The Super Bowl may be over for 2022, but fundraisers, this is your season. This is it. This is the opportunity for you to go out and get the job of your dreams – the one you have always wanted at just the right nonprofit. Don’t stand on the sidelines, get in the game!

Nonprofit jobs are plentiful and development jobs are some of the hardest to fill. Check out job postings at AFP, Work for Good and at Our Fundraising Search.

Update your resume. Does it include all of your current responsibilities and all of the amazing plays you have completed? Huddle with your colleagues and your peers at other institutions. Let them know confidentially that you are ready to get out of the red zone.

Do you have a mentor you need to be in contact with? Everyone needs a coach. Make yourself available for the snap or the handoff.

Make a complete list of benefits you need and want. Everything is negotiable these days right down to the goal post.

What is your current salary and what would you like for it to be? Many organizations are now posting their salaries online with the job description or it is relatively easy to check.

What is your current title? Do you want to be the quarterback? What do you want your title to be? 

Have you tried speaking with your line coach about your ambitions? They won’t know unless you share them, and you won’t know what is possible unless you ask. Perhaps there is more responsibility you can take on to validate a salary bump. Be creative.

Contact your top three references about your game plan. The hiring market is rushing along extremely fast, and your cheerleaders need to know your current job status and your next play. They can provide input and perhaps run interference for you.

If you don’t have what it takes just yet, sign up for a conference or professional development seminar. Practice asking in your day-to-day scrimmage. Volunteer and learn more about other nonprofits and how they drive and field.

It is first and ten and you have the ball. Will you take the ball down the field for your next best career move? Or will you punt?

Author

  • Linda McNay

    Linda Wise McNay is the founder, owner and fundraising consultant with Our Fundraising Search in Atlanta. She has completed more than 18 years of consulting and has served more than 200 clients. Linda’s nonprofit background includes work with both higher and secondary education, the arts, human services and faith-based organizations; and has included work in capital campaigns, annual fund, planned giving, membership, and development and executive search.

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