Tips For Your Transition To The Charitable Sector

Phil's Careers Blog Tips for Your Transition to the Charitable Sector By Siobhan Aspinall So you need to bounce the fence from company refugee to the charitable sector? Read on for an insider’s recommendation. Think about your motivation It takes passion, however don’t cease there. We’re in a competitive sector with high standards that may be very fast-paced. You’ll often be confronted with enterprise-like expectations paired with non-revenue-stage assets. Employers will ask about your ardour for his or her particular trigger however will finally rent primarily based on the abilities you convey. Be prepared to speak about each parts because it usually comes up within the first telephone screening. Revise your resume, cowl letter & LinkedIn profile A generic resume received’t reduce it. Find the transferable expertise and spotlight them in charity sector-particular wording. For instance, your gross sales experience could translate into building donor relationships and shutting gifts. Your telem arketing expertise might be applied to working with a confidential assist line. Above all, spell it out in your cover letter. Don’t let the employer attempt to guess which expertise match the job description. And a word about LinkedIn â€" if you don’t have a profile, now’s the time. A lack of professional presence on-line makes it tougher for people to determine whether or not to short-list you for a position. At worst, it implies that you're not laptop literate. Make sure there's a professional wanting head shot and title, and that you've current and related positions listed. Network strategically Check meetup.com and local charity associations, like the Association of Fundraising Professionals. There’s no have to pay membership fees yet â€" simply signal up to attend select events and have a enterprise card prepared at hand out. Explore informational interviews too, but be selective. Connect with organizations that you’d actually need to work for, keep away from any whic h are currently hiring, and be respectful of individuals’s time if you get a meeting (half-hour is lots). Prepare to begin at the bottom You can transfer fast in this sector, particularly if you have work expertise, administration expertise, and so forth. But like each sector, employers are usually going to choose the person with direct experience over someone with none. Start your search on websites like or Phil’s Careers for job titles like “administrative assistant” and “coordinator.” Don’t panic â€" it’ll take time If you interview properly and have transferable abilities to again up your personal ardour it could still take six months or more to land an entry-degree job in a good market. Be patient, hold networking and good luck! Siobhan Aspinall, CFREhas been fundraising for over 15 years for non-profit organizations including Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, the Canadian Cancer Society, the David Suzuki Foundation and United Way. She teaches two fundraising c ourses at BCIT, consults, and is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She holds a BA in languages from UBC and an Associate Certificate in Fundraising Management from BCIT. She obtained her Certified Fundraising Executive designation in 2013. In her spare time, she writes for her fundraising blog and surfs in Tofino. Siobhan Aspinall Sand Dollar Consulting ://siobhanaspinall.com Post navigation Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting utilizing your WordPress.com account. (Log Out/ Change) You are commenting using your Google account. (Log Out/ Change) You are commenting using your Twitter account. (Log Out/ Change) You are commenting utilizing your Facebook account. (Log Out/ Change) Connecting to %s Notify me of latest comments by way of e mail. Notify me of recent posts by way of email. Email Subscription Enter your e-mail address to observe my NEW blog and stay on high of the newest career alternatives and fundraising information. Sign me up! Follow On Twitter Browse by Category Phil’s Careers Tweets Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.