Finding the right fit in a nonprofit organization can be challenging for job seekers, according to the June issue of “Leadership Matters.”
United States of America (Press Release) June 10, 2008 --
Finding the right fit in a nonprofit organization can be challenging for job seekers in general, but that can be especially true for “bridgers,” individuals transitioning from the private sector to the nonprofit sector, according to the June issue of “Leadership Matters.”
Published by Bridgestar, a nonprofit initiative of the Bridgespan Group dedicated to attracting, connecting, and supporting leadership for the sector, the June issue of “Leadership Matters” presents best practices that consistently increase the chances of finding the right job fit. These practices can be applied in two categories: learning about yourself and learning about your potential employer. The insights are based on Bridgestar’s recruiting expertise and a series of interviews that the organization conducted with senior nonprofit leaders.
The feature article, “Nonprofit Job Seekers: Finding the Right Fit for You” in June’s “Leadership Matters” suggests job seekers create a complete and specific inventory, separating everything they want in a position into three categories: must-haves, negotiables and trade-offs. Kathleen Yazbak, Bridgestar’s managing director, national relationships, noted that, “personal style and fit with organizational culture must be carefully evaluated in the job search process. Asking yourself what things you can’t live without is another helpful way to make sure you’re covering all the bases.”
Bridgestar suggests several categories of questions individuals should consider when developing their personal inventory:
• Organization type and work style. Job seekers should consider the types of organizational missions that they are most passionate about, and whether direct service, capacity-building, field-building, or policy/advocacy-related activities are most appealing. They should also assess the type of organization that interests them in terms of size, phase of growth, and whether it provides services locally, nationally, or internationally. Job seekers should also determine whether they prefer working in a collaborative or hierarchical environment.
• Colleagues. Job seekers should consider the types of people they enjoy working with, managing and reporting to. Additionally, they should assess whether they are interested in keeping work relationships professional or if they want to expand their social life through work.
• Professional development. Job seekers should evaluate whether they want to develop new skills or refine old ones. Are they looking for the next step in career development, or for this job to be the landing place for the foreseeable future?
• Work hours and commitment to work. It’s important to determine how many hours job candidates are willing to work, how much flexibility they need, and how much work-related travel they would consider.
• Distance, architecture and aesthetics. Job seekers should assess how far they are willing to commute, whether they are willing to relocate and the type of physical office environment they want to find.
In “Nonprofit Job Seekers: Finding the Right Fit for You,” the article suggested ways senior managers could learn more about nonprofit organizations they are considering, including:
• Assess how the community views the organization. To find out more about a particular organization, Bridgestar suggests that job seekers conduct informational interviews with leaders of organizations in their field of interest, and speak with former employees to find out what they think of the organization and its culture. They might ask former employees why they left and what advice or concerns they might have for someone joining the organization. Additionally, potential employees can check out an organization’s website, and read its annual report and IRS Form 990, which contains information on the organization’s mission, programs, and finances.
• Get a 360-degree view. Job seekers can maximize interactions during the interview process by asking to meet with people that they will report to, peers, and people who will report to them.
• Ask questions about the position and organization. It’s important to consider the interview as an opportunity for a candidate to interview the organization. Yazbak recommended that candidates “get out of sell mode” as early as possible and ask as many questions as possible about the position and the organization. Potential questions include, “What do you love about working here?” What do you not love?” “What are you looking for in a colleague or co-worker?”
• Observe the organization for cultural cues. The article suggests job candidates look at cultural cues, which might include the way people treat the receptionist, and whether senior leaders are on the staff clean-up list. It also recommends seeking out informal ways to observe the organization, including meeting people in the organization outside the formal interview process, or attending a staff meeting or a fundraising event. At those events, candidates can find out about organizational processes, how the organization’s leaders communicate with staff and how they pitch the organization to donors and the public.
• Listen to your gut instinct. After conducting inner reflection and research on the organization, Bridgestar advises candidates to assess their own feelings about the organization. If something doesn’t feel right, they should take another look at the inventory of the criteria they considered most important and determine whether the organization fits those or whether the job offers sufficient trade-offs to warrant putting them aside. In the end, when there is a discrepancy between the check list and instincts, Bridgestar advises job candidates to follow their instincts.
“Determining whether a job is right requires a good deal of self-assessment and research into the prospective organization, particularly for corporate executives considering a move to the sector. Candidates should pay particular attention to the culture of the nonprofit organization, which often can be quite different from corporate culture, to assess whether a new position would be rewarding or too much of a change. By gaining insight into job characteristics that are important to them and learning more about the organizations they are considering, they can be successful in finding the right fit,” said David Simms, managing partner, Bridgestar.
40,000 members
Additionally, Bridgestar announced that it has signed its 40,000th member. Launched nearly five years ago in Dec. 2003, Bridgestar provides recruiting services, content, and tools to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. Bridgestar’s membership list has jumped 33 percent in less than a year.
“The significant growth in membership validates Bridgestar’s mission of being a resource for enhancing the flow of capable executives into and within the nonprofit sector, and it demonstrates the tremendous need of organizations and leaders for resources to help them navigate hiring and career-related questions,” Simms added. “Our free online job board, which is devoted to senior leadership positions, has grown with our membership base. The Bridgestar.org sites devoted to the roles of chief operating officer and chief financial officer, are popular destinations for individuals seeking insight into how to hire, or be hired into, these important roles; our listserves also continue to grow. The companion sites for recruiting leaders and bridging into the sector, are important tools for organizations and individuals. We facilitate introductions between organizations and prospective board members online; and we continue to develop and share our tools, research, expertise, including the ‘Leadership Matters’ newsletter, with those wishing to learn and grow in the nonprofit community – all the while thinking about new ways to contribute while managing our own growth and evolution.”
Each month, Bridgestar’s newsletter, “Leadership Matters,” focuses on a nonprofit leadership recruiting- or career-related theme. Available to Bridgestar members (or, for a complimentary subscription, please email subscribe@bridgestar.org), “Leadership Matters” is part of a robust portfolio of offerings that includes a free job board listing more than 200 nonprofit senior management positions across a range of service areas including the environment, human services, elder services, human rights, and youth services. Bridgestar has assisted many organizations in finding new leaders through its recruiting services, which include executive recruiting and related advisory activities.
The current issue of “Leadership Matters” is available at: https://www.bridgestar.org/resources/newsletters/2008/June2008.aspx.
About Bridgestar
Bridgestar (www.bridgestar.org), an initiative of the Bridgespan Group, is a nonprofit organization providing recruiting services, a free senior management job board, content, and tools designed to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. Bridgestar’s goal is to attract, connect, and support senior talent, leading to greater organizational effectiveness and social impact.
Published by Bridgestar, a nonprofit initiative of the Bridgespan Group dedicated to attracting, connecting, and supporting leadership for the sector, the June issue of “Leadership Matters” presents best practices that consistently increase the chances of finding the right job fit. These practices can be applied in two categories: learning about yourself and learning about your potential employer. The insights are based on Bridgestar’s recruiting expertise and a series of interviews that the organization conducted with senior nonprofit leaders.
The feature article, “Nonprofit Job Seekers: Finding the Right Fit for You” in June’s “Leadership Matters” suggests job seekers create a complete and specific inventory, separating everything they want in a position into three categories: must-haves, negotiables and trade-offs. Kathleen Yazbak, Bridgestar’s managing director, national relationships, noted that, “personal style and fit with organizational culture must be carefully evaluated in the job search process. Asking yourself what things you can’t live without is another helpful way to make sure you’re covering all the bases.”
Bridgestar suggests several categories of questions individuals should consider when developing their personal inventory:
• Organization type and work style. Job seekers should consider the types of organizational missions that they are most passionate about, and whether direct service, capacity-building, field-building, or policy/advocacy-related activities are most appealing. They should also assess the type of organization that interests them in terms of size, phase of growth, and whether it provides services locally, nationally, or internationally. Job seekers should also determine whether they prefer working in a collaborative or hierarchical environment.
• Colleagues. Job seekers should consider the types of people they enjoy working with, managing and reporting to. Additionally, they should assess whether they are interested in keeping work relationships professional or if they want to expand their social life through work.
• Professional development. Job seekers should evaluate whether they want to develop new skills or refine old ones. Are they looking for the next step in career development, or for this job to be the landing place for the foreseeable future?
• Work hours and commitment to work. It’s important to determine how many hours job candidates are willing to work, how much flexibility they need, and how much work-related travel they would consider.
• Distance, architecture and aesthetics. Job seekers should assess how far they are willing to commute, whether they are willing to relocate and the type of physical office environment they want to find.
In “Nonprofit Job Seekers: Finding the Right Fit for You,” the article suggested ways senior managers could learn more about nonprofit organizations they are considering, including:
• Assess how the community views the organization. To find out more about a particular organization, Bridgestar suggests that job seekers conduct informational interviews with leaders of organizations in their field of interest, and speak with former employees to find out what they think of the organization and its culture. They might ask former employees why they left and what advice or concerns they might have for someone joining the organization. Additionally, potential employees can check out an organization’s website, and read its annual report and IRS Form 990, which contains information on the organization’s mission, programs, and finances.
• Get a 360-degree view. Job seekers can maximize interactions during the interview process by asking to meet with people that they will report to, peers, and people who will report to them.
• Ask questions about the position and organization. It’s important to consider the interview as an opportunity for a candidate to interview the organization. Yazbak recommended that candidates “get out of sell mode” as early as possible and ask as many questions as possible about the position and the organization. Potential questions include, “What do you love about working here?” What do you not love?” “What are you looking for in a colleague or co-worker?”
• Observe the organization for cultural cues. The article suggests job candidates look at cultural cues, which might include the way people treat the receptionist, and whether senior leaders are on the staff clean-up list. It also recommends seeking out informal ways to observe the organization, including meeting people in the organization outside the formal interview process, or attending a staff meeting or a fundraising event. At those events, candidates can find out about organizational processes, how the organization’s leaders communicate with staff and how they pitch the organization to donors and the public.
• Listen to your gut instinct. After conducting inner reflection and research on the organization, Bridgestar advises candidates to assess their own feelings about the organization. If something doesn’t feel right, they should take another look at the inventory of the criteria they considered most important and determine whether the organization fits those or whether the job offers sufficient trade-offs to warrant putting them aside. In the end, when there is a discrepancy between the check list and instincts, Bridgestar advises job candidates to follow their instincts.
“Determining whether a job is right requires a good deal of self-assessment and research into the prospective organization, particularly for corporate executives considering a move to the sector. Candidates should pay particular attention to the culture of the nonprofit organization, which often can be quite different from corporate culture, to assess whether a new position would be rewarding or too much of a change. By gaining insight into job characteristics that are important to them and learning more about the organizations they are considering, they can be successful in finding the right fit,” said David Simms, managing partner, Bridgestar.
40,000 members
Additionally, Bridgestar announced that it has signed its 40,000th member. Launched nearly five years ago in Dec. 2003, Bridgestar provides recruiting services, content, and tools to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. Bridgestar’s membership list has jumped 33 percent in less than a year.
“The significant growth in membership validates Bridgestar’s mission of being a resource for enhancing the flow of capable executives into and within the nonprofit sector, and it demonstrates the tremendous need of organizations and leaders for resources to help them navigate hiring and career-related questions,” Simms added. “Our free online job board, which is devoted to senior leadership positions, has grown with our membership base. The Bridgestar.org sites devoted to the roles of chief operating officer and chief financial officer, are popular destinations for individuals seeking insight into how to hire, or be hired into, these important roles; our listserves also continue to grow. The companion sites for recruiting leaders and bridging into the sector, are important tools for organizations and individuals. We facilitate introductions between organizations and prospective board members online; and we continue to develop and share our tools, research, expertise, including the ‘Leadership Matters’ newsletter, with those wishing to learn and grow in the nonprofit community – all the while thinking about new ways to contribute while managing our own growth and evolution.”
Each month, Bridgestar’s newsletter, “Leadership Matters,” focuses on a nonprofit leadership recruiting- or career-related theme. Available to Bridgestar members (or, for a complimentary subscription, please email subscribe@bridgestar.org), “Leadership Matters” is part of a robust portfolio of offerings that includes a free job board listing more than 200 nonprofit senior management positions across a range of service areas including the environment, human services, elder services, human rights, and youth services. Bridgestar has assisted many organizations in finding new leaders through its recruiting services, which include executive recruiting and related advisory activities.
The current issue of “Leadership Matters” is available at: https://www.bridgestar.org/resources/newsletters/2008/June2008.aspx.
About Bridgestar
Bridgestar (www.bridgestar.org), an initiative of the Bridgespan Group, is a nonprofit organization providing recruiting services, a free senior management job board, content, and tools designed to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. Bridgestar’s goal is to attract, connect, and support senior talent, leading to greater organizational effectiveness and social impact.
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