Steven Joiner

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Truth: Today’s nonprofit sector is a highly competitive job market. Encore careerists who accept this fact and then face these tough questions will be in a better situation to find ways to connect their passion and purpose with a paycheck.

1. What makes me so special—on paper?
No amount of pizzazz packed into a resume and cover letter can replace the value of presenting yourself in person. Encore careerists who spend time firing off applications into cyberspace, convinced that their decades of financial wizardry and high-profile account management will have nonprofit hirers scrambling for the phone, are setting themselves up for a lot of disappointment.

This realization may lead you to ask...

2. Why can’t anyone see my value?
Another truth: In today’s competitive job market, you are going up against professionals who are, on paper, as impressive—if not more impressive—than you. Plus, overworked nonprofit hirers (the ones looking at stacks of resumes), are probably not taking the time to figure out how your management of a multimillion dollar sales account translates into the ability to run a volunteer program.

As a result, you may be wondering...

3. Am I wasting my job-searching time?
The number of applicants for open nonprofit positions is frighteningly high, and hiring professionals don’t have the time to pour over every application that they receive. A lot of organizations use the “Interview,” “Maybe interview” and “Don’t bother” sorting method. Guess where a lot of the first wave of 60 to 70 resumes for one position end up?

So, now you may be starting to wonder...

4. Am I making myself stand out in a bad way?
Using the wrong lingo (“I’d love to work for your company” is a classic mistake (instead, say “organization”), having a “you’d be lucky to have me” attitude or thinking that your tangible professional deliveries (“increased sales 38 percent over three years”) should take the place of your demonstrated passion (“served as a Big Brother for 14 years”) are all ways to make a hiring professional at a nonprofit think, “This person doesn’t get it.”

The good news is that the answer to the last question goes a long way toward righting your job search.

5. How intentional am I being in creating relationships?
If the bad news is a highly competitive nonprofit job market, then the good news is that there are a myriad of inroads to creating meaningful relationships and networks with your target organizations. Why start with what is being offered right now? A lot of professionals have this disconnect between volunteering (“I’ve done it for years and not one has offered me a job!”) and professional development. Why not go out and create opportunities (true, most of them will be unpaid) to raise your visibility while also working on honing your transferable skills? Why not sit on a program planning committee, offer to work on a grant, help plan an event, run a capital campaign or serve on a board?

These are the questions that have one simple, satisfying answer: Why not?

Steve Joiner is trainer, speaker and writer whose social-impact career is helping people online and in real time fully live their potential. As a career transitions expert, he works with professionals of all ages to help them intentionally transition to new meaningful professional experiences. Steven is the former director of the Career Transitions Program at Idealist.org. He has contributed toThe New York Times, NPR’s Marketplace and a range of local media. He is the author of The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers and a founder of the 21st Century Worklife project.