How to Get a Job at a Foundation

As a warm up for the April 1st Nonprofit Rockstar Teleseminar "So you Wanna be a Program Officer", I'm reposting a great article from Blue Avacado on how to get a job at a foundation. From Blue Avacado: 

In this article we don't address the pros and cons of foundation jobs (compared with nonprofit jobs), but simply how to go about getting one.

Many nonprofit folks like the idea of working at a foundation...and why not? Foundations jobs typically are easier, pay better, and have better benefits. And, as one person put it, "I'd like to try being the person being sucked up to instead of being the person doing the sucking up."

(We know foundation staff often work hard. We also know it's one thing to work until 10 pm prepping for the foundation trustee meeting and another to work until 10 pm trying desperately to keep a Sudanese mother from being deported away from her children, or writing a grant proposal, that if it's not funded, will mean you have to lay off two staff.)

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Like many employers, how foundations say they hire is often different from how they actually go about the hiring process. When we interviewed foundation staff for this article, we asked each two questions: a) what advice should we give to people seeking foundation jobs, and b) how did you get your job?

Most gave similar suggestions about how to get a foundation job, but almost none of them got their own jobs that way. For example, one program officer gave the usual advice about experience in the field, but she herself got her job by coming in as the foundation's human resources manager and was then transferred to grantmaking in a field where she had no prior experience.

Mostly, it seems, foundation program staff and executives get their jobs because of who they know, not necessarily what they know. But that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to get a program job if you want to make the leap from a community nonprofit and you’re not particularly well connected.

So, how do you get a job at a foundation? Read the rest here.

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Join Me February 12 for a Free Teleseminar: Fall Back in Love with Your Nonprofit Job

Happy February! Our 2013 Nonprofit Rockstar Teleseminar Series continues this month with the theme of LOVE. As in loving your life as much as you love your nonprofit career. I hope you will join me, Rosetta Thurman and a special guest speaker for a discussion about how you can fall back in love with your nonprofit job and avoid burnout. You’ll get some much-needed inspiration, tips for productivity and encouragement to live with more balance.

Fall Back in Love with Your Nonprofit Job:
How to Get Re-Inspired, Become More Productive
and Create a Life Beyond Work

Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST

Where: via teleconference, dial-in information will be provided upon registration

Click here to register for free >>>

This teleseminar series is co-sponsored by Idealist, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP)

Following the path of a nonprofit career takes a unique touch of passion and commitment. But as our roles grow, so can the number of tasks and conflicts that land on our to-do lists. Without realizing it, our days are focused on seemingly endless duties and struggles as our energy is exhausted just pushing to get to the end of the day. However, being a Nonprofit Rockstar is not about trying to take on more than what is humanly possible; one important characteristic is achieving a healthy work/life balance so that you can stay refreshed and enjoy the work you love every day!

This February, let’s catch some of that love that’s in the air and channel it back into our own nonprofit work! Remember that feeling you had that inspired you to choose this path in the first place? Let’s hold on to that as we learn strategies toward getting the most out of our careers, both personally and professionally.

This teleseminar will be recorded, so if you can’t make it this time, you will still receive the replay afterwards.

About the 2013 Nonprofit Rockstar Teleseminar Series

This free, monthly teleseminar series covers a variety of topics in nonprofit career and leadership development. Each session features experts who share information, ideas and inspiration to help you accelerate your career and enhance your leadership skills. For more information and a full teleseminar schedule, visit nonprofitrockstar.com. Organizing the series is Tiffany Rivera, the Volunteer Intern at Thurman Consulting. Questions? Contact Tiffany at rivera.tiffany.n@gmail.com.

About Rosetta Thurman

Rosetta Thurman is the President of Thurman Consulting, an education company that provides personal and professional development opportunities to empower a new generation of leaders to change the world. Rosetta is a nationally-recognized speaker and facilitator who has helped hundreds of nonprofit and association professionals improve the way they work, lead and live their lives. Her popular keynote speeches and workshops inspire audiences around the country to build meaningful careers, enhance their leadership skills and live with greater purpose. For more information, visit rosettathurman.com.

About Trista Harris

Trista Harris is nationally known as a passionate advocate for new leaders in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. She is a leading voice for Generations X and Y and seeks to create professional development opportunities throughout the sector. She writes about generational change in the foundation field in her blog, New Voices of Philanthropy and is an international speaker on working across generations to create social change. In her professional life, Trista is the Executive Director of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice. A native Minnesotan, Trista received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Howard University and her Master’s in Public Policy degree, with a focus on philanthropy and nonprofit effectiveness, from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. For more information, visit tristaharris.org.

This teleseminar series is co-sponsored by Idealist, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP)