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Category: Career advice

Quick! Sell yourself!

nonprofitchapin

I bet if you asked twenty people their top five hated activities, networking would be mentioned more than once. People hate networking. It feels awkward, scary and weird. But it doesn’t have to! Here are some tips to remember when networking!

  • Make an elevator speech for yourself. We’ve all heard of the phrase elevator speech – the idea that you have 30 seconds to describe the organization you work for. Concoct a description of you and what you’re looking for in three sentences or less. Example: “I work doing fundraising and marketing for a nonprofit in San Diego, and my ultimate goal is to become a CEO of a nonprofit. I’m interested in learning more about nonprofit operations and all the facets that make them work.” Follow your elevator speech with the next bullet. Note: Even if you don’t have a job/aren’t working in the field you want, you can still make a self elevator speech! Lead with your passion and you’ll get what you’re hoping for.
  • Balance what you want with what they want. As humans, we’re inherently selfish. What’s in it for me? is the first thing we ask ourselves in everything we do. Make your self elevator speech about what you can offer to the listener. If they represent a nonprofit you’d like to get to know, offer to visit their facility or make a donation. Demonstrating your value up front is the best way to make an impression.
  • Listen. It sounds easy, but it can be harder than you think! Let go of all distractions when you’re networking and focus on what you’re saying and what the listener is saying. Respond to what she says. If she interjects with a shared experience, listen to it and respond. It takes two to tango – don’t make the conversation one sided.
  • Show your interest. Make eye contact. Give a firm handshake. Smile. These things make a world of difference! When you outwardly express ease and interest, the listener will do the same. Have you heard of the phrase smile and the world smiles with you? It’s true!

These tips could translate to many situations – in an interview, when meeting your boyfriend’s parents, or even in any workplace conversation. If you respect the listener and that comes across in your interaction, you’ll have them hanging on your every word!

-N.C.

Thank You, Emily Baime and Emily Marx

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It’s been ten days since Rosetta posted this option for a blog post, but as soon as I saw it I knew I had to do it: write about a mentor or someone who has made an impact on your life or career. The only difficult thing was choosing who to write about… ultimately, I have decided to write about both women who have impacted my life and career goals in a big way :). I saved the prompt in my email and finally have time to sit down and write it. (Life was a bit of a whirlwind these past two weeks, you know, getting into grad school and everything!) Sorry for the long post – I promise it’s worth it!!

Emily Baime

Emily was my supervisor at my first job out of college, and boy, am I happy she was. Emily truly shaped the woman I am today in regards to my working style and career goals. I am so grateful for all she’s done for me. Here is just a short list of some of the things I learned from her.

  • I was born to lead. I was shocked to learn that not everyone is like me! Not everyone loves managing projects and thinking strategically about the big picture. Even in the nonprofit sector, many people are there simply to do a job. Emily encouraged me to manage projects in ways that aren’t common for an entry level worker, and that experience showed me that’s when I’m happiest – with lots of responsibility and accountability. That shaped my goal to always lead.
  • Want to get things done? Try on someone else’s shoes. Emily taught me the formula to getting a project approved, and it has worked every time I’ve tried it. The crux of the formula is to think like the person you need approval from. Maybe that person was once embarrassed by forgetting a donor’s name – plan to have nametags at your event. Outlining these things is the key to getting any project approved, and Emily showed me that.
  • I can only control one person: myself. I’m not going to lie – I had a tough time adjusting to the working world. Before, my whole life had revolved around making everyone happy, whether it be my family, friends, teachers, anyone but myself… so, I ventured into my first job with the same goal. I quickly learned that I was attempting the impossible. People at work would be moody or dissatisfied… and I took it personally. I learned to focus on myself and my own work and do the best I could, not constantly worry about everyone else.

Emily is a strong, driven woman herself: outside of her day job, she has started up the sustainable food focused organization Community Tap & Table, which puts on gourmet cooking classes that pair food with beer. Any surplus funds from each class are donated to a nonprofit focused on connecting the community through food. Not bad for after 5:00 each day.

Emily Marx

Emily was the Community Service Coordinator in what is now the Center for Student Involvement (CSI) at UCSD when I was a student there (she’s now the center’s director). She was the driving force behind creating Alternative Breaks, the student organization I helped found and that has been a huge part of my life. But she did so much more than help with copies and club politics – she helped me form my own definition of leadership, which I will carry with me for the rest of my life and while I grow into my own leader. Here’s a short list of what she helped me learn.

  • Leadership starts with listening. A common misconception is that the leader is the loudest person in the room. In fact, true leadership is the ability to hold your opinions and preconceived notions to yourself while you gather everyone else’s view. The core of leadership is being able to take all these opinions, combine them with your own, and make the decision that takes into account all of this. Emily taught me that a good leader is a person of supreme balance and poise.
  • It’s good to get out of your comfort zone once in a while. The reason Emily and I have both done so many Alternative Break trips is because we both subscribe to this theory. It’s not easy to travel to another country where you may or may not know the language with people you met a few months ago and be completely vulnerable with your feelings. No matter how hard it is, it’s good for you. You always finish the experience with a renewed faith in yourself and the choices you make. And that’s always a good thing.
  • Humility is the key to happiness. Emily taught me the importance of diversity in every sense of the word – diversity in perspectives, backgrounds, interests, experiences, and so on. It is key to not only surround myself with different viewpoints, but to listen to them with a genuine interest and consider carefully what they are saying. Everyone in this world has an opinion and every single one is valid. It’s important to remember that mine is not any better than anyone else’s.

Emily effects so many students on a daily basis; she really is helping to form the next generation of leaders, politicians, teachers, activists, and citizens. She does an amazing job as the Director of CSI, helping all other advisors to do what she did with me – it’s something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Sorry for the long post this time, but I just couldn’t choose between them (you can clearly see why)! I hope that you also have experienced an amazing mentor relationship… and if you haven’t, seek one out! They will teach you things about yourself that you never would have known.

-N.C.

Time to Celebrate!

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What a wonderful Sunday morning surprise. Not only had my good friend Jerry subscribed by email to my blog, I was mentioned in Rosetta Thurman’s wonderful blog, Blogging for Branding, here! Rosetta is the reason I started this blog. I first came across Rosetta in the online world through her blog, aptly named Rosetta Thurman. The blog’s theme is what attracted me: Empowering a New Generation of Leaders. If you know me, you know what a leadership nerd I am. 🙂 When I saw her on the docket for speakers for the San Diego Young Nonprofit Professionals (YNPN) group in November, I knew I had to go! In the presentation, she referred to the book she just published with Trista Harris, How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar, so I ordered it. I read the book cover to cover and loved everything it had to offer – practical tips to further your nonprofit career and make yourself well-rounded and marketable. Who doesn’t want to learn about that? It will definitely be a book I will continue to read to remind myself of good practices. The book had a pretty good emphasis on writing a blog, which I first was unsure about, but thought about it… I have plenty of opinions and nuggets of advice to offer… if it will help brand my name for potential employers and connections, why not? After I saw Rosetta’s challenge on Blogging for Branding of 5 Blog Topics to Build Your Personal Brand, I knew that the time had come… I needed to start writing. Which brings us to today!

I still have lots of work to do to get the word out about my blog, and use many of the techniques that Rosetta suggests, but I feel like I’m off to a good start. I have officially been blogged about by my nonprofit idol. And that’s a reason to celebrate!

-N.C.

Be Indispensable in 2011

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With today’s shaky economy so many of us are worried about job security. Doing your job is simply not good enough anymore. Here are some tips to continue to be viewed as valuable to your employer.

  • Become an expert in your job functions. Note that I didn’t say to become an expert in everything here. You were hired to do a job – do it, and do it well! If one of your job functions is to manage the website, instead of sticking to the usual updates, do some research about your website’s traffic and how you can improve a viewer’s experience. Don’t bog your supervisor down with a million ideas, but put together some recommendations and lay out an expected timeline for implementation . The easier you make things for your supervisor, the more indispensable you’ll become.
  • Always be easy to work with. It’s good to speak your mind and contribute your opinions to a discussion, but always do so with tact and respect. Remember that everyone you are working with is working for the same thing – your nonprofit’s mission. Don’t let personal feelings or vendettas enter into the workplace, especially while working one-on-one with a colleague. Unfortunately, many people are difficult to work with. If you’re not, you will be respected by all of your colleagues – and you never know who’s cozy with the boss.
  • Get friendly with the competition. There is an unspoken line between nonprofit staffers and board members – cross it! Board members are people, too! And they make important decisions about salaries and staffing. In any correspondence with a board member, treat them as you would any donor, with the utmost respect and courtesy. If you’re asked to get checks signed by a board member, take the opportunity during the visit to make small talk, take a look around the building, and be pleasant. Chances are that board member will remember your positive attitude the next time there’s a staffing discussion.
  • Be a Jack (or Jane) of all Trades. Even in a small nonprofit, a job description is usually pretty specific. There are most likely at least 12 things not listed in your job description that you will be asked to do in the first four months. Instead of pouting through it, be open minded and learn different skills. Suddenly you will become the one everyone asks for help with their Outlook, advice on mailings, in replacing the copier toner, in fixing the office toilet (true story!)… don’t get bogged down in these requests but be able to give a helping hand when your workload allows.

Unfortunately, even if you follow these guidelines closely, there will still be people who might have criticisms of you and the way you work. There’s a simple way to address this – be confident! If you are confident in yourself and the job you are carrying out, that will come through in your working style with your colleagues. Managers love nothing more than to believe their employees have everything under control. And if you do, you truly will be indispensable!

-N.C.