nonprofit jobsThere’s a wide range of ideas – if not controversy — about whether it is in the realm of a funder to get involved in the day-to-day management goings on at a grantee.
While many nonprofits (and, for that matter, for-profit businesses) would benefit from some management guidance, is it something that should be required for funding?
By the time you step into the interviewer’s office, he or she has probably already decided that your work history as presented on your resume at least minimally qualifies you for the job. Questions thrown at you will focus both on the projects and programs you have managed as well as your hopes, dreams, and desires. Employers are as much interested in what you have accomplished as they are in what it will be like to work with you on a daily basis.
How do they find their candidates? One way, which is how you are most likely to find your next position, is networking. Advertising is another. Research, through a variety of methods, including the internet and trade associations and other directories, plays a major role in locating candidates.
From my experience working with leaders of all kinds, I have noticed many different styles and approaches can be effective depending on the context, situation, organization or personalities involved. But, there seem to be four essential characteristics that always need to be present. Even those who do not have an official title or leadership position can lead “from the seat” if demonstrating these qualities.
How fitting that the first letters of each quality form the acronym TEAM since the ability to create a sense of team is the gift of the most outstanding leaders.
I think we sometimes overlook the obvious solutions because those are often the most simple, and we forget that simple can be an option. We want to rise to the expectations of ourselves and of those put upon us. We want to demonstrate our complex problem-solving abilities because we are, indeed, capable of solving the complex. We require ourselves to strategize and come up with educated plans for productivity. And, in doing so, we sometimes forget to stop and try to solve a problem by using the most basic of skills or strategies.
Here we are a few decades later, and, of course, I’ve gotten on board with many aspects of the e-world. In fact, I really wouldn’t want to lose access to most of it. Like you, I’ve found both great use and great fun within the cyber world. It’s interesting, though, to really think about how we’ve gone from electronic communications complimenting our daily lives to where face-to-face interactions and holding an actual phone conversation now, instead, compliment the e-world.
For most of us, life takes us a different direction away from fame and fanfare. But, stop and think about how many times we not only imagine our own achievements but are also required to think forward, think positive, and think great!
It makes your brain swirl a little to recall your misconception of 40, doesn’t it? Finding yourself in the middle of a career change at 40 is enough to turn that spin into utter turmoil. While there are a number of practical, measurable action items to which you must attend during a job search or other big career move, give the emotional side of such a pursuit careful attention and acknowledgement along the way.
Now, that’s a notion to which I know many of us can relate – taking that leap we never saw coming. It happens when someone takes notice of something we can offer, approaches us with a, “Have you ever considered …” and we find ourselves where we never could have or would have imagined! And, as an extra bonus, I’ve often found that when this happens, we tend to land in a position that actually means something to us.
There are so many options for presenting yourself professionally. Conventional means include your resume and biography. In addition, you can use your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles to present yourself. The same goes for Twitter and any blogs you host or to which you contribute. In fact, your web presence may be as or more important than your resume or your biography.
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