Searching for that next great employee to add to your team? With the great resignation (which started in 2021 with masses of employees leaving their jobs for greener pastures) and people “quietly quitting” (employees who put no more effort into their jobs than absolutely necessary), attracting and acquiring talent is more challenging today than ever before. The tight labor market demands that nonprofits think outside the box to recruit and retain talent. So, what can you do?

Nancy Sheed from Sheed Communications, LLC recently interviewed our very own Debra Hertz on how to hire the best talent in a tight market. Take just a few minutes to listen to the interview. It won’t disappoint!

 

As you put together your job descriptions, there are several things you can do to make your search more successful. Here are five tips we always recommend:

  1. The right title matters. Simply putting Executive Director or Chief Executive Officer will elicit hundreds of resumes. Try adding “Nonprofit Executive Director to Lead Mental Health Organization.”
  2. Require a cover letter with the resume. A cover letter serves as a writing sample for your candidate, and it is a test of whether the candidate read the instructions in your posting.
  3. Create a new email for your resumes. Don’t have emails sent to a specific person in your organization – your inbox will be flooded.
  4. Include your website address on the job posting. Encourage candidates to visit your website and learn about who you are. When you do your first informational interview, you will quickly be able to assess who has done their homework and who has not.
  5. Create a scoring rubric for vetting resumes. What to do once cover letters and resumes start coming in? Use your job description to create a rubric – a measurement system by which you detail the skills and requirements of your position and assign values to each.

Here is a list of the best websites and job boards for nonprofit searches:

  • Association of Fundraising Professionals of Fairfield County. Active member base of nonprofits and good exposure on their career page.
  • CT Community Nonprofit Alliance. The Alliance of Connecticut nonprofits has a robust job board that is searchable by category and job function.
  • CT Council for Philanthropy. An association of grant makers, supporting philanthropy, with an active member base and website that posts nonprofit leadership positions.
  • Foundation List. A national nonprofit job board designed to meet the hiring needs of nonprofit organizations, foundations, associations, unions, and educational institutions.
  • Idealist. This site has thousands of job openings, internships and volunteer opportunities at a wide variety of nonprofits both in the U.S. and abroad.
  • Impact Opportunity. A robust career site that took over the Bridgespan job board.
  • Philanthropy News Digest. This site offers news, nonprofit job opportunities, and RFPs.
  • Tech Jobs for Good. Helps organizations working on social and environmental issues hire tech talent looking for purposeful work.
  • Work for Good. Helps purpose-driven organizations and talented professionals connect in order to do the best work possible.
  • The Strategy Group. We have a job board for nonprofit leadership positions and are always happy to post positions on it and our LinkedIn site.

While Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter all have some nonprofit jobs listed, they cast a wide net into the endless sea of job seekers – many of whom may simply be looking for a job, any job, anywhere.

If The Strategy Group can be of help with your job search, whether it be posting your position description on our job board, or helping to guide your search committee through the process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@thestrategygroupllc.org. We are here to help.