HOTLINE

Answering Readers' Questions About Hiring Journalists, Providing Writing Samples, and More

The Chronicle's Philanthropy Careers asked its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruitment, and management challenges in the nonprofit world. In our monthly advice column, we respond to some of your inquiries with tips about resources and wisdom from experts in the field.

Q: Why are charities not interested in hiring professional journalists or public-relations people? In the last several years, I've mailed about 400 personalized cover letters and résumés. If I received a response at all, it was to say that I was not qualified -- this despite the fact that the job's ad plainly asked for strong communication and marketing skills. I've volunteered at four nonprofit organizations. What am I doing wrong?

A: The nonprofit managers we contacted found your situation puzzling, indeed. "I can only speak from my own perspective, but I'm very open to hiring journalists and public-relations people," says Bernadette M. Horgan, director of media relations for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In fact, she says, one of her current staff members is a former journalist: "I really appreciate the perspective that he brings to the job, the understanding of what journalists on the other end of the phone are up against."

Susan Hofer, communications manager at America's Second Harvest, a hunger-relief organization in Chicago, says that her own career path is proof that charities hire former public-relations managers and reporters, as she spent 20 years working in journalism and public relations, shuttling back and forth between for-profit, nonprofit, and government jobs. It's possible, then, that your situation has little to do with nonprofit employers' reluctance to hire people with communications backgrounds. Based on what you've told us in your letter, we can attempt a few guesses at the real problem.

First, keep in mind that in today's bleak economy, it's not uncommon to send out dozens of résumés and receive no response at all, especially from larger organizations. That you've sent out a whopping 400 inquiries, however, raises a red flag. Both of our sources wondered if you've been too quick to apply to every job that seems even remotely appropriate. If your idea of "personalizing" simply means sending a cookie-cutter letter with the name and address changed, they say, your résumé probably won't survive the first cut.

From your public-relations background, Ms. Hofer says, you should realize that "pitching a new employer is comparable to pitching a reporter." Unless you've got some kind of major news story, for instance, it's often far more effective to persuade one particular journalist -- someone whose needs and interests you understand well -- why he or she should be interested in your story, rather than faxing out hundreds of media alerts. In other words, you may need to more thoroughly research the needs of the organization to which you're applying, and connect those needs to your specific abilities and background.

The place to make your case, of course, is your cover letter. "I'm always impressed with people who write a cover letter that makes it clear that they have a strong sense of what the organization is about and what the work is about," Ms. Horgan says. For more advice on writing effective, attention-getting cover letters, see the recent Philanthropy Careers article on the topic.

Q: I frequently see ads that ask for writing samples, along with the résumé and cover letter. I have hesitated to respond to these job ads because I'm not sure what kinds of things I should submit. Any suggestions?

A: Our sources home in on the two main features of an appropriate writing sample: relevance and brevity. For example, in a recent ad for a new press secretary at Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental-law organization in Oakland, Calif., Barbara Bosma, the group's vice president of human resources, requested press releases and news clips. "For our development positions, we generally like to see writing related to the type of work the person would be doing," Ms. Bosma says. "This can vary from donor-acknowledgement letters to research papers or grant proposals."

Wendy Phipps, administrative director at USAction, a political-activist network in Washington that advocates what it calls progressive views, also emphasizes relevance. For fund-raising jobs, she likes to see candidates submit solicitation letters; for prospective organizing directors, she looks for press releases. "Something that's directly applicable is what's most helpful," she says.

Don't send something just to prove your cleverness or literary skill, our sources say. "One job candidate [for a donor-relations position] sent in a fictional short story, which was entertaining, but really not applicable," Ms. Bosma says. Also, she says, be sure to keep the sample brief -- no more than three to five pages.

Along with relevance and brevity, you should also exhibit some sensitivity to the charity's social and political orientation. It would not be appropriate, for example, to send a right-wing commentary to a liberal organization, Ms. Phipps notes -- and would indicate that you haven't conducted sufficient research on your potential employer.

Follow directions: Make sure your sample is sent in the format requested -- whether a paper version or via e-mail attachment, for example. When given a choice, however, Ms. Phipps recommends using old-fashioned paper and envelope to send the entire application in one package. "I'm always surprised by people who will send the writing sample separate from their application, assuming we have nothing better to do than match up various parts of a person's application," she says. Also, she notes, "frequently people will send e-mail attachments in a format we can't open. You have to be aware that nonprofits on tight budgets may not have the latest word-processing software."

Our final point should be obvious, but apparently isn't to many job seekers, because employers say they see too many sloppy submissions.You should always carefully comb your writing sample -- as well as your cover letter and résumé -- for typos, spelling errors, or grammatical problems. Says Ms. Bosma, "Careless grammar or spelling can automatically disqualify an applicant."

Q: I'm a college professor who is about to retire. I spent 10 years as an administrator and am familiar with budgets, grant requests, personnel matters, etc. I'd love to find a part-time volunteer position with a charity. Are there any "help wanted" ads for such spots?

A: First of all, you should know that your skills and experience make you extremely valuable to charities, especially at this time of budget shortfalls and government cutbacks. As Dan Narr, volunteer resources director at Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, puts it, "Volunteer work behind the scenes is just as important as what gets done on the front line."

He says he's noticed an increasing number of volunteers who offer not only their passion for his group's mission, but also their real-world skills. In a typical situation, he says, a group may have a full-time manager who is a recent college graduate and thus lacking in practical experience. Someone like you -- an older volunteer with a substantial work background -- could serve as that manager's mentor, Mr. Narr says.

To seek specific opportunities, you have a number of options. You may first want to check with your former employer to see if the college or university itself has any groups or publications that track volunteer positions. Local newspapers -- especially free alternative weeklies -- sometimes include volunteer opportunities in their listings section. Your city or region may also have a volunteer center or other clearinghouse of opportunities. Look for your state's association of nonprofit groups on this list provided by the National Council of Nonprofit Associations.

A number of other Web sites offer listings to help match volunteers to organizations, such as Volunteer Match, The Points of Light Foundation, and Idealist.org.

Q: I'm a college senior who would like to learn more about prospect research. Is there anything I can do to learn more about and look for jobs in this field, other than making professional contacts and researching the Web?

A: Prospect research -- the retrieval and analysis of public information on potential donors -- has potential to grow as a profession over the next decade, although the current environment of budgetary belt-tightening may limit the field's possibilities in the short term, according to David Lawson, president of Prospect Information Network, in Daytona Beach, Fla., which provides database tools to identify and screen prospective donors. While data-retrieval skills are central to the job, he says, analytical skills are equally important.

Mr. Lawson, who began working as a prospect researcher in the 1970s, noted that the field has changed in the past 10 or 15 years, along with trends in American affluence. In the past, researchers sought information on the "usual suspects" -- well-known, long-established prominent families -- but today, given the explosion of new wealth and "millionaires next door," he says, institutions have to work harder to identify potential philanthropists. Mr. Lawson says that prospect research today has something in common with journalistic research and reporting, with corporate or competitive intelligence-gathering, and even with criminal investigation.

"You have to be curious, and have to have an ability to understand that when you find one piece of information, it will lead you to a number of other places," he says. "You can't see each thing in an isolated way because you're building a puzzle" -- a pieced-together portrait of a potential donor's resources, interests, and needs.

Prospect research jobs, once mostly clustered among New England nonprofit institutions, are opening up in the South and West, as organizations learn to use such research to boost their fund raising, according to Sheri Lazare, advancement research officer at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and winner of last year's Researcher of the Year Award, sponsored by the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement. Conducting research on donors, she says, requires some familiarity with the legal process, and also an interest in a variety of fields, she says.

"A liberal-arts degree is sufficient preparation for this," she says, because different prospects will lead you in different directions. "Your prospect might be a history buff, a wine buff, an art lover, and as long as you're researching him, you need to be a little bit interested in all those things as well."

Mr. Lawson recommends that you find ways to hone both your information-gathering skills and your analytical abilities. He suggests you begin with the classic reference The Reporter's Handbook: An Investigator's Guide to Documents and Techniques, by Steve Weinberg (Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996, $48.30) and also read materials on competitive intelligence, the research that companies conduct on one another to gain market advantage. A number of books deal specifically with the role of prospect research in the field of fund raising. Ms. Lazare recommends The Guide to Prospect Research & Prospect Management, by Laura A. Solla (available for $89 from the author at her Web site). For a big-picture view of how prospect research fits into the larger efforts of a fund-raising shop, Ms. Lazare also suggests you look at Kathleen S. Kelly's Effective Fund-Raising Management (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998, $135).

Furthermore, Ms. Lazare suggests you subscribe to the electronic discussion list known as "PRSPCT-L" (subscription information can be found here), which will help you both before and after you get situated in a researcher position. "You can just be a lurker and get some really invaluable information as you read everybody's questions," she says.

For an in-depth look at the field, you may also be interested in attending a conference on prospect research held May 18 and 19 in New Orleans, organized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. For more information, check out the council's Web site.

Both Ms. Lazare and Mr. Lawson recommend you join a professional group such as the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement or the New England Development Research Association. Ms. Lazare says that participation in such organizations, even before you have landed a job, can help educate you about the field and enable you to build a network of contacts -- your best allies when your job search begins in earnest.

Got a question about job hunting, managing, or recruiting in the nonprofit world? Send it to us a hotline@philanthropy.com