Idealist

Idealist.org is well known on college campuses as one of the best places to go to find jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities in nonprofit and community organizations around the world. It is expanding its reach to offer online resources for those interested in mid-career changes and encore careers.

An introductory tour, Can You Imagine a Better World, lays out the Idealist’s vision of connecting people with similar values, dreams and challenges and helping them to work together.

The job-search engine lets you search through nearly 7,000 opportunities, from entry-level to management, and to quickly see the latest postings.

When you create a profile on Idealist, you can receive daily email alerts with opportunities matching your criteria and connect with other people who share your interests, locally and around the world. To get started, complete the Sign Up form. If you don’t want the alerts, you can search for jobs on Idealist without creating a profile.

A series of Graduate Degree Fairs for the Public Good offers information about programs such as Divinity, Education, Environmental Sciences, Global and Public Health, Nonprofit Management, Public Interest Law, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Work, Socially Responsible Business and Urban Planning.

A new season of career fairs, beginning this fall, will bring together nonprofit employers offering jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities.

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Bridgestar

Bridgestar, an initiative of the Bridgespan Group, provides talent-matching services, content and tools to help nonprofits build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders.

Bridgestar’s listing of more than 200 career opportunities is focused on nonprofit leadership positions that generally pay more than $60,000. The site lets you to set up alerts to notify you of new postings that match your interests.

Bridgestar’s Bridging to the Nonprofit Sector portal contains a trove of information for people considering making the switch from for-profit work to nonprofit organizations, including hints on how to network and interview, adapting a resume and transferring skills between sectors.

Specific sections of Bridgestar.org are geared to chief financial officers and chief operating officers

Through a relationship with boardnetUSA, Bridgestar helps introduce experienced individuals to nonprofit organizations with board openings — a valuable first step in getting to know the nonprofit sector and demonstrating an interest in social impact.

Bridgestar’s free membership includes access to all of the above, plus a subscription to the monthly e-newsletter, Leadership Matters.

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Commongood Careers

Commongood Careers, works with social entrepreneurs to secure talent at every level and in every area from support staff through senior managers and in development, finance and management. For socially driven job seekers, Commongood Careers offers career advising, special events and a wealth of knowledge about working in the social sector.

Commongood Careers lists dozens of openings at innovative nonprofits seeking experienced talent, including College Summit, Kiva, Room to Read and Seachange Capital Partners.

The resource library includes a helpful guide, “Act II: Pursuing a Nonprofit Career in the Second Half of Life.“ , as well as lots of other career planning and job seeker advice.

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More Jobs!

Nonprofits

The Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group usually has about two-dozen active searches for high-quality jobs in the nonprofit sector.

Older Adults

Retirementjobs.com is geared toward job-seekers aged 50+. In our test run, we found postings for 50 nonprofit jobs, 60 teaching jobs and 1,200 health care jobs. The Age Friendly Certification logo identifies employers that have adopted a dozen “best practices” and want 50+ candidates to know they are valued for their knowledge, experience, maturity, reliability and productivity.

Jobs 4.0 targets job seekers ages 40+. There are fewer jobs posted here, but according to the site, employers who recruit through Jobs 4.0 “understand and embrace the value that experienced workers can add.” When we last looked, there were about 50 postings nationwide for nonprofit jobs, an equal number in teaching and education, and about 150 in health care.

General Interest

Monster.com is the largest job site on the Web. Our test run turned up postings nationwide for nearly 1,500 nonprofit jobs, 2,800 teaching jobs, and more health care jobs than you can shake a stick at. The Careers at 50+ section has ongoing coverage of issues facing older workers.

Yahoo Hotjobs serves job seekers of all ages. We found postings for more than 1,000 nonprofit jobs, 1,300 teaching jobs and an avalanche of health care jobs nationwide. The site lists thousands of other job openings in dozens of fields.

Careerbuilder.com has a large serving of helpful career advice and resources. Our test run revealed postings for 800 nonprofit jobs, 4,000 teaching jobs and a whopping 64,000 health care jobs.

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Health, Education and Social Services

Health Care

Health care is one of the top job-growth areas in America and not just for doctors or nurses. There are more than 100 other areas of specialization, from music and art therapy to occupational health and safety, all generally known as the “allied health professions.”

Demand is so strong that the American Hospital Association actively encourages hospitals to recruit midlife career changers. In some areas and occupations, you may be able to find part-time work at a hospital while participating in a clinical training program for a new career. Refresher courses and reentry programs are becoming more common.

The American Medical Association publishes an annual guide, Health Professions Career and Education Directory as well as a free monthly Health Professions e-letter that covers career-related issues for more than 60 health-related professions.

Discover Nursing includes information on nursing jobs and training programs.

American Association of Colleges of Nursing has a wealth of information on accelerated programs that provide a fast track to careers in nursing.

Education

The nation faces a chronic shortage of teachers, particularly in math, science, and special education. If you have a bachelor’s degree in any field you could qualify for an alternative teacher preparation program that enables you to begin teaching, with salary and benefits, within a short time.

American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence provides a “Passport to Teaching certification” for individuals interested in entering teaching, including retirees.

Experience Corps offers opportunities, and small stipends, for Americans over 55 who want to tutor and mentor kids in underserved schools.

Troops to Teachers helps veterans make the transition to teaching with subsidies and bonuses. Civic Ventures has published a background paper with more information.

TeachNow.org, the Web site of the National Center for Alternative Certification, is a clearinghouse of information about paths to a teaching credential.

National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse has resources for career-changers interested in becoming teachers.

Social services

The vast underfunded and underappreciated world of helping vulnerable populations – at-risk youth, disabled people, the elderly and others – presents huge opportunities for people who want to help others and maybe change the world.

Cornerstones 4Kids links to resources in youth development, child welfare and juvenile justice.

Generations United has compiled the nation’s largest database of intergenerational programs.

National Caregiving Alliance provides resources on caregiving, information and contacts.

Exploring Careers in Aging is a guide to the explosion of entrepreneurial and job opportunities in gerontology.

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