Whether you’ve been at your nonprofit job for 2 months or 2 years, it’s natural to wonder what the future holds. Sure this entry-level job will cut it for now, but what about next year? Don’t we all want that big, shiny promotion?
Last night, I was on the phone catching up with one of my cousins. He doesn’t work for a nonprofit, but our roles are similar enough that it’s easy for us to get lost in work chat. We eventually got onto the subject, and began opening up about the different challenges we faced that week.
He started to share a story about one of his supervisors, who I immediately remembered from a past conversation as being uniquely difficult to work with. Continue reading
*This post is the first in a two-part series on how to advance from your entry-level nonprofit role into the next phase of your career.*
When you’re just starting out in the nonprofit sector – or your career – it’s easy to start imagining how your role might evolve. You may be a coordinator or associate now (common terms for the most entry-level roles in nonprofit), but you’ve got great ideas. And you’ve got dreams of moving up the ladder.
As you should.
Organizations benefit from ambitious employees, particularly if they’re jazzed about both the mission and their future at an organization. Your head is in the right space.
But before you run off to plot your first big promotion, Continue reading
For the ambitious nonprofit professional who wants to master their craft, conferences are the way to go. A conference can be a great opportunity to expand your skills, build your professional network, and learn new knowledge to propel your organization forward. As someone who personally loves learning, they really are my jam.
That said, not all conferences are made equal. And not all employers are jumping to send us there.
Credit: Giphy
Some of us may love the work, but maintaining your team’s database isn’t always easy! For anyone who’s ever served as as a nonprofit database manager (and for those folks who have ever worked with that person), here are 20 things that have likely crossed our minds at some point in time.
Last September, I set a lofty professional goal. By 2018, I would get my Salesforce Admin certificate.
For background, I was hired to support our nonprofit constituents by being a face for our organization. My 3+ years of database experience would be helpful, but I accepted this role because it wasn’t that. It was a chance to be external-facing and build relationships, something brand new to me. Salesforce wasn’t part of the equation.
That lasted for about 6 months.
I’ve done a lot of thinking about my career these past few months – where I am, where I’m headed, and where I’d like to be. And as I’ve thought about all the big changes that need to happen to accomplish my goals, I came to terms with the fact that there was one small thing I really needed to re-evaluate.
My wardrobe. Continue reading