Just in time for Labor Day, the Obama administration unveiled a new career website, my Skills my Future,  as part of the Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop  portal.

 While CareerOneStop is a great resource, I found that My Skills My Future was not too helpful. Designed to behave like Indeed.com, a giant job posting aggregator, it has a less than stellar performance delivering appropriate jobs or jobs that could use your transferrable skills.

 For example, a search for “nonprofit manager” brought up jobs for Chief Executives that strangely included everything from Education Administrators and Controllers to Survey Researchers.

 Nevertheless, the US Government generally produces really useful information, so keep an eye on my Skills my Future for improved functionality. One plus about the site is that it also has information about training opportunities for unemployed workers or those needing new skills. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on My Skills My Future, go directly to the Reemployment section.

 The Nonprofit Jobs Outlook

It’s too bad the website is not more useful for those seeking positions in nonprofits, though, because the Department of Labor expects nonprofit jobs to increase. The industry “Civic and Social Organizations” is #67 on the DOL’s list of industries with the largest employment.

 Furthermore, the DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics says that there are 1.3 million jobs in an industry called “Advocacy, Grantmaking, and Civic Organizations” also known as nonprofit organizations.

 It expects that this industry will grow by 14% by 2018, compared with the average of all industries at 11%. In the next blog, I’ll list the specific occupations expecting the most growth in the nonprofit sector.

The outlook for volunteerism and the organizations that guide these efforts is stronger than ever in the US.

Today the three-day 2010 National Conference on Service and Volunteering begins in New York City. It is the world’s largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors. If you can’t attend in person, there are webinars and social media contact opportunities available on the website.  It’s an effective way to connect with others in the nonprofit world if that is your career goal.

According to Michelle Nunn, CEO of the Points of Light Institute, a national co-convener of the conference, her organization has 1.6 million more volunteers registered than last year.  These tough economic times have inspired many Americans to step up and contribute to their communities.

All of these initiatives mean that the nonprofit sector is poised for growth.  

Corporations are also getting into the spirit. “A Billion+ Change”  was launched in 2008 as a three-year effort to help non-profits get the business skills they lacked to make their activities more effective.  Corporations such as Accenture, UPS, and Target are donating their employees’ time to nonprofits to provide skills-based expertise. So far, about $500 million of in-kind donated time has flowed to nonprofit organizations.

According to the organization,  89% of nonprofit leaders realize that volunteers’ workplace skills are extremely or very valuable to their organizations, and 77% agree that their organizations could benefit significantly from corporate volunteers focusing on business practices improvements. However, nearly two-thirds of nonprofits do not partner with any companies that provide volunteers.

Many US corporations understand that their employees want their employers to enhance the civic life of the nation. The synergies that develop when corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies blend their efforts have produced new opportunities for careers in social entrepreneurism.

The Great Recession has caused havoc with all kinds of job statistics, except for the jaw-dropping unemployment numbers the US Government periodically releases. But finding out the current number of jobs in the nonprofit and charitable sector is not that easy. There is no government agency that regularly collects employment data on the nonprofit sector.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has once in a while produced a study to try to keep track of changes. They determined that at the end of 2004 almost 10%% of the US workforce was employed in the nonprofit sector. Not bad.

Even better was the growth in nonprofit jobs between 1998 and 2005, when the sector grew 16.4% compared to overall nationwide employment growth of 6.2%.

But we all know that nonprofit jobs took a hit during the recession, and yet we don’t know how much. Still, we can look at past data to see where the jobs traditionally have been.

Past BLS studies segment major nonprofit employment categories this way:

• More than half of nonprofit employment is in health care and social assistance (54%).
• About 23% of nonprofit employees worked in the mysterious category “other services”.
• 18% worked in educational services.
• 4% worked in entertainment and recreation.

And now a lesson about geography. More nonprofit jobs are found in the northern tiers of the US (especially the northeast)  than in the south. The District of Columbia has the largest proportion of workers in the charitable sector compared to the overall workforce, with 16.3%. Rhode Island is next with 13.6%, and New York is third with 13.3%.

Of course, my hometown of Madison, WI seems to have them all beat, as people around here regularly tout that we have more nonprofits per capita than anywhere else in the country.

Many nonprofit organizations use conventional recruiting channels, such as job boards, executive search firms, or referrals. However, for those of you seeking opportunities in the hidden job market, be the first on your block to try out these uncommon sources for nonprofit job leads.

Members of Nonprofit Boards.

This source is such an obvious one and yet is an underutilized font of job information. While boards of directors do not generally hire anyone in a nonprofit organization except the executive director, their members often know the hiring needs or plans of the organization. Through their own socializing and networking activities, they also may know key people in other organizations who would be useful to meet. Ask them for names of people you should meet to enquire about hiring plans.

Nonprofit Associations

OK, this one is not so unconventional but still a good source to include in a list for nonprofit job leads. Just about every state has a statewide association for nonprofit organizations. If your state has one, the National Council of Nonprofits has it listed here: http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/salocator. If your state doesn’t have a nonprofit association, create your own job by launching one. Most associations will have an online job board and career center targeting nonprofit jobs.

Continuing Education/Extension Departments at Universities

Many universities have extension programs that offer degrees, certificate programs, and continuing education courses. Some even offer nonprofit management programs. Regardless, extension managers generally have extensive contacts with nonprofit organizations. Get in touch with these people to find out their involvement with nonprofits and who you should talk to.

Municipal/County Community Services Agencies

Many cities and counties provide nonprofits with funding for social service activities and therefore have detailed information about area nonprofits. While getting in to see a government official can sometimes be difficult, your persistence can pay off with information about nonprofit operational and staffing needs.

In this economy, no one should be surprised that nonprofit organizations advertising an open position are showered with resumes. With so many candidates to choose from, nonprofit employers can be selective. Therefore, how a candidate presents herself on paper becomes vitally important for standing out from the crowd.

The Basics

Any resume should include some key fundamental aspects, no matter what industry it’s targeted for. Plenty of white space, a consistent, eye-pleasing layout, and an easily readable font are just the beginning.

Content

Most importantly, the resume needs strategy and clarity. Strategy starts with the career goal, the targeted position the candidate is seeking, whether a CFO for a large nonprofit or an entry-level membership coordinator position for a local association. The point of the resume strategy is to prove the candidate can do the job he or she is applying for. So, don’t make the resume a “one size fits all” document. Instead, focus the resume on the areas where the candidate’s passion plays out most effectively.

Clarity means the reader can understand the scope of responsibilities for each position held, and why what the candidate did mattered. Convey the situations where the candidate added the most value in helping the organization and its people to thrive. When targeting a specific nonprofit employer, demonstrate as much as possible how the candidate’s background can meet the specific needs and mission of the nonprofit. Use quantified accomplishments whenever possible. Make it as easy as possible for the reader to understand what the job seeker can do for the organization.

In today’s nonprofit world of consolidations and hiring freezes, the ability to effectively cut costs while mitigating the impact on quality and morale can get a candidate noticed. Likewise, any experience that demonstrates how the candidate’s strengths in reorganization and cost-effective measures contributed to advancing the organization’s mission should be emphasized.

The Nonprofit Angle

While many skills in the corporate world are transferrable to a nonprofit organization, nonprofits do have some distinctive features, such as fundraising, membership development, disparate stakeholders, consensus-focused environments, and volunteer coordination. A candidate with a nonprofit background should specify the skill sets he brings to the organization. If a candidate is transitioning into the nonprofit world, experience as a volunteer or board director can be a powerful addition to a resume.

Meeting new people is not easy, and yet 40-80 percent of people find their jobs through networking, according to research on the topic.

Social media sites, however, are an easy way to research and contact plenty of people, especially those who can help you with your nonprofit job search. Furthermore, employers increasingly are using social media sites to search for and research job candidates. So, nonprofit job seekers are hereby advised to add social media networking to their job search strategy.

Job Searching While You’re Sleeping

As a passive job search tool, having a complete profile on sites such as LinkedIn or appropriate content on sites like Twitter, Facebook or MySpace are indispensable. Recruiters and hiring managers are known to search these sites for candidates, so having the correct keywords for the nonprofit position you are seeking is important.

Also, if you are a career changer seeking to transition to the nonprofit sector, be sure to highlight transferrable skills and volunteer work, especially any leadership positions. Working with nonprofit boards, fundraising, and managing volunteers are important nonprofit sector keywords but don’t forget your “corporate” skills such as strategic planning, project management, workforce development, marketing, or budgeting.

Active Job Searching

Social media sites are vital for proactive job searches as well. Job seekers can search sites like LinkedIn or Twitter by organization, person, or keywords. The best way to become known to prospective nonprofit employers is to participate on social networking sites focusing on nonprofits. These are great places to research organizations and drum up conversations by commenting on blog entries. Job seekers can also “meet” people virtually and broaden their networks, perhaps even finding their way to the hidden job market.

Nonprofit Social Media Communities

Some specific communities that target nonprofits are Idealist.org, which also has a job board for nonprofit jobs, WiserEarth, which is all about connecting people, and All for Good, which has been called, “a Craigslist for service”.

The point to networking, whether online or in person, is to get to know someone to make some kind of advantageous connection. That connection probably won’t happen immediately. Someone once said that networking is like dating – you generally don’t get proposed to on the first date. But by leveraging your interpersonal skills online and providing useful information, you can get noticed, and recruited.