Making Changes: Give the Gift of Career Success


Making Changes

A newsletter dedicated to job seekers · December 2011


Quick Links Current Searches Associations Director of Finance SEIU 32BJ New York, NY Senior Director, Media and External Relations - Policy Institute National Urban League Washington, DC Education and Education Reform Director of Advancement Services Spelman College Atlanta, GA Executive Director The Stephen Phillips Memorial Scholarship Fund Salem, MA Executive Director Communications Manager Connecticut Council for Education Reform New Haven, CT Executive Director Boston Preparatory Charter Public School Boston, MA Environmental Advocacy and Sustainability Executive Director California Coastkeeper Alliance San Francisco Bay Area / Sacramento, CA Housing and Homelessness President and Chief Executive Officer The National Center on Family Homelessness Needham, MA International Director of Africa The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Washington, DC Vice President, Human Resources Special Olympics International Washington, DC National and Community Service and Voluntarism Promotion Senior Manager of Training and Learning Interise Boston, MA Philanthropy Vice President of Marketplace Development The Growth Philanthropy Network New York, NY Research and Policy Executive Director Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy Cambridge, MA President and CEO New Economics Institute New York, NY Spirituality, Dialogue, and Holistic Living Assistant Development Director Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Inc. Rhinebeck, NY Women and Girls Executive Director NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts Boston, MA Multiple Searches Planned Parenthood Federation of America National Office Coming Soon! Program Officer, Family Economic Security Program Managers The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Battle Creek, MI See a complete list of our current searches... Other Interesting Opportunities Director of Development College Bound Dorchester Dorchester, Massachusetts Director of Finance & Administration College Bound Dorchester Dorchester, Massachusetts For more information about how to announce your organization's open positions, please contact us today! Need Help in Your Job Search? We provide consulting services via telephone for young professionals, junior managers, senior executives and career transitioners across the career spectrum: Resume Revision Cover Letter Development Job Search Strategy Creation Telephone and Face-to-Face Interview Preparation Negotiation Tactics Package rates for senior executives, career changers, and outplacement services are available. Please inquire about our college and graduate school training; we would be happy to create a presentation that works for your group's needs. Learn more about our rates and allow us to craft an individual package perfect for your job search.

Hello!

In this edition, you'll find helpful tips, a feature article covering a topic central to your search, as well as information regarding our consulting services.

This newsletter is meant to help you in your search. To that end, your feedback is appreciated so that we may continue to improve what we offer.

Give the Gift of Career Success

Do you have a friend, family member, or loved one who is frustrated or dissatisfied in his or her current job? Perhaps someone you care about is struggling to land a job offer in today's tough economy. Maybe you know someone who hasn't needed a resume in many years and is suddenly joining the job market. The holidays are a perfect time to give that person the most thoughtful gift possible-professional career advice.

Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group offers a variety of career services, offered by our Director of Candidate Services, Heather Krasna, who has 14 years of experience as a professional career coach and is the author of Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in Public Service, the only book that covers job search secrets for both nonprofit and government jobs. From in-depth career advising to job search strategy coaching, from resume and cover letter writing to social media for the job search, and from interview preparation to salary negotiation, we are there each step of the way in your job search.

Visit our FAQ page to learn more; learn about our packages and levels of service; and purchase your gift today.

December's Feature Article:
Top Keywords for Nonprofit Resumes

One of the best suggestions I've seen in a while in the job search comes from Martin Yate's new book, Knock 'em Dead - Secrets and Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World. He suggests creating a Target Job Deconstruction. This entails:

Going to any job board, such as Idealist.org, indeed.com, simplyhired.com, publicservicecareers.org, etc., and searching for jobs in your field. Copy and paste at least 10-20 job descriptions-regardless of geographic area or even regardless of whether the jobs are out of date-into a Word file.
Then analyze these jobs to see what they tend to have in common. Look for specifics, like technical skills, industry-specific jargon and acronyms, and computer software.

Add to this my two must-do tricks.

First, copy and paste the Word file into Wordle.net, a "word cloud" generator, to see which keywords are repeated most often in the job description.
Then, visit the Skills section of LinkedIn.com (under the "more" tab on the top right side of the page) to type in some of these skills and see a list of other relevant terms.

After reading thousands of job descriptions in the nonprofit sector, I already know some of the most frequently used keywords. So I'll make it easy for you. Here is a list of keywords I see for specific job descriptions in nonprofit careers...

Click here for Heather's keywords list....

What We're Reading...

Martin Yate's new book, Knock 'em Dead - Secrets and Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World, is another excellent, funny, and pithy read from a best-selling career book author. The book gives a great overview of how the job market has changed since the recession and what job seekers can do to present themselves as powerfully as possible. The book is interspersed with quotes from highly experienced recruiters, conveying the perspective of decision-makers in various industries on what makes a candidate successful.