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?
*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
Friends. Let’s talk about public speaking.
The idea alone can illicit strong reactions – everything from excitement, to nausea, to let’s-not-even-go-there. It’s not something that comes easily to many of us, if at all. 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.
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.
In the nonprofit sector, there’s this joke (sort of?) that we are prone to multiple-hat syndrome: instances when we’re asked to do things that fall outside of our job description, to keep things running smoothly. This summer, I’ve definitely fallen victim.
I’ve been tasked with getting my team up to speed on our new CRM software. Though I’ve played a big role in the setup and implementation (already complicated in its own ways), training others presents an ENTIRELY different set of challenges. Continue reading
I never planned to learn Excel. It sort of happened by accident.
At the end of my junior year of college, I was accepted into an internship program that placed me at a major nonprofit organization. Since the program was best known for its banking internships, every participant had to complete an Excel course as part of our training. I set aside one day after finals to walk through the modules, opened up my laptop, and got to work.
Things haven’t been the same since. Continue reading