How to Secure Your Dream Nonprofit Job

If you want to enter the nonprofit industry, now is a good time to apply for your dream job.

There’s a high chance for you to secure your dream nonprofit job, now that many organizations have openings for competent professionals. In fact, the National Council of Nonprofits states that one in three nonprofit organizations have vacancy rates between 10-19%. Meanwhile, about 26.2% of organizations have job openings for 20-29% of their positions.

While competent professionals have always been crucial for nonprofit organizations, there is a higher demand for individuals who want to serve various communities this year. To ensure that you can serve the community closest to your heart, you’ll need to take the following steps that can help you secure your dream nonprofit job:

Build enough skills and work experience

The very first step that you should take is to build up your qualifications for your dream position. Most professionals in nonprofit organizations build their credentials by taking up degree and graduate programs related to their field, such as social work, nonprofit management, or environmental science.

Aside from investing in your education, you can build your work experience through an internship program, a volunteering program, or even your own initiatives. To illustrate, our guide to ‘Online Fundraising for Nonprofits’ shows that you can raise money for initiatives with the help of websites like Paybee, GoFundMe, or Kickstarter. These websites allow you to run fundraising campaigns for causes close to your heart, while also helping you build competencies that are in demand among nonprofits.

Know where to look for nonprofit vacancies

Now that you have enough skills and experience for your dream job, you need to start looking for opportunities in the nonprofit sector. Fortunately, it’s easier to look for jobs through digital platforms.

For starters, you can set up a LinkedIn profile so that you can easily search for employment opportunities through the app. You can also join nonprofit networking job sites, such as Global Impact Investing Network or Net Impact, to access jobs from specific impact investing leaders. Finally, you can check the websites of popular organizations to see if they have any active openings for your dream job.

Include important details in your cover letter

Once you spot a vacancy for your desired role, you have to contact your prospective employer and express your interest in the position. Typically, you’ll have to write an e-mail with a cover letter and other required documents to apply for the role.

The cover letter is usually the very first thing that your prospective employer will see, so you need to capture their attention through this document. The email cover letter samples by LHH show that you must clearly state your relevant skills and experience, as well as what you’re hoping to accomplish in the role, to impress the employers. You should also include important details, such as the position you are applying for, your full name, and your contact details to make it easier for the organization to stay in touch with you.

Create a resume that highlights your competencies

After reading your cover letter, your prospective employer will review your resume to thoroughly assess your skills and work experience. You can increase your chances of getting hired for your dream nonprofit job by highlighting skills and work experiences that are relevant to the position that you’re applying for. Try to refer to the job description for the role so that you can list down relevant competencies in your resume.

You can also further impress your prospective employer by including skills that are in demand in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Quarterly shares that language experts are important in these organizations because they can easily connect with different audiences and with people of various literacy levels. By highlighting your skills in various languages, you can show your dream organization how you can help them scale their projects and connect with more communities.

Prepare for tough interview questions about the role

Nonprofit organizations will contact you for an interview after reviewing your cover letter and resume. Interviews can be nerve-wracking for many people, which is why it’s beneficial to prepare for possible interview questions in advance.You can impress your interviewer and potential employer by preparing for the interview through the nonprofit hiring interview questions listed by Inside Charity. The list can help you get ready because it provides plenty of questions that nonprofits may ask as well as possible answers that you may use as a response. For instance, if you are asked how you could improve the organization over other candidates, you can talk about your experience in a similar role and describe which of your skills match the needs of the organization.The nonprofit sector needs professionals like you. So if you have a dream job in the sector, it's time to prepare everything that you need for your application.