Welcome to 2012. Many of us in the nonprofit sector will be more than happy to have 2011 in the rear view, and we’re hopeful for continued economic recovery and positive changes throughout the sector (and an increase in funding for Americorps and not messing with the charitable tax deduction would be a good start!)  The recession and slow recovery have been catalysts for change and evolution for nonprofits, and the most successful were those that were able to get lean quickly.  These organizations had to figure out how to do more with less, while staying true to their program models and maintaining a high level of quality.  As these groups get back on a growth trajectory and start hiring again, they’re not just looking for bench strength and people to fill seats.  They know how to be lean and deliver results.  If they’re investing in a new hire, they’re looking to hire A+ talent with the potential to take them to the next level, and they won’t settle for less. 

At the same time, the leadership gap the sector has been bracing for hasn’t been as dramatic as once feared.  Fewer baby boomers than expected are retiring, more talent from the for-profit side has entered the market during the recession, and there’s been a boom of nonprofit-focused MBA programs that are producing young leaders anxious to take the reigns.  The talent pool is crowded, and only the most resourceful, skilled, and strategic job seekers will rise to the top.

What does that mean for the nonprofit hiring outlook? I thought you’d never ask.

TREND #1 – Specialization is the future, and the future is now

It used to be that every organization had the need for the ‘nonprofit generalist.’  We all know them and have probably loved every minute of working with them.  They’re the type that, when called upon, can write a grant, manage a program, prepare for the board meeting or do the taxes.  They’ve kept their organizations afloat, and kept the sector afloat, with their adaptability and resourcefulness during tough times.  However, in recent years, the sector has experienced an increasing demand for individuals with specific expertise and content knowledge.  In short, it’s out with the generalists, in with the specialists.

One phenomenon driving this trend is the evolution of social entrepreneurs. In the late 90s and early 00s, we witnessed a boom in social entrepreneurship that resulted in the launch of up-start nonprofits addressing broad social issues.  At their onset, these organizations needed talented, hard-working generalists that were willing to roll up their sleeves and do whatever it took to get programs off the ground.  As many of these organizations – from City Year to Teach For America – became large, national and complex organizations, their talent needs shifted and they looked for specialist skillsets (public policy, statistical analysis, brand management) and content area experts (experts in workforce development, social-emotional learning, or microfinance in the developing world). 

In 2012, we don’t expect that there will be across-the-board growth in the nonprofit sector.  Instead we’ll see big growth in particular subsets (for instance: charter schools, K-12 ed reform, international, healthcare).  The majority of jobs available will be with organizations that are growing, have increasing sophistication in internal operations and are headed towards specialization across the org chart.  Job seekers that aren’t positioning themselves as specialists in high-need functional areas could have a tougher time finding the right fit. 

TREND #2 – Nonprofit organizational charts will resemble corporate structures

As specialization of roles increase, some departments in nonprofit organizations are beginning to look more and more like their for-profit counterparts.  For instance, organizations are less likely to bundle marketing, communications, and fundraising under the umbrella of “development.” Today, even organizations that wouldn’t be considered large or ‘later-stage’ are building out sophisticated marketing teams that include branding experts, copywriters, and public relations staff. Similar structural divisions are occurring in technology, finance, and operations.

In 2012, I predict that we’ll see more movement between the private and nonprofit sector. With re-organization of functional areas, there are fewer barriers for sector switchers from the private sector.  Those that have been in a more specialized or ‘silo’ position in a larger corporate environment are seeing more nonprofit positions that match their particular skill set.  As such, there’s increasing competition from the corporate sector-switcher set for nonprofit marketing, technology, finance and operations roles. 

TREND #3 – The demand for research and evaluation professionals is on the rise

IIn order to compete for foundation funding, nonprofits have responded to the increasing focus on demonstrating impact and outcomes quantitatively. In order to do so, even smaller organizations are bringing the program measurement and evaluation function in-house in order to better manage program performance and compete for funding. The result is a huge demand for research and evaluation professionals, a demand that may be outpacing the talent pool.

Historically, there hasn’t been a natural, strong pipeline of research and evaluation folks into the sector. PhD’s, researchers and evaluators have sought out the more traditional career paths in academia or consulting.  To better attract these individuals to nonprofit organizations, there’s a need for organizations to compete on a few levels, such as seniority of positions and compensation.  Savvy organizations are making the case to this talent pool that nonprofit program evaluation and impact measurement is an incredibly challenging, dynamic and engaging field.  These organizations present their opportunities as being on the leading-edge of an emerging field where there’s limitless opportunity for innovation and impact.  For the right research and evaluation professionals, this is music to their ears. 

As more organizations begin to develop internal research and evaluation capabilities, this need will only increase, encompassing roles from associate to VP levels.

Overall, 2012 will be an incredibly interesting and exciting time to work in the nonprofit sector. The nonprofit job market is rapidly changing.  My advice to anyone considering a career move is to recognize these trends, become a student of the sector and its evolution, and then demonstrate the nimbleness and insight to compete in an increasingly specialized and crowded talent pool.  Now go get that job!

Some 41% of nearly 2,000 professionals said that when evaluating candidates’ resumes, they consider volunteer experience to be equally as valuable as paid work experience.

Additionally 20% of hiring managers surveyed said they had made a hiring decision based on a candidate’s volunteer experience.

Yet, only 45% of those surveyed actually include their volunteer experience on their resumes. To that end, LinkedIn has introduced a new feature, “Volunteer Experience and Causes,” a space for members to list volunteer work on their profiles.

So what are you waiting for? Take a few minutes today to update your LinkedIn Profile, and help your professional network discover organizations to get involved with. We’ve even included some sample language for you below.

Update your LinkedIn Profile now at www.linkedin.com/profile/edit-volunteering-combined?trk=influencer.

If you are not yet a LinkedIn member, it takes just a few minutes to create a profile at http://www.linkedin.com/.

As one of Catchafire’s Founding 30 members in Boston, we are excited to bring this valuable service to our hometown, as well as access top-notch talent on projects to further our mission and services.

The Founding 30 includes a remarkable set of nonprofits and social enterprises:

Art Venue
Boston Harbor Association
Boston Rising
Boston World Partnerships
Calling All Crows
City Year
Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color
CropCircle Kitchens
Design Museum Boston
Elizabeth Stone House
Environmental Defense Fund
Generation Citizen
Greenlight Fund
Higher Ground
Housing Families
Maternova
Partners for Youth with Disabilities
Pine Street Inn
Raising a Reader
Right Question Institute
ROCA
Root Cause
Science Club for Girls
Sol Solution
The Komera Project
Wegowise
Year Up
Youth Villages
ZanaAfrica

If you are a skilled professional in search of a meaningful volunteer experience, we encourage you to check out Catchafire.org. For job seekers, pro bono volunteering is a great way to make new contacts, gain exposure to a particular organization, and explore new career paths.

1. Our Team:  We are a group of smart and friendly professionals who are 100% committed to helping public schools achieve educational equity. Every member of our team is a powerful leader and change agent in public education. Learn more about our team.

2. Results:  Our work has a profound impact on educational outcomes. Better classroom instruction and district engagement leads to major gains in student literacy and learning. Learn more about our results.

3. Location:  Our office is located in the heart of Potrero Hill, home of the some of the city’s finest food stands, cafes, yoga studios and more. We are convenient to MUNI, Bart and Caltrain. Plus it’s sunny nearly everyday in Potrero!  Learn more about our neighborhood.

4. Staff Development:  We value employee’s professional development, providing growth and promotion opportunities, as well as financial rewards. Learn more about our staff vision.

5. National Growth:  Having demonstrated breakthrough student learning results in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are poised for national growth. Our vision is to contribute to systemic change in urban public schools across the nation. Learn more about our future.

The good news is this figure is somewhat lower than what’s been reported in recent years. In the 2001 and 2006 publications of the Daring to Lead report, three out of four executives said they planned to leave their position.

The bad news is a lot of leaders plan to move on over the next few years. The real question is: what is the nonprofit sector planning to do about it? The findings of the report suggest a few solutions:

(1) Develop a succession plan. According to the report, just 17% of organizations surveyed have a documented succession plan, and 33% of executives were very confident that their boards will hire the right successor when they leave. Current leadership needs to talk proactively about succession with their boards and work together to develop a vision and plan to hiring a successor.

(2) Connect with the next generation of leaders. Nonprofits will benefit from identifying talent – whether inside or outside of the organization – often and early. Senior leadership and board members should devote some portion of their time to information interviews and networking with “up and comers.” Organizations like YNPN, Independent Sector, Echoing Green, and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy are great sources to connect with the next generation of nonprofit leadership.

(3) Identify a deputy as early as possible. The search for an ED’s successor can be rather involved and time-consuming, particularly when there are hiring committees and other stakeholders involved. A strong interim leader can relieve some of the pressure to make a hire quickly. If there’s a likely candidate to step up to this role within your organization, start the transition with as much time in advance as possible, ideally a year. A board member can also step in to play this role.

(4) Address the root cause. According to the report, current EDs cited a few reasons why they planned to leave their jobs, including underperforming boards of directors and difficulty of maintaining healthy work-life balance. Both of these issues can be addressed with frank conversations and creative strategies, as long as key stakeholders are willing to work to make real changes. (Note: making changes in these areas may also help you retain other staff as well…)

To read the full Daring to Lead 2011 report, please visit: www.daringtolead.org/

If you are passionate about helping the nation’s most innovative and high-performing nonprofits secure the talent they need to succeed, we want you to work at Commongood Careers! We are hiring for a Search Consultant to join our HQ in Boston.

Our Search Consultants are responsible for building and cultivating strong professional relationships with our clients and serving as a strategic advisor while creating effective hiring plans, conducting robust recruiting efforts, and helping to select the strongest candidates to fill open positions. Our work has a direct impact on our clients’ ability to succeed. With the right talent on the bus, our clients are better equipped to fulfill their missions and work for change.

Want more proof that working at Commongood Careers is awesome? Here’s what some of our staff have to say:

Allyson Biegeleisen, Vice President

“I love working at Commongood Careers because my colleagues are super smart, super fun, committed to our clients and never look bored when I make them look at pictures of my son ”

Ila Shah, Search Consultant

“I love the opportunity to work with virtually everyone on the team in ways that have a direct positive impact on my work with clients. We work as a team, sharing ideas and resources and strategies on a consistent basis.”

Cassie Scarano, Co-Founder and President

“I love that whenever we ring the gong to announce that a client has made a hire, it means so many things—our client is happy, the candidate is happy, the candidate is going to help the client meet their mission, and our team performed well!”

Diane Garcia, Recruitment Coordinator

“Commongood Careers is a great place to work because the people who work here are wonderful; we care about each other just as much as we care about the success of all the amazing nonprofits we have the privilege to work with.”

James Weinberg, Founder and CEO

“I have never worked with such an incredibly smart and fun group of colleagues. Plus, how better to change the world than to help the most innovative and impactful organizations in the field secure exactly what they need.”

Alena Eng, Search Consultant

“Commongood Careers is one of the most supportive environments I’ve worked in. Not only do we do whatever it takes to support our clients, but we support each other internally. Management at Commongood Careers also supports us and helps us to do our best work.”

For New Profit Inc, a national venture philanthropy fund that makes portfolio investments in innovative nonprofit organizations, informational interviews are a part of doing business. According to Kathryn Price, New Profit’s Director of Operations and Talent, the organization has made a mission-driven commitment to meeting new talent.

New Profit Inc. makes approximately 10 hires per year, but receives inquiries from jobseekers on a regular basis. While they can’t hire everyone who is interested in their work, they try to meet with as many jobseekers as possible, and ultimately develop relationships with talented people they can consider for future positions. When New Profit or one of its portfolio organizations has a hiring need, the organization can easily tap these talent pipelines for candidates.

This past year, New Profit Inc. conducted about 60 informational interviews. The Talent Team helps to facilitate this process, and invites all staff members to participate in interviews.

“Conducting informational interviews reflects our spirit of wanting to be a good member of the community. It’s part of our culture,” said Kathryn, “Nearly everyone across our organization conducts informational interviews.”

As a result of informational interviews, Kathryn reports that she is better able to keep her finger on the pulse of talent that is interested in New Profit Inc. Whenever the organization launches a search, Kathryn has a talent pool that she can go to right off the bat.

In addition to building talent pipelines, informational interviewing has provided a great training opportunity to staff. According to Kathryn, staff gain an opportunity to be external facing and hone their ability to talk about the organization.

For organizations that are interested in conducting more informational interviews, Kathryn has a few suggestions:

• Interview every referral from every source if possible. You never know who is going to be a great candidate for a future position, or a valuable source of a referral.
• Dedicate a portion of staff time to conduct interviews. Assign individual staff as interviewers based on functional or subject-matter expertise.
• Keep interviews to 30 minutes or less. Talk about the interviewee’s career interests and backgrounds, but don’t conduct a full-fledged job interview.
• Encourage interviews to be a two-way street. If someone that you are interviewing is connected to potential partners, funders or board members, don’t be afraid to ask for introductions.

Americorps positions, if used strategically, can be a great way to expand your capacity—provided that your organization devotes the necessary resources needed for Americorps members to succeed.  Each position should be considered as carefully as a new staff position, and its purpose should be thoughtfully aligned with organizational mission and goals.  As we wrote about last month, volunteers are people too, so one of the biggest mistakes a nonprofit can make is to add new Americorps positions without providing the necessary support for the people filling those positions to become impactful additions to your team. 

In fact, Rick Cohen, in a recent Blue Avocado column about the potentially hurtful effects of public policy programs on volunteering,  voices some legitimate concerns that some nonprofits might use Americorps positions in ways that will be ultimately detrimental to the sector.  To combat this, he argues, it’s important that nonprofits ensure that they leverage Americorps volunteers in an impactful way, and “structure their jobs as first steps in nonprofit careers.” 

So how can you ensure that your organization can leverage the talent provided by the Serve America Act? Assign a phenomenal manager to oversee the work of your Americorps volunteers. A dedicated resource with phenomenal management skills to manage your Americorps positions is important for several reasons:

1) Americorps positions are time bound, with built-in high turnover.  The time-bound nature of the Americorps program means that turnover is guaranteed to be high, as many Americorps members serve for only one year.  Much can be learned and accomplished in one year, but if there is no “bridge” from one year to the next, many of the gains will be lost after each member exits, leaving the next Americorps member to “reinvent the wheel.”  Without a permanent and involved manager to make sure that institutional knowledge and external relationships are carried over from one year to the next, each year can become a repeat of the last—your own personal version of the movie “Groundhog Day.”  A manager can ensure continuity and continuous improvement from year to year, so your impact can continue to grow and improve.

2) Americorps volunteers need appropriate training and guidance to be effective.  Like all employees, Americorps members need to learn how your organization works, your theory of change, and how they can contribute to accomplishing your mission.  Since the backgrounds and previous experiences of Americorps members are diverse, a manager who works with Amercorps volunteers needs to be able to assess, on an individual level, what support and training each person will need to be successful in their role.  Without appropriate training, Americorps volunteers will either be overwhelmed or bored, and, as a result, your effectiveness will suffer.  Great managers “get” people—they have an ability to understand what makes different people tick, what motivates them, and what challenges them.  With so many people stepping into and out of these roles on a regular basis, a skilled manager who can tailor their approach to the unique talents and challenges of each individual will ensure that each Americorps volunteer can contribute to their full potential.

3) Americorps volunteers, even more so than other employees, are at risk of burn-out.  Americorps volunteers are willing to work for very little pay in exchange for an education award and the chance to do something meaningful.  Many of them are willing to work above and beyond the hours required of them, and the nature of the work in the nonprofit sector ensures that there is always more work that could be done.  Newcomers to the nonprofit sector may have a hard time setting boundaries and creating manageable workloads.  A great manager can help passionate volunteers find balance, modify their workloads, and, of course, tell them to go home when they begin to work themselves into the ground.  The last thing you want your organization to do is to convince your would-be future executive director to leave the sector because they perceive nonprofit positions to be unsustainable.

4) Your Americorps members need to be developed as nonprofit professionals to become a key element of your talent pipeline. Americorps service is rapidly becoming the first step for many young people (and more experienced sector switchers as well) to beginning a nonprofit career (Want to know more? Check out our article, “The New Entry Level: Hiring from Leadership Development Programs”).  Hosting Americorps corps members in your organization is an opportunity to win a life-long champion for your organization and to develop a strong pipeline of talent.  To make sure this potential is realized, it is important that Americorps members are exposed to many different facets of your organization and your mission, and shown the ropes of nonprofit careers, both within your organization and without.  If you do it right, when you need to hire for a new position, you will have many passionate and qualified Americorps alumni ready to join your team—making your biggest problem which one you should choose.  A manager with a responsibility to make this happen can help facilitate professional development opportunities for Americorps members, serve as a mentor and guide for them in their next steps, and be a continuous point of contact between them and the organization until they are ready to return as full-time staff members.

So enjoy this summer: think big, think strategically, and think about making the next addition to your organization a phenomenal manager.

We at Commongood Careers are passionate about the power of people. We know that having the right person in the right role can multiply your organization’s impact.  While human capital management has traditionally presented a challenge to the nonprofit sector, it seems that the tide is finally turning. Cutting edge organizations and social entrepreneurs are starting to discover the potential that effective human capital management practices have to increase their impact, even as their resources are shrinking (for some interesting ideas on this, check out the report from our Conversations with Social Entrepreneurs event series.

When you think about ways to leverage the talents of your people to increase your impact, what do you think about?  Unless your organization is on the very cutting edge of human capital management (in which case we would love you to share what you’re doing), we would guess that “apply human capital management techniques to volunteer management” didn’t make your list.

But why not? Volunteers are people too! Not only are volunteers people, volunteers have vast resources of untapped talent that they are trying to contribute. After all, they’ve shown up to help you with your mission, ready to donate their most precious resource: their time.

Then why is it the case that organizations (even those with large numbers of volunteers) sometimes view volunteer programs as a necessary evil to bring in more donations or perhaps as more trouble than they are worth?  For organizations that have not thought strategically about how to use staff time to really leverage their volunteers, these passionate and talented volunteers can be a bit overwhelming: what should I do with them? Often the answer is to give them something — anything! — to do.

Volunteers can sense when their time is being wasted. Can you remember a time you worked with an organization and felt like it didn’t matter if you were there or not?  A time when you felt like you were given a task just to keep you busy?  And did you ever volunteer with that organization again?  If your answer is “no,” then it may be safe to say that many others would be no different.  According to the Stanford Social Innovation Review article, The New Volunteer Workforce, about one out of three volunteers who volunteered in one year didn’t come back the next for a common set of reasons…because the tasks they were doing didn’t leverage their skills and talents, because their contributions were not recognized or measured, because the training was insufficient, because there was a lack of leadership, or all of the above.

If this wasted talent were measured in dollars, you can bet that something would be done about it.  We can hear board members, donors, and staff members talking about it right now: “how can we fix this situation? How can we leverage what we have to create the greatest impact?”

What could happen if we, as a sector, managed volunteer time and talent with the same care, dedication, thoughtfulness, and strategy with which we manage money?  The sky’s the limit.  But we have to start by looking at how to manage volunteers like the talented, capable contributors that they can be.

This was your first time at a Skoll World Forum; why did you decide to attend this year?

As Commongood Careers has grown to a point of national scale and with the launch of our new venture, Talent Initiative, I have been focusing a greater amount of my time on advancing the sector as a whole, on both a national and global level.  This is coming at the same time as I believe that we are approaching one of the most pivotal inflection points in the history of the social sector.  As we emerge from the global economic downturn, many world leaders—including President Obama in the US—are re-envisioning the role that entrepreneurial, outcome-based and high-impact nonprofits/NGOs have in moving our society forward.  The Skoll Forum is one of the most significant annual conversations among social entrepreneurs about the future of our work and our world.  Given my new focus areas and the strategic imperative of this time, I was excited about the opportunity to join the dialogue this year.

How was this conference different than other conferences that focus on social entrepreneurship?

There are not too many conferences focused on social entrepreneurship, and I wish that there were more. The Skoll World Forum is the most globally diverse conference that I have ever attended.  At any given event, I was as likely to be sitting next to someone from Ghana or Palestine as I was to be comparing and contrasting the hiring needs of nonprofits in Korea or Darfur.  It was an amazing experience to see how many similarities exist across the world, and to imagine how different our work would be in different cultures and contexts.

You led two workshops about talent while you were there. What were the themes, concerns and ideas that were discussed during that session?

We had two great sessions on “Human Capital and Social Entrepreneurs” in Oxford.  At the start of each session, we went around the room and asked participants to share their greatest areas of concern or challenge related to human capital and management.  Then, for 90 minutes, my colleague Pari Jhaveri of Third Sector Partners in India would answer as many of their questions as possible.  Many of the participants were focused on specific hiring needs, most commonly based around hiring (in many cases their first) Chief Operating Officer and/or Chief Development Officer.  These hires both represent a vital developmental turning point for many organizations and exploring how to structure these roles and integrate them into existing management structures was a fascinating conversation.  Many social entrepreneurs were also focusing on maintaining a competitive compensation structure within this economic environment, preserving their organizational cultures throughout a rapid growth process, and building “bench strength” and succession plans for senior managers.

What are your overall impressions of the Skoll World Forum 2010?

It is an amazing opportunity to convene leaders from incredibly diverse backgrounds that all share a common entrepreneurial approach to their myriad visions for social change.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to attend and I hope to do so again next year.

How did you get home when everyone else seems to be stranded in Europe as a result of the Icelandic volcano?

Eric Schwarz from Citizen Schools and I had to get back to Boston early for an event and I think that we were on the very last plane out of Heathrow before they closed down all of British air space.  We really lucked out on that one!  Now just about a week later, I understand that most of the conference attendees are still unable to return home, with many of them making their way in cabs and busses down to Madrid where it is rumored that you can get a flight out.  This phenomenon has just absolutely amazed me and it seems to have bottled up the world’s greatest social entrepreneurs in one place for an extended period!  We have a lot of work to do and I hope that everyone can get home soon.

Let’s imagine that I have a magic wand. What I am going to do with my magic wand is go into your organization’s bank accounts…. and zero out the cash balance….  Then, I am going to go to your office and I am going to wipe out all the program data, all the technology, your strategic plan, your branded materials, and, in fact, the whole office itself….  And finally, I am going to pick up all of your staff, and all of your board members, and all of your volunteers and place them in a field together.  And I am going to ask that group, with you as its leader, to have the biggest impact on your mission possible.  I’d be willing to bet that all of you could get some pretty damn impressive results using just those people and nothing else.

So, here’s a different scenario.  I take out my wand again but, this time, I wipe out all those people.  Don’t worry.  They’re OK.  I sent them to the Cayman Islands on vacation… and I sent you with them… all expenses paid.  Now, let me ask you: Back at home, how much good is all the money, and technology, and infrastructure that is left behind going to get done on its own in service to your mission?

I’m sure by now, you all get my point.  In our sector, it’s the people, first and foremost, that dictate our ability to do good in the world. 

But why am I bothering to point out things that I know, that you know, already?  I’m standing up here in the hope of communicating one single and simple message… which is that it’s about putting people-FIRST.

I know from working with many of you that human capital is among your top five organizational priorities, which is GREAT.  The problem for many of us, however, is that it is number 3 or 4, rather than number 1.  And there is a world of difference between being a people-first organization and a people-fourth organization.

Now I know that no-one wants to think of themselves as being a “people-fourth” organization.  But the truth is, “putting people first” makes total sense and is something that we can commit to…. until we look down at our blackberries or iPhones and remember 3-4 more urgent, but ultimately less important things that need to be addressed ASAP and talent development will just have to wait.  So, one day, when we have a little more time and a little more money, we’ll make some investments to really get our organizations up to speed along those lines.  But… that day never really comes… or it comes too late to capture the opportunity of the moment.

The best leaders among us today, however, have proven that if we truly think and act on a people-FIRST basis, we can make the most out of this pivotal time in the evolution of our movement.  With a people-FIRST mindset, we can dramatically:

• Increase our revenue streams
• Improve our programs results
• Scale our operations and
• Change the lives of millions of people… in a way, and to a degree that simply is not possible without this mindset.

And it is NOT JUST about getting the right people on the bus, which is important.  It’s also about how we on-board, compensate, evaluate, manage, develop, and retain our people. 

So, this afternoon, I want to ask you to make a commitment.  Whether you are a social entrepreneur, a funder, a government employee, or a thought leader in the sector….  I want to ask you to really explore what it would look like to make human capital your organization’s number one priority.  Think about how you would go about doing it.  What would change?  And what benefits you could expect to see from that shift.

So, let’s go back to imagining.  I can imagine a social innovation movement that that puts people-first across the board.  I can imagine a sector that is better, stronger, smarter, more efficient, more effective, grows more rapidly, and brings increasingly high levels of social change to a world that needs it.

Imagine all of your staff and volunteer positions filled with cracker-jack, rock-star talent, and with those people being managed and developed in a tightly aligned organizational culture that allows them to achieve their fullest potential.

Or, imagine that they might as well be sitting in the Cayman’s.

Imagine it.

At last year’s conference, IS introduced the American Express NGen Fellows Program. As Commongood Careers is a member of the NGen advisory committee, we are pleased to announce the second year of this unique leadership opportunity, which builds the capacity of 12 under-40 professionals from IS member organizations to shape the future of the nonprofit community.  The IS website provides details about the fellows program, including how to apply.  Completed applications are due March 29.

NGen fellows will enjoy a series of exceptional opportunities over the course of nine months, including collaborating with other under-40 leaders, interacting with established mentors, and contributing to IS’s work on nonprofit impact and leadership. Independent Sector will host the 12 fellows at our D.C. offices for a kick-off event in late August, and they will receive complementary registration and lodging to take part in the IS Annual Conference in Atlanta, October 20-22.  These experiences will culminate in a six-month group project that advances their leadership skills and contributes to the ability of emerging leaders to collaborate on sector-wide issues.

The American Express NGen Fellows Program is just one part of IS’s NGen initiative, which is designed to deepen the nonprofit talent pool by developing the leadership opportunities and professional networks of emerging leaders.  The inaugural cohort of fellows continues to work on the collaborative project that is at the heart of the program, and we encourage you to complete their online survey if you haven’t done so already. We have also already begun planning for this year’s NGen program in Atlanta; mark your calendars now for targeted NGen events open to all under-40 leaders October 19-20. 

This fellowship program offers dedicated young professionals at IS member organizations a rare opportunity to magnify their impact and accelerate their careers. We encourage you to apply today!

What’s more? You can earn $1,000 if you refer someone they hire. When making a referral, please tell them you heard about this opportunity through Commongood Careers.

Click here to see full rules and details and to refer someone.  View all current openings online.

How so, you ask? Because the culture of Commongood Careers embraces transparency and communication. It would be a really unusual situation for our CEO (or any member of our senior management team) to not be involved at some level with the work of the entire team, including entry-level staff. Every strategy we pursue, every project we work on is communicated to all staff through bi-monthly staff meetings. We have a number of internal working groups that represent a cross-section of all staff levels, from entry-level to executive. Our workplace culture is so non-hierarchical that it isn’t unusual to see our CEO fiddling with computers, cleaning the refrigerator, or answer the phone.

So CBS can save their workplace experiments for re-deploying corporate big-wigs to the mail room or assembly line. Like so many of our nonprofit clients and partners, we’re happy to have fewer barriers between the executive suite and front office.

These events are free, but space is limited and registration is required. Seats will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis. You must RSVP in order to attend. All events will take place in centrally located downtown hotels. Location and other information will be made available to confirmed attendees.

Please contact Kasey Gagnon at as soon as possible to join the conversation in your region.

New York City
January 20, 2010
8:00-11:00am
Panelists:
- Matthew Klein, Blue Ridge Foundation
- Charles Best, DonorsChoose.org
- Lara Galinsky, Echoing Green
- Mike O’Brien, iMentor
- George Overholser, Nonprofit Finance Fund

Boston
January 22, 2010
8:00-11:00am

Panelists:
- Michael Brown, City Year
- Eric Schwarz, Citizen Schools
- Doug Borchard, New Profit, Inc.
- Alexandra Quinn, Project HEALTH

San Francisco
January 27, 2010
8:00-11:00am
Panelists:
- Suzanne McKechnie Klahr, BUILD
- Anne Marie Burgoyne, Draper Richards Foundation
- Louise Davis, Peer Health Exchange
- Jill Vialet, Playworks

Washington, D.C.
February 2, 2010
8:00-11:00am

Panelists:
- Darell Hammond, KaBOOM!
- Kirsten Lodal, LIFT
- Brett Jenks, Rare Conservation
- Eleanor Rutland, Venture Philanthropy Partners

In the wake of an unemployment rate at 10 percent, the White House last week reached out to approximately 130 leaders from business, government, academia, labor and the nonprofit sector to seek input on the most effective ways to create jobs.

While President Obama emphasized that “true economic recovery is only going to come from the private sector,” he recognized the important role that local government can play in spurring investment in communities and sought out suggestions from cities by inviting five mayors from across the country to participate in the White House Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth. President Obama also encouraged Americans around the country to gather and discuss employment issues and solutions in their local communities.

Since then, thousands of citizens has responded to this call to action. Due to the overwhelming response, the White House has extended the deadline to January 7, 2010. This is an exciting opportunity to explore how to address job creation with your local neighbors, business owners, elected officials, and others who have felt the impact of the economic crisis firsthand.

If you are interested in hosting a jobs discussion in your community, complete this form. The White House will then email you discussion questions and other materials to help make your event as productive as possible and give you instructions on to how to share feedback with the White House staff.

The result of this kind of thinking can be detrimental to all types of organizations, whether they are private businesses or nonprofits. Even in this “buyer’s market” of talent, organizations risk falling into common pitfalls if they do not view HR as a strategic, value-adding function of their organizations.

Short of capital to support these efforts falling from the sky (or being provided by funders), what can nonprofits do? We make a number of suggestions for how nonprofit leaders can invest in their most important resources—their people—without breaking the bank in our survey report The Voice of Nonprofit Talent.

Still, until nonprofit leaders recognize the importance of these issues, they will continue to take a backseat to other “more important” priorities. We think it’s time that human capital gains the spotlight it deserves. Without the ability to recruit, retain, and develop people, nonprofit organizations cannot truly reach their potential and succeed.

Is this good advice? Should you delete your college graduation date from your resume? Dye your hair?  What do you think of the spa in Arlington, Va., that offered free Botox treatments for unemployed people? Can you make age and experience an asset?

Take a short survey about age bias in the job market and let your voice be heard.

As many hiring organizations are in the unique position these days of having too many resumes for their open positions, it’s tempting to instantly disqualify candidates who, at a glance, do not appear to be a match the expected profile for an open position.

So when a resume reads “20 years of experience in…” for a position that only requires 5 years of experience, you may be tempted to slide that resume to the bottom of the pile.

However, before discounting candidates based on their years of work experience or seeming “over-qualification,” there are a few things you may want to consider:

1. Establish the core criteria of a position – for example the required skills and type of previous experience – and stick with it when screening applicants. If an “overexperienced” candidate clearly demonstrates success against your criteria, then he’s probably a good fit after all. (Note: this is a best practice for evaluating all of your candidates.)

2. Avoid making assumptions, such as “this person will be unhappy in this position,” “we’ll never be able to afford this person’s salary,” or “someone at this level isn’t a good fit for this role.”

3. Just because someone has held senior management or other leadership roles, don’t penalize her in advance for applying to a front line or mid-management role. (Remember, leaders are team players too.) Again, look for evidence of fit in the applicant’s experience and skills, not simply in their former job titles.

4. When considering candidates who have more years of work experience than required for a job, one question that often comes up for hiring managers is “why would this person want to do this job?” Look for answers in the applicant’s cover letter, or probe on this during a phone interview. There are most likely valid reasons why he’s drawn to your open position or organization.

5. At the end of a good conversation, delve into what it’s really like working at your organization. Paint an honest picture of the role. For example, if you’re concerned that an experienced candidate won’t “roll up his sleeves and jump in,” make it clear that this is an essential part of the role, as well as your organization’s culture.

There has never been a more energized call to volunteer service than what we are experiencing today. Fueled by The White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, as well as the work of phenomenal groups like America First, Be The Change, Civic Ventures, and others, the profile of volunteerism has been raised.

A few of the factors impacting the professionalism of volunteering include:

• A dramatic increase of opportunities, including a tripling of Americorps opportunities beginning in 2010 and the creation of a $10 million Volunteer Generation Fund, as part of the Serve America Act.
• The trend of Baby Boomer aged adults looking to lend their professional skills on a volunteer basis to nonprofits, as well as the formation of Senior Corps, a $220.9 million project to support nearly 500,000 Senior Corps volunteers.
• The existence of volunteer programs, such as the Taproot Foundation, connecting nonprofit with in-demand professionals with backgrounds in corporate marketing, communications, and strategic management.

What does this mean for jobseekers? There are now tens of thousands of opportunities for those with professional and in-demand skills available in the nonprofit sector, with even more to become available in the near future. For many, these opportunities not only allow you to gain more experience in the nonprofit sector, but also lay the groundwork for employment opportunities.

Professional volunteering is an especially compelling option for sector switchers, or those new to the nonprofit sector. According to Robert Rosenthal of VolunteerMatch, “A challenging volunteer gig can be an important career move. Workers from a broad array of industries are being challenged to rethink how they contribute to society, and more and more of these folks are finding that volunteering is a great way to stay sharp, develop new expertise, and demonstrate the leadership that will carry them to their next professional challenge.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Published in April 2009, the report “Finding Leaders for America’s Nonprofits” suggests that the leadership deficit previously forecasted by Bridgespan in 2006 has widened. According to the report, senior job openings grew to 77,000 in 2008, a figure that is 43% greater than what had been predicted in Bridgespan’s 2006 survey report, “The Nonprofit Sector’s Leadership Deficit.”

Additionally, and despite the current economic conditions, 28% of organizations surveyed plan to fill over 24,000 senior management roles in 2009.

Where will these leaders come from? While Bridgespan suggests that talent recruited from the corporate and government sectors can step in to fill these roles, that is just one piece of the puzzle. The need for organizations to develop leaders from within has never been greater. The ability to identify “next generation” leaders within your own organization, and then provide career ladders, mentoring and other professional development opportunities will also help to address the leadership challenge. By thinking creatively and broadly – both within and outside of our organizations—there are solutions to the leadership gap.

As could be expected, much of the conversation at the conference centered around the economy’s impact on career paths and longevity. According to Allyson, the overall vibe about long-term career opportunities in the sector hovered around cautious optimism. While there was concern about the ability to retain one’s job (about 5% of conference attendees had been laid off this year) or build a long-term career (many attendees planned to work in the government or private sector at some point), there was an overall belief that the sector will continue to grow and create opportunities for young professionals. This sentiment was especially true for people who worked in the education field or other sub-sectors that may benefit from initiatives such as the Serve America Act and Obama’s economic stimulus packages to nonprofits.

When the topic of the “leadership gap” arose, practically all YNPNers in attendance saw the glass as half-full. The feeling of “we’re here and ready to lead” overwhelmed any perception that the nonprofit sector is either currently experiencing or heading for a leadership crisis. As Allyson summarized, “This generation is the solution. We’re doing everything we can to prepare for leadership roles.”

This got me thinking about what it takes to really love a job, especially one less glamorous than Chief of State or celebrity socialite. Particularly when it comes to nonprofit jobs, is the satisfaction we get from contributing to positive change in the world enough to make us fall in love with work?

To get to the bottom of this, I talked to the happiest guy I know: Kevin Flynn, Director of Client Services at Commongood Careers. (This is not to say that the rest of our staff is not exceedingly satisfied. Kevin just turns his love to eleven.)

According to Kevin, job-love is all about the “who.” As in the people he gets to work with and for. He said that it’s the ability to interact with some of the most fascinating and inspiring people and organizations in the country, on a daily basis, that lets him love what he does.

So there you have it. It’s not always what we do, but who we do it with and for. Let that be a lesson to anyone who works alone in a cave.

As an NGen sponsor, we at Commongood Careers are excited to see these issues being addressed at one of the most well-attended and influential nonprofit conferences.

Learn more about NGen.

So what made September so special? In truly historic terms, ServiceNation launched a national and groundbreaking campaign, elevating the conversation about citizen service to a new level. For those who are unfamiliar, ServiceNation is a coalition of organizations dedicated to strengthening our democracy and solving problems through civic engagement and service, of which Commongood Careers is a proud member.

Kicking off the campaign on September 11th in New York City, Senators Obama and McCain set aside partisanship to speak together at a Presidential Forum about the importance of service and their views on how to expand its impact.  The following day, the ServiceNation Summit brought together hundreds of leaders – nonprofit and for-profit CEO’s, elected and appointed government officials, army generals and celebrities – to discuss and embrace the future of citizen service.  But the rubber really hit the road on September 27th’s “Day of Action,” during which more than 2,700 service events were organized across all 50 states to showcase the power and potential of service.

The month also brought some of the most powerful legislation in decades to expand and improve service opportunities when, on September 12th, Senators Kennedy and Hatch introduced “The Serve America Act” with co-sponsorship from Senators Clinton, Obama and McCain.  When many policy efforts grind to a halt during an election cycle, waiting to see what the election will bring, it is tremendously encouraging to know that the next President of the United States has already endorsed this sweeping and important reform.

These developments are likely to have a profound impact on the workforce of the nonprofit sector, as more and more people are introduced to service and earn marketable experiences working to those ends.  Particularly in response to conversations about the sector’s impending leadership crisis, there may be few more effective strategies for increasing the talent supply than to expand national service programs like City Year, Public Allies, Civic Ventures and Teach For America.

Finally, it is also worth noting that this work represents some of the absolute best tenants of social entrepreneurship – innovating new approaches to addressing social problems, pursuing audacious goals, measuring impacts, and building powerful cross-sector coalitions.  As is often the case with successful examples of social entrepreneurship, and as was certainly the case during ServiceNation events, I found myself thinking daily about Margaret Mead’s often quoted observation: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” 

As a citizen of the world and on behalf of all of us…. thank you ServiceNation!

Net Impact, an international community of new leaders who use business to improve the world, is currently conducting a survey to inform a report on MBAs working in the social sector. Participate in the survey

Will portfolio work turn epidemic? Probably not, although its incidence is growing, according to recruiters, career coaches, and others who follow trends in work culture. James Weinberg, a recruiter for nonprofits, sees an uptick in those willing to work this way - and those willing to hire them.

More job candidates are asking Weinberg for part-time work, saying, ” ‘I’m trying to knit together a career’, or ‘I’d like to have multiple roles that will allow me flexibility,’ ” observes Weinberg, chief executive of Commongood Careers in Boston. Sometimes, executives work on a shared basis for several groups, splitting their time between jobs, he says.

Read the full article.

There is an ongoing debate in the nonprofit sector on what makes an organization a social entrepreneur. Forces for Good, a recent voice on the subject, provides a fresh approach to this topic.

To make the distinction between social entrepreneurs and traditional nonprofits, authors Crutchfield and McLeod-Grant spent four years researching the management techniques of hundreds of nonprofits.  Their findings target the management techniques of twelve nonprofits that they conclude are examples of high-impact, socially entrepreneurial change agents.  In their analysis of these organizations, Crutchfield and McLeod-Grant posit that these groups do not measure success through revenue increases, brand recognition or organizational chart sophistication.  Instead these twelve social trailblazers measure success by the change they are affecting in the piece of the world that they are attempting to improve. 

While old-school nonprofit management looks to governance, organizational structure, fundraising and other internally facing strategies to build a strong organization, social entrepreneurs focus their energy externally through six creative techniques.  These techniques (such as one that advises nonprofit groups to cross sectors and include for-profit partners into the execution of the mission) challenge traditional nonprofits to rethink goals and strategies in the execution of their mission. By exposing limitations and even flaws in traditional thinking, Forces for Good identifies commonly held myths about nonprofit management that are indicative of an outdated system of thought.

The authors conclude that the twelve nonprofits in study focus on the end-goals of creating impact and improving society rather than focusing on building a secure, fiscally sound organization, as their traditional counterparts so often obsess.  The authors offer well researched and thought out examples of innovative approaches to management employed by these groups. The case for innovation and out-of-the-box thinking is also supported by the authors’ warning against reckless management based on wild idealism.  The success of the organizations featured in Forces for Good is instead a product of an unwavering management philosophy that postures mission above tradition.

BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life)
Citizen Schools
Civic Builders
College Summit
DonorsChoose.org
New Leaders for New Schools
Points of Light Foundation & HandsOn Network
Reach Out and Read
Room to Read
Year Up

We are honored to help each of these organizations build stronger teams, scale operations, and ultimately create deeper impacts in the communities they serve.

Read the full list of winners.

In all organizations, diversity of experience and backgrounds has proven itself to be a vital success factor. This can be gained through many types of diversity, including racial and ethnic diversity. Diversifying a team’s membership increases the range of opinions, ideas and opportunities available in decision-making processes. This, in turn, will improve the quality of those decisions, the ease of new strategy implientation, and the organization’s effectiveness in meeting its goals.

Social and human service organizations have are particularly sensitive to ensuring ethnic and racial diversity because so many of these organizations serve a highly diverse constituency. In order to most effectively understand and respond to the needs of their clients and partners, social service organizations know that their staff should be reflective of the communities they serve. Some funding organizations have recognized the importance of these facts and have started to require staff diversity reporting among their grantees.

The social sector needs to continue to improve its workplace diversity, particularly at the senior management level. In order to achieve these goals, Commongood Careers makes several broad recommendations:

(1) Build a hiring pool of diverse talent through constant, year-round outreach to targeted communities and groups, instead of focusing on outreach only for open positions;

(2) Structure your searches so that you can allow a longer hiring window, possibly adding 2-3 months to a search, in order to ensure that every effort has been made to include diverse candidates in the final candidate pool, especially with senior level hires;

(3) Build an internal pipeline of diverse talent by hiring for diversity at lower organizational levels and then ensuring effective retention and career laddering to grow that talent into senior management roles.

Organizations that truly value diversity at all levels have proven to be the most successful at building workplace diversity. Making diversity an organizational priority in all areas, as opposed to focusing on diversity only in recruiting, will make your organization stronger on many levels and will enable you to attract and retain diverse candidates more effectively.

BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life)
Citizen Schools
Hands On Network
Jumpstart
Nonprofit Finance Fund
Teach for America
Year Up

A very special congratulations to these organizations! We at Commongood Careers are honored to be helping to hire talent and build the teams of these organizations.

We know first-hand the value of employee referrals. Out of all of the searches we’ve completed in the past year, nearly 50% of placements have come either from the Commongood Careers network or the network of the hiring organization. When we begin any search, we reach out to our professional and personal contacts to explore their interest in a given position or to find out if they know anyone who might be interested. Besides drumming up buzz about a specific position, this strategy also helps us stay in touch with our networks and develop a talent pipeline.

Hiring interns is another effective way for entrepreneurial organizations to build relationships with developing talent. When hiring interns, it’s critical to make sure there is a valuable role an intern can play in your organization. Remember, interns are typically looking for meaningful work experience and exposure to the mission-critical aspects of your organizations. A summer of taking lunch orders or shredding paper is not a meaningful internship. Interns are typically bright and ambitious; employ these talented resources wisely and you may be surprised at what they can accomplish.