy feet, so discrete discussions with a few trusted confidantes is clearly the way forward. If you are not working at the time however, you ought to be approaching friends, acquaintances, relatives, former colleagues and anyone else you can think of who is connected to decision makers in the NFP sector.

Rather than imposing on the valuable time of such people, all you need to get from them is the names and phone numbers of a couple of influential people they know, with their permission for you to use their name in approaching those individuals. In marketing parlance, this is a warm call and has a far higher chance of success than cold calling.

Professional associations

Whether or not you are personally affiliated with relevant member-based organisations, it is vital to keep track of what is happening by viewing websites and attending functions which are organised by peak bodies and other groups actively operating in the NFP environment.

Naturally there is a limit to how many memberships you can maintain at any given time and it is therefore important to ask supporters to alert you to anything that they come across which could be useful to you.