Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Altruistic Tuesdays – Should you consider working for a charity?

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Have you considered making a change for a career in the non-profit sector? Now might be a good time to start thinking about it.

Dan Macsai for Fast Company reports that The Chronicle of Philanthropy found:

Despite tough times for charities, a trio of new surveys of nonprofit organizations in New York, New Jersey, and Washington [DC] shows that most plan to hire in the year ahead—and that the overwhelming majority plan to raise staff salaries in 2010 or at least hold them steady.

The survey, which studied 1,200 organizations from October to December of 2009 (700 of those located in New York) points to higher salaries for fund-raising jobs, which were up by 10%. Senior-level finance jobs paid 7% more.

Gayle Brandel, president of Professional for Nonprofits, said, “Even in tough times…nonprofit clients…have a hard time filling those roles, “so they’re willing to pay a little more.”

Fast Company offers some advice:

“Safe bets include educational groups, hospitals, and charities that work with homeless people or AIDS patients–program areas that received increased government funding. However, it’d be best to avoid small social-services or arts groups, both of which “seem to have the toughest time,” says Gayle Brandel, president of Professional for Nonprofits.”

Professionals for Nonprofits 2009 salary surveys are available free on the company’s Web site. Go to: http://www.nonprofitstaffing.com.

If you are in the Atlanta area, Opportunity Knocks and the Georgia Center for Nonprofits are presenting a day of workshops and consultative sessions to help you improve your job and nonprofit career development strategies and job-seeking skills. This is how they describe the event:

Led by experienced and qualified career consultants, nonprofit leaders and subject matter experts you will learn how to become more competitive in the nonprofit job marketplace.

Who Should Attend? Nonprofit professionals seeking to advance their career and for-profit/corporate professionals looking to switch careers to the nonprofit sector.

PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIPS STILL AVAILABLE!

March 23, 2010
The Lodge at Simpsonwood
Rollins Center Building
4511 Jones Bridge Circle, NW
Norcross, GA 30092
8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Click here for information.

(I will be volunteering for part of the day at this event. Hope to see you there!)

photo by olib

Spring forward – The Progress Challenge

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It seems appropriate, on the day that we “spring forward” on our clocks, to share some things that I enjoyed about another book by Dean Lindsay, The Progress Challenge. (Read my review of his book, Cracking the Networking Code HERE.)

Lindsay notes,

“Change is inevitable, progress is a choice.”

In his trademark, high-energy style, Lindsay explains how to BE progress – to choose progress. He explains the connections between how we think about what we do and doing it, and provides a blueprint for meeting this challenge. He begins the book by asking a question that I believe is relevant for job seekers – What is motivational, and are you it?

Have you thought about it? He suggests that “each of us has the need and the opportunity to be motivated every day of our lives” (p 29). He points out, “Why else would others listen to us, utilize our services, hire us, be led by us?” Right from the start, a key career message. How do you motivate others? What impact do you (or might you) have that will appeal to someone?

Lindsay explains how to think about how to move forward and offers many suggestions to help even the most unmotivated candidate shake off the stress, anxiety and general malaise that may be preventing him or her from springing forward.

One coping mechanism that I like? “#5 Find and Create Humor (p. 138). How many times have you stopped to try to find a single iota of irony or laughter in a situation. If even things are so bad, laughing at it  (or thinking of crazy ways that it could be EVEN WORSE) can sometimes provide a little relief. Can you laugh at yourself? Is there any humor there? If not, maybe creating some would help?

The author reminds his readers: “Progress does not demand perfection, only persistence” (p. 198). How perfectly true! I often remind myself that the “Perfect is the enemy of the good” – if you stay paralyzed, waiting for perfection, it’s unlikely you will ever move ahead with your plans. Similarly, progress does not need to be perfect, it just needs to be moving, which requires consistent and frequent effort on your part.

I enjoyed The Progress Challenge and am sure anyone (job seeker, salesperson, manager, leader, anyone with an eye on the future) will get a lot out of the, yes – motivational book, quotes and action plans.

Want to receive a free copy? Leave a comment about what motivates you, what is keeping you stuck – what you think about any of this! I will choose a winner at random and Dean will send you a copy of his book! (He may even send out several!)

Learn more about Dean Lindsay at his website: www.DeanLindsay.com or follow him on Twitter @DeanLindsay.

"Be brilliant in the basics" and other career advice from the Olympics

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I am not even going to pretend to be a hockey fan. It is not a sport that interests me in the least. In fact, when I saw a tweet about the game between the U.S. and Canada, I thought, “Okay – I can take a night off from watching the Olympics.”

However, I was interested to learn that Team USA defeated the Canadians in their showdown earlier today. This is how Yahoo! reported it:

“The Americans didn’t believe in miracles. They just believed.

And they pulled off the biggest Olympic hockey upset since the Miracle on Ice, stunning Canada 5-3 on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of an already mixed-up tournament.

Brian Rafalski scored two goals, Ryan Miller held off a flurry of shots and the Americans quieted a raucous, pro-Canada crowd that came to cheer its dream team, only to see it upstaged by a bunch of unproven kids.

One day short of the 30th anniversary of the country’s greatest hockey victory—the unfathomable win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid—these underrated Americans were faster, more disciplined and more determined than Canada’s collection of all-stars.”

With a historical (30-year old!) “Dream Team” on their minds, an exceptionally young team, wearing uniforms almost identical to that storied, gold-medal winning team, beat the Canadian gold-medal favorites.

How did that happen?

Yahoo! reports:

“U.S. team officials ringed the team’s dressing room with motivational messages, like “Be Brilliant in the Basics” as a reminder that Olympic games are won with team play, good goaltending and attention to detail, not necessarily by the team with the biggest names. They got all the above.”

See your career message? “Be brilliant in the basics.” How great is that? You don’t need to be the one with the biggest reputation, or have the most experience to land the job. You need to pay attention to the details, to work hard, and to go for your dream in a way that only someone who tastes the victory can do.

You don’t need to be the biggest to be the best. You need to work the hardest. That means preparing – doing research, creating amazing materials (resume, letter, online profiles, etc.), interviewing with heart and passion AND being prepared to explain how and why you are the only one who can solve the organization’s problems.

If you have been looking for a job for an extended time, you may be getting discouraged. Don’t let it happen to you. You can only imagine the downward spiral a negative attitude will have on your job search. Think like a winner. BELIEVE that you CAN do it, but also know that you need to MAKE IT HAPPEN. Just as the underrated Team USA was  “faster, more disciplined and more determined” than their opponents, as a job seeker, what can you do to get the advantage you need?

“The Americans didn’t believe in miracles. They just believed.”

What do you believe?

photo by crackerbunny

Thinking about making a change for a career in teaching?

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As part of my new “Altruistic Tuesdays” series, today, I am pleased to highlight a story from Encore.org:

John Kostibas saw the problem in the educational pipeline. As a major player in the telecommunications revolution and an engineer himself, Kostibas noticed “a huge decline in American engineering students, all stemming from a math phobia they had in middle and high school.”

He was 54. “My thought was that if I can help them get over this phobia, I can direct more students into engineering and technology careers.” After years of start-ups and high stress business deals, Kostibas decided the time was right. “I was ready to do what I always wanted to do, which was teach math in high school.”

Even though he was an engineer, John still needed to pursue his certification in teaching. He was lucky to be able to find a program that was geared to career changers and fast-tracked his plans. Today, as a math teacher at a high school in Louisville, Texas, he is able to show students that math is relevant and useful as a result of his real-world work experiences.

Encore.org offers resources to help you learn about opportunities to volunteer in a classroom before you make the change, alternative certification programs for qualified applicants and subsidies from companies and government programs to help cover the costs associated with preparing to teach. Follow this link to connect to Encore.org’s suggestions for people thinking of making a change to a career in the classroom.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more resources and things to consider if you are thinking about teaching!

photo by Miranda310

What to tell your job references

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My colleague, August Cohen (@resume_writeron Twitter) tweeted about preparing your references to talk about you should a prospective employer call. This is an often overlooked topic. Job seekers are so busy trying to get interviews, often thinking ahead to the next step (references) is an afterthought. Some things to think about..

Many job seekers overlook this important part of the job hunt. Especially if you have often reached the final stages without landing the job, touching base with those who may hold the keys to your next position is a great idea!

Whom to Ask? Ideally, you should have a current or immediate past employer as a reference. Co-workers and trusted subordinates may also be references, but most hiring managers will want to hear from employers. If you are a student or recently graduated, faculty members may serve as references. If you have had a leadership role in a volunteer organization, “supervisors” from that organization may be good references for you.

Ask permission. Once you have in mind who you’d like to serve, ask their permission. If they seem hesitant or hedge at all, allow them to bow out gracefully. You don’t want to browbeat your references into helping you. (They may hurt more than help.) The best references are those who are enthusiastically supportive.

Prepare your references to support you! Be sure they have the most updated version of your resume and a cover letter for the position if you have one. Let them know if you expect they will be called, and offer suggestions of topics they may want to emphasize.

When I was applying for one of my jobs, I knew that teamwork and the willingness to pitch in when necessary were crucial for my potential employer. I emphasized how I was the perfect match (I really was!) in the interview. I also asked my current supervisor (who knew about my search and was my #1 reference) if she could mention some examples of my teamwork when she spoke to my potential boss, who offered me the job as soon as he spoke to her!

Hopefully, you will have a strong relationship with your references and will be comfortable making them partners in your search. Let’s face it - you can get right to the job’s door by having a great resume and interviewing well. The key to get in is in the hands of those who are willing to recommend you for the job!

 

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