"What To Do When You're Fired," brought to you by the NY Times

They told us Gen Y'ers that we'd see a lot of change in our lifetimes, but thus far I haven't been impressed with it.

The New York Times thought it would be helpful to share tips about getting fired, just in case you need it [Bank X/Starbucks/U.S. Automotive/Airline/...] employee:

"If you find yourself being fired, the most important thing to remember (besides that it’s actually O.K. to cry) is that you’ll be in shock, and you won’t be thinking straight, so don’t feel the need to ask every question then and there.

You should make sure to leave the room knowing how to contact someone who can answer your questions later on, when you have a chance to calm down. Try not to become defensive or argumentative; if there are issues to be disputed, you can do that later."

Also, tips for those doing the firing (I hope this never comes in handy):

"The same general advice applies to those charged with doing the firings, namely, keep things short and calm. [...] "It's time for us to part company," is Ms. Flagg’s preferred phrasing."

• "Dear Valued Worker: You're Fired" (NYTimes.com, 24 July 2008)

I have no idea what to label this... so let's go for "Tips and Tricks."

Newly Corporate

I have this new blog that I love, but also have two problems with it.

It's called "Newly Corporate," and I'm neither "new" (this is my fifth year out of college and in the "workforce"), nor am I "corporate" (I work for a non-profit, but I do work closely with major corporations).

That being said, I do think my approach to non-profit work is fairly ambitious. And I'm fascinated with Generation Y-at-work concepts (that's one category I *do* fall into!)...

Generation Y, according to the research, wants to save the world, and wants to make a lot of money doing it. Sadly, though, we can't all come up with the next paradigm-shifting Google, which has driven so much change just by making information more easy to find.

Newly Corporate doesn't have the answers, and it certainly isn't always agreeable, but it gives me some great perspective on what folks on the other end of the private-sector spectrum are thinking.

• http://www.newlycorporate.com/

MakingTheDifference.org

MakingTheDifference.org is a student-focused effort of the Partnership for Public Service that provides a variety of features to help students/graduates find work in the federal government, including a comprehensive guide to jobs in federal government, information about loan repayment opportunities, fellowship programs and directories of internships. I'm still finding new things on here, so check it out.

Finding Non-Profit Work as an Experienced Professional

Though I'm certain I'll have more to share in 2008, this pretty much rounds out my "Finding Non-Profit Work" series...

If you're a seasoned professional looking to work in non-profits, some additional resources:

• Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, which does higher-profile executive searches for non-profits (the largest non-profits seem to use executive search firms that do both non- and for-profit searches...)
• NetImpact. An MBA/business degree oriented organization which focuses on social responsibility, NetImpact has had a huge following in business schools across the US since the late '90s. If a non-profit were hoping to hire MBA's, I hope they're advertising here...

I'd love to see more people make the switch from for-profit to non-profit, particularly those with management/executive experience. Unfortunately, that typically means trading salary for the "feeling good about my work" bump -- not knocking that bump at all, but the tradeoff can be a harsh reality. In addition to the CommonGood article "Non-Profit Salaries: What Should I Earn?", Charity Navigator has a 2007 Nonprofit CEO Salary Survey.

Finding Temporary Work in D.C.

I left out a crucial piece about Finding Work in D.C.-- temping. So, some easy ones:

• Nonprofit Staffing Solutions
• PoliTemps -- these folks are even used by the State Department! (you'll find some other temp agencies that the State Dept uses on this list)

I've had several friends try out the Temp-to-Hire route, where they and the organization mutually agree on the fit and decide to make a hire out of it.

Non-Profits (in D.C.) -- Finding work

I've been holding off on posting this since my June 2007 post on Types of Organizations and Work with the intention of doing a much more exhaustive review, but it's time to stop putting this post off. The scope of this post is pretty limited, so please share any additional thoughts or resources in the comments, if you have them!

Also, keep in mind that the world of non-profits is vast and disparate -- from a hospital to the Boy Scouts of America to AARP to a local community center. As such, I've "narrowed" my focus to the domestic advocacy/association non-profits of Washington D.C. which are probably similar to those in other major cities, and with which I am most familiar.

Finding a Job
Where do people actually find available non-profit jobs? Non-profits are typically much smaller and less well-known than your average big business, so unless you already have experience in a particular public-interest field and connections to go along with it, it can be hard to know what jobs are available, and then get your resume seen.

There are some great places to turn for advice that I often share with job-seekers. First and foremost, there's Idealist.org -- the veritable clearinghouse of non-profit/public interest jobs. Be warned, though -- once a job is posted here, it becomes fair game for just about everyone else. Fortunately, there are many other places people can check, including the following:

• Commongood Careers
• WorkforNonprofits.org
• JustMeans
• YNPN-DC and its other Young Non-Profit Network affiliates
• and, although it has more politically-focused jobs, I have to plug Courtney Sieloff's JobsThatAreLeft (mailing-list based, progressive bent - as with most Yahoo! groups, I recommend signing up for the daily e-mail digest format)

The list could go on -- please feel free to add some in the comments for this post. For example, I've heard the Chronicle of Higher Education is a good place to go for higher level non-profit jobs (perhaps if you have a graduate degree or experience working in higher education). And there's always your local newspaper. I haven't heard much, though, in favor of using the major services like CareerBuilder, HotJobs and Monster.

But if you're so lucky as to have a particular area of interest or focus that you'd like to work on, you should keep abreast of news or blogs related to that interest area to get a sense of what organizations are doing the relevant work. Often, the best place to find a job with that organization is on its website -- bookmark the jobs/career page and keep going back!

Getting the Job
I think the most interesting thing about hiring at a non-profit is the number of resumes that come in with experiences that don't translate well into qualifying experience -- it feels as though people assume that non-profits are perhaps more forgiving than for-profits (which might be the case in some instances) -- and it's really hard and sometimes distracting to differentiate among those. This is where the world of networking can come in extremely handy. If you don't already have face time with the organization of choice through your current job or side projects, and your direct contacts aren't getting you anywhere, it's important to make sure you're pushing yourself to go to events or conferences where that organization is involved.

If you're in college, or if you can afford to do it, you may want to consider going the route of an internship, especially if you're in love with the organization or if you're starting off with no non-profit experience. Many non-profits rely on interns to fill entry-level jobs -- the intern is a known quantity and they'll know if h/she is a good fit for the culture and work environment. Often, entry-level positions may not even get to an external candidate interview process because they're filled from within. Shrewd volunteering may get you some face time with people who can help you in your search -- and give you a chance to demonstrate your interests and skills.

If the organization has a blog, that could give you an opportunity to generate a rapport and establish yourself in that organization's eyes by positively engaging, cautiously questioning, or expanding upon individual posts through commenting over time. (Sadly, I feel as though I'm stealing this idea from Penelope Trunk at BrazeenCareerist, whom I'm not always fond of referencing, but I think it's appropriate to at least credit her...)

If you're without the luxury of taking a longer-term approach, don't underestimate the power of Facebook and LinkedIn -- they can be great ways to find someone who can give you the inside scoop or help get your resume in front of the hiring manager. And because non-profits can be so small, it's helpful to get a sense for whether or not the culture is a good fit for you. If you notice that a friend of your friend works somewhere you want to work, ask your friend for an introduction -- really. In my experience, people give a friend's recommendation strong consideration.

Getting "Paid"
Given my job, I could probably write a whole post on non-profit salaries and benefits, but particularly in the interest of not withholding another good resource for months, check out CommonGood's article "Non-Profit Salaries: What Should I Earn?" The resources that the article points to are unfortunately geared toward senior-level professionals, but are useful nonetheless.

The advice I give most people is this -- although working for a non-profit should ideally provide the benefit of you feeling good about your work, you shouldn't expect to have to work for pennies, and it doesn't necessarily hurt to negotiate the offer, in the same way as for-profits. But think creatively about the kinds of benefits and perks you're looking for -- can you telework? do you get exposure to elected officials or opportunities to go to events on behalf of the non-profit? do you get to travel, what components of the travel are paid for and what's the per diem? will you get authorship credit for any of the work that you do? etc.

Which brings me back to knowing someone on the inside -- it can be extremely helpful in navigating how to approach a job offer and some of the informal or indirect perks of working there.

Although I'm sure I'll add more later, that's all for now. Good luck!

Non-Profits (in D.C.) -- Types of Organizations and Work

I graduated from college in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003 -- a time when good non-profit work seemed impossible to come by (I was applying for some entry level jobs that received over 500 applications) and there didn't seem to be much guidance as far as how to go about it. Although there are more resources out there today than there were in 2003, I still get lots of questions from well-meaning college students and for-profit professionals who want to break in to the non-profit world. As someone who hires (for full-time positions and internships), and as someone who loves seeing people work for progressive causes, I'm happy to help.

This is my attempt at providing some answers. It's long overdue, and will be up for an eventual revision... It's also way too long to put in one post, so look for the next installment later this week (I'm on vacation, can you tell?) that will cover how to find a job and how to get paid!

Also, I'll be asking friends for their feedback as far as how this framework might apply to other organizations like trade associations, unions and hill jobs.

Types of non-profits

There are 28 different types of non-profit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes as defined by U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The most useful distinctions for the D.C.-bound employee:

• 501(c)(3): a non-profit, educational, religious or charitable organization (giving money to a 501(c)(3) organization can be used as a tax deduction)
• 501(c)(4): a political non-profit organization (no tax deductions)

Separately

• a PAC is an organization that supports or opposes particular candidates partial to their issues
• and a 527 generally does issue-based politics... Check out some of the larger ones

In the world in which I work, most of the non-profits are in fact a collection of organizations organized under each of these banners (e.g.: the Center for American Progress (c)(3) and the Center for American Progress Action Fund (c)(4)), allowing the organization to maximize its work both in educating the public (typically (c)(3) work), lobbying Congress (typically (c)(4) work), and working to support causes (527 groups) or providing financial support to candidates or political parties (PACs).

An organization that is set up under multiple umbrellas generally might have clear roles defined for specific employees, and how much work they will do that falls under either umbrella. The point is, if the job description reads like it's purely educational (501(c)(3)), but the organization has a 501(c)(4) under its umbrella, you might want to ask how the two work together and how that might affect your role.

Do you know what kind of work you want to do? If not, perhaps working for an organization with these layers might give you some good exposure to both.

In my current role, which is almost entirely (c)(3) work, there are often direct ties to current legislation, which gives me opportunities to speak on the hill or to members of Congress, which is then allocated to the (c)(4) payroll of my organization. I appreciate that my job isn't entirely political, lets me focus on my issue, and yet I feel satisfied that my work is making a difference -- I can see the application directly.

Types of non-profit work

I've never really seen a resource that provides a framework for this, or I would happily refer you to it. But, generally speaking, there are some clearly defined areas of work that seem fairly universal to non-profits. For the larger non-profit, whole teams and divisions are devoted to these areas, while smaller non-profits (5-10) people can only devote one or two staff per area. Accordingly, it feels like it's easier to find entry-level jobs for people with less experience in the larger non-profits. Internships, on the other hand, are much easier to come by.

• Programmatic: These are the folks who work on the special educational efforts of the organization. They are issue experts, who may or may not have an academic background in the area but do have some qualifying relevant experience to the issue. For example, an environmental scientist who examines and determines the strengths and weaknesses of the Clean Air Act given today's realities. These are the people who really know the issues at the heart of the organization, and know the issue experts in their field. From the entry-level perspective, positions are either administrative/assistant-work or non-technical research.
• Development/Fundraising: These are the people responsible for ensuring that everyone in the organization gets paid, in addition to the overhead. Either they work directly with the organizations membership (focusing on the low-dollar membership vehicle), or they focus higher up the financial support level, focusing on major donors, public or private grants, financial or in-kind sponsorships from organizations and businesses, and fundraising events.
• Communications: These are the people responsible for getting the message out, by media relations and oversight of the organization's media including member communications, the website and other marketing materials. You'll find people with skills in writing, editing, public speaking and visual design (and the larger the organization, the more likely you'll find these roles to be split). For the entry-level employee, you'll find positions that help develop contact lists, pull together materials for press events, do broad-spectrum searches on the daily news as it pertains to your issues, etc.
• Political: These are the folks who strategize about how to get legislation partial to the organization passed: the language of the bill, who should be the lead and co-sponsors of the bill, how to get votes for the bill, and how to support the legislators that support it. From the entry-level end of things, you'll find lots of administrative support and coordinator jobs that help carry out the organization's efforts. You don't always have to have hill experience for an entry-level job, but you should definitely have your wits about you as far as how things generally work in Congress, and who the Congressional leaders are.
• Legal/Counsel: These are the folks who a: make sure that the organization's activities and efforts are legal with respect to what non-profits can and can't do and b: serve as experts on particular legislation and how it fits into or changes existing law. I haven't seen much in terms of entry-level work in this area unless it's an administrative position, unless you're a law student or law grad. Perhaps there is more room for paralegals?
• Executive/Management: There's always need at the top for the C-Suite-type positions (CEO, CFO, CMO, etc) that largely oversee the entire organization's activities. Again, not much for the entry-level except for executive assistant-type positions.
• Administrative/Finance/Operations:: Like every other business, you need people to handle the day-to-day activities that keep the organization going, from managing the organization's facilities and handling in-house events to managing bank accounts and tax records. Entry-level positions here are as one might expect them to be; if you have experience in event management, finance or accounting, there are entry-level positions to be found.
• IT: I put this in its own category, although it could probably fit in the last category, probably just because I personally think this is the area that most non-profits stand to gain the most from. We're in a world where technology can vastly alter the way a small organization (like most non-profits) can operate, and how they can get their message out. From salesforce.com, 37Signals and Google, technology solutions are exploding and changing the game -- it will be up to the IT professionals, in many ways, to identify the right solutions and bring non-profit workers along with implementation and extensive training. Good luck!

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The hard part is, of course, finding a job, getting the job, and getting paid for it all. Look for my next installment later this week!

In the meantime, I'd love to hear feedback as to how helpful this is. Are there any changes that you might suggest? Questions that you still have about the information above? Let me know!