HOTLINE

Answering Your Questions About Updating Management Skills, Moving Into Fund Raising Jobs, and Taking Pay Cuts

The Chronicle's Philanthropy Careers asks 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. I am just beginning a master's program in nonprofit administration. I currently work for a nonprofit organization as an information technology auditor. I have more than 15 years' experience as a technologist, but my staff-management experience is nearly that old. How much of a problem will that be when I finish my degree in a couple of years, when my management experience is even older?

A. If you weren't going back to school to freshen up your skills, you might have a harder time making the case for yourself as a manager. But you're definitely making the right move in updating your training as you make this career change, says Rikki Abzug, a professor of nonprofit management at the Milano Graduate School at New School University, in New York, who studies career paths at nonprofit organizations. "I would assure the reader that enrollment in a nonprofit-administration program is immediately a signal to potential employers that you are transitioning back to management," she says.

Still, you will want to make the most of your time while you're in school to bolster this part of your résumé. Carefully select courses to augment your management skills, Ms. Abzug urges. You might also want to do a management internship. "That will freshen your management practice and enable you to speak of more recent experience when queried during the job-search process," she advises. Because you will be dealing with younger workers who were probably still in elementary school the last time you were a manager, you might care to check out Managing Generation Y, by Carolyn A. Martin and Bruce Tulgan (Human Resource Development Press, 2001, $9.95).

In job interviews, Ms. Abzug says, don't shy away from mentioning your long-ago management experience, but also emphasize how you're keeping those skills current. And promote any latent management skills you have exercised more recently, suggests Elizabeth D. Hope, a career consultant who works with nonprofit, information-technology professionals in the Washington area. "You probably had to interface with many people of various levels within the firm. It would stand to reason you have developed a strong understanding of how people like to be treated, how to soothe ruffled feathers, and how to get the job done," she says. "These are the cornerstones to effective management."

In the meantime, it also couldn't hurt to look for some volunteer opportunities where you can organize and lead events -- and which you can cast as management experience -- while you're in school. "Every bit of experience counts," says Ms. Hope. For volunteer opportunities in your area, check out Volunteer Solutions, Volunteer Match, or Idealist.org.

Q. I am a successful paralegal who has been an active volunteer fund raiser for many community and national charities. I also have extensive experience in organizing large corporate events and meetings. I have a very sociable personality and would like to make a career transition into the nonprofit field as a fund raiser or event planner. How should I do this?

A. You're on the right track, says Marianne Gregson, director of marketing and communications at the NTC Foundation, a nonprofit organization in San Diego that is renovating and preserving a naval-training center, and uses many events to promote its cause and raise money. Ms. Gregson believes your transition into the nonprofit world should be relatively easy, given your volunteer experience. "There is no better way to demonstrate your abilities than to have delivered a well-executed event or campaign," she says. "If the organizations currently do not have openings, ask them for suggestions and recommendations on other groups that need a motivated and experienced person." (For more on turning a volunteer experience into a staff job, see this previous edition of Hotline.)

If you're more interested in event planning than in fund raising, you might want to beef up that part of your résumé with specific volunteer activities related to events. The tough economy might even give you a boost in this effort, says Marilyn Cahill, director of leadership gifts at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. "Nonprofits, especially the smaller arts organizations and health-care agencies, are very short-staffed in this economy, but they still have to do donor events and fund raisers," she says. "They can always use people to prepare invitations, compile mailing lists, work with caterers, solicit donations, and work the event itself -- greeting guests, distributing name tags, troubleshooting, serving drinks." In fact, she says, smaller organizations may be your best bet, as they will be less likely to have an event staff, and perhaps be more amenable to creating that position after you've shown what you can do.

To learn more about careers in fund raising, turn to the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Local chapters organize events that you could attend to meet potential employers. And because there are special concerns with event planning in the nonprofit world that you might not have encountered in your corporate work, check out Special Events: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fund Raising by Alan L. Wendroff (John Wiley & Sons, 1999, $39.95). For more on event planning, see this previous edition of Hotline.

Q. I live in Manhattan and am looking to move into the nonprofit arena after many years in the corporate world. Most of the positions I seek require some fund-raising or grant-proposal writing skills. Where can I find courses given in these areas?

A. You can find anything in Manhattan, and training in proposal writing and fund raising is no exception. You'll find plenty of courses in grant-proposal writing at the Foundation Center, at a modest cost. (One forthcoming, basic, all-day proposal-writing seminar costs $195.) You may also want to check out several online seminars available on the center's Web site, which give you an overview of the entire grant-proposal- writing process. Readers in other parts of the country will also find courses in their cities listed on the site. Look under the menu marked "Learning Lab." And be sure to check out the Chronicle's online calendar of workshops and other events.

For fund-raising course work, the Greater New York Chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals is offering "Fundamentals of Fund Raising," a series of eight courses starting September 18 at the Graduate Center at City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue. The sessions cost $50 each, or $275 for all eight. For more information, call (212) 582-8535 or go to the chapter's Web site. If you can't make that series, you might want to consider an online course offered through the national Association of Fundraising Professionals. Called "First Course," this is a class that's designed for people who are new to the field. You can take the course online for $400 if you're an association member, $600 if you're not.

In addition, sometimes state or regional umbrella associations; of nonprofit groups or nonprofit management-support centers sponsor workshops in fund-raising skills. Contact your local groups to find out what they offer.

Q. I am a technology executive with more than 20 years experience in executive management, sales, marketing, and finance. Typically, salaries in my field range from the mid-$100,000s upward. If I want to switch to the nonprofit world, what kind of job opportunities could I step into immediately, with my experience? What credentials should I highlight, to show my talents despite my meager background in philanthropy? And do nonprofit employers usually pay executives relocation expenses?

A. Do you really need to make a salary in the six figures? If so, you might be disappointed. Salaries in the nonprofit world do tend to be lower than salaries in corporate America. And while people who hold the reins at the largest and most well-financed organizations make a good living, fat salaries are not the norm in most charities. (Learn more by checking out the Chronicle's most recent salary survey.)

In fact, your salary requirements will be one of the first concerns that a nonprofit organization is going to have, says Bart A. Charlow, executive director of the Silicon Valley region's National Conference for Community and Justice, in San Jose, Calif. They'll worry that they can't afford you, he says, so you should be prepared to answer that question in an interview.

If you really feel that you must maintain that kind of salary, be honest with yourself, he urges. Your best bets will be large, national organizations. Larger organizations may also be more willing to pay relocation expenses, but you should be aware that you face a steep uphill climb. Even organizations with large bankrolls are going to question investing their payroll budget into a person with limited nonprofit experience. "Executive skills are transferable, but market-segment experience is not so easily and immediately transferable," says Mr. Charlow. There are key differences, he says, between the for-profit and nonprofit world. "Many of your expectations and practices will need to undergo adaptation in order to do justice to these differences," he says.

This is not to say that your sales, marketing, and finance skills wouldn't be well appreciated at a charity, but you should build some experience before you look to leap into an executive job. Volunteer work is often the best way to do just that, allowing you to make connections while building your résumé -- and to get an up-close look at the inside of organizations you think you'd like to join permanently. Many large corporations, Mr. Charlow notes, will support a "loaned executive" for a few months in a nonprofit placement -- literally, temporarily loaning out an executive to a charity to fill an empty staff seat. "Most often this is a severance situation, but if it's available to you, then take it seriously," he suggests, adding, "If you like it and are suited to it, you'll have begun transferring your references more realistically to the nonprofit sector."

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