#NES – Nonprofit

Tag: #NES – Nonprofit

Credible Non-Profit Job Boards

While you will find non-profit jobs on any reliable job board like Handshake or Indeed, there are job search sites that specialize in non-profit positions. A few of them are described and reviewed below.

NationalNonProfits.org

Nationalnonprofits.org is fully free and easy to use. You can search by a specific organization and geographical location in order to find the opportunity that is right for you. This website sadly does not give many internship options, however, they do have a few. Most of the opportunities found on this job board are full-time job positions, so it might be best to use this site for post-graduation. You can apply for each opportunity directly through the website.

Foundationlist.org

Foundationlist.org is great for those looking for specific foundation jobs. Sadly, this website does not feature any internship search tools and is mainly for those finding part-time and full-time non-profit work. Each opportunity has a “How To Apply” section, where it lists the requirements and also whether to apply through the Foundationlist website or if you will be redirected to the company website. 

Check out our previous review of Idealist.org, which is another great tool for those interested in working in the non-profit industry.

Foundationlist also has a list of other nonprofit job boards here. 

If you seek non-profit opportunities in Wisconsin, visit Jobs That Help.

Fighting Displacement: Three resettlement NGO’s that support the most vulnerable populations

You can see – and feel – the despair and fear on the faces of over 4 million Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s advancing army.  Sadly, this is only the latest of many refugee crises our planet has faced in recent years.  From Afghanistan to Sudan, millions have been displaced as they flee war, poverty and oppression. 

Organizations, including the UN, struggle to process the massive waves of people searching for safety and an opportunity to live life with dignity, leading to a greater need for integrative services in countries offering asylum. If you have been exploring the NGO career path, here are three of the best known resettlement agencies:

International Rescue Committee (IRC) 

If you’ve ever spent a considerable amount of time on YouTube, you might have come across a heart-wrenching ad from the IRC. The IRC helps displaced people within countries in crisis. Provisions in crisis areas include shelter, cash assistance, food and water. Programs elevating long-term growth in-country include access to education, minority empowerment (working on policy with local governments), health programs treating preventable diseases and ensuring access to reproductive health. 

In situations like Ukraine where safety is not guaranteed, many find themselves leaving their home-countries entirely. IRC offers resettlement services helping refugees in their transition to the United States, where they receive assistance in a variety of areas including medical, housing, education, legal services, employment and more. 

World Relief

World Relief is a Christian organization founded in 1940 to provide recovery aid after World War II. Since then, World Relief has joined President Kennedy’s “Food for Peace” committee, responded to earthquake disaster areas, and provided aid to thousands of refugees. As of 2015, World Relief has worked in over 100 countries, has partnered with 6,000 churches, and has recruited over 95,000 volunteers. 

Much like the IRC, there are departments supporting refugees including immigration services, youth support, case management, education, and employment.

Refugees International 

Refugees International is an advocacy group founded in 1979 in response to the crises in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Their main functions are to “investigate displacement crises, create policy solutions and advocate for change”. Their Refugee Advocacy Lab dedicates resources to working with US representatives on creating supportive policies for refugees among other efforts.  The four main issues this organization focuses on is climate displacement, Covid-19, access to employment, and minority empowerment in over 40 countries. 

If you are wondering about NGO work and want to see if this work is for you? World Relief, Refugees International and IRC all offer internships available to undergraduates and graduates. Learn more about these organizations by clicking on their websites posted below:

https://www.refugeesinternational.org/

https://www.rescue.org/

https://worldrelief.org/

Tips for Preparing for your Non-Profit Career

Volunteer:

One of the best things you can do to bulk up your resume for a future career in Non-Profit work is volunteering. Volunteering is also a great way to figure out what causes you are passionate about and want to seek when you are applying for your future careers. Here at Lawrence, it is very easy to get involved with the Appleton community through volunteering. Lawrence’s GivePulse page has hundreds of opportunities for students to sign up for to get you started.

Ask your local community:

Also going along the lines of volunteering, asking around your local community to see what their needs are is also beneficial. You can hear about the local non-profits that they know, or even ones that offer remote internships or funded ones. Word of mouth is a great way to find out opportunities and exactly what your local community needs in a non-profit worker.

Search for summer internships:

Another great way to get your foot in the door of non-profit work is through summer internships! Lawrence’s Handshake page has a bunch of non-profit internships listed all throughout the year, and you can also check out websites such as Indeed.com and Internships.com to find others as well. Internships are a great way to get an in-depth experience of what it is like to work in a particular field.

Find causes you are passionate about:

The causes of a non-profit company could range anywhere from arts and music to diversity and inclusion. The possibilities really are endless on what kind of non-profit you see yourself working in, however, how do you choose just one? Through your volunteer work, asking your local community, and pursuing job and internship openings you should get a good idea on where exactly you want to end up. Try to find the cause that you are the most passionate about, and use that cause as a keyword when conducting your latest job or internship search.

Tips for Talking About Your Volunteer and Service Experience

Tip 1: Think about it like any other job

The mindset that most people get tripped up on while thinking about their volunteer experience is “Well, I didn’t get paid for it so it doesn’t matter”. Because of this they end up not talking about the enriching experiences they had while volunteering, which is a really big misconception! To get out of this mindset we recommend thinking and talking about your volunteer experience as any job. For example, if you were talking about a part-time retail job you once worked at you may mention in an interview “My experience in retail allowed me to gain organization and collaboration skills”.You could say almost the exact same things for volunteer experience as well! Let’s say you are a volunteer at Riverview Gardens here in Appleton. You work with others to winterize gardens and take inventory of plants. If you wanted to talk about your volunteer experience while at Riverview Gardens you could say, “My experience at Riverview Gardens allowed me to gain organization and collaboration skills.” Thinking about your volunteer experience like your job experience makes it easier to translate during an interview. 

Tip 2: Relate your volunteer and service experience to your career field

If you happened to volunteer in the particular career field you would like to end up in, you’re in luck! You can use this experience as a core interview response for, most likely, quite a few questions. If you are planning on pursuing a career in theatre arts, it might be helpful to mention your volunteer experience at a non-profit theatre, traveling theatre, etc. For example, employers may ask you the question “What drew you to apply for this position?” In terms of the theatre arts example, you can answer “I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in theatre, however, my experience volunteering at Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee really solidified my motives…” Using your passion as a segway into talking about an experience is very moving for the employer and shows how dedicated you would be to the position that you are applying to. 

Tip 3: Describe the success you had 

Even though sometimes we are plagued with dreaded questions like “Tell me about a time you failed” in an interview, employers really do like to hear about your successes as well. If during your volunteer or service experience you had a leadership position, headed a project, or even just got positive reinforcement from colleagues, feel free to mention this during your interview. An example of this is when an employer asks you a question about your collaboration skills, such as “Tell me about a time you worked as a group, how did it turn out?” A possible start to your answer could be, “During my time with Habitat for Humanity I was a group leader for the volunteers…” This answer would show how your volunteer experience put you in a leadership position and how you handled that position.

Job Prospects for Humanities Majors

By Jonathan Hogan

If you’re a humanities major, you may have received some pessimistic or rude comments about your choice of major. As a German major, I am personally sick of people thinking that all I do is study the language of German, and I’ve heard people tell English majors that they’re “majoring in a language that they already speak fluently.” Regardless of your humanities major, whether it be History, Gender Studies, a language, or something else, I hope you haven’t internalized the discourse that demands that your prospects are dim. As this article will demonstrate, humanities majors have the widest array of careers to choose from, making your problem not a lack of opportunities, but rather the difficult decision of which path to take.

Before delving into some of the main career paths taken by humanities majors, it’s worth mentioning that one of the distinct specialties of those holding humanities majors is finding niche positions to work in that likely won’t be enumerated because of their specificity. Thus, if nothing listed is in your interests, don’t fret! This is merely a broad and by no means an exhaustive list. If you know with all your heart that you want to work as a religious advisor at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, then go for it! 

Law

               One of the most common majors that apply and are accepted to Law school is English. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as both humanities majors and law degrees require a mastery of language, as well as the ability to analytically read and critically think about texts. If a law degree sounds interesting to you, click this link to read an article on the first step to applying for law school—the LSAT.

Publishing

               Similar to Law, the field of publishing plays into a strong connection with written language. In comparison to Law, publishing places more of an emphasis on a love of books, networking abilities, and editing skills. For an article on what it’s like to work as an editor, click this link, and for an article on how to break into the relatively tight-knit industry, click here.

NGOs

               Okay, NGO can mean a lot of things, ranging from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative political think tank, to Médecins Sans Frontières; however, the humanities can also mean a lot of things, making NGOs a potential place of work for essentially any major. The Center for Reproductive Rights, for example, would pair nicely with the Butlerian gender theorist out there, and Public Allies, an NGO dedicated to social justice through representative leadership, would pair nicely with a History major, or really any major that focuses on inequality in general.

Journalism

               Another popular path for humanities majors is journalism. Because of the broad range of subjects that are written on, the only real requirement for Journalism is strong writing skills; however, Journalists are most effective when they can pair their strong writing skills with deep background knowledge in another area. For this reason, humanities majors are especially well-positioned to go into the field, as they typically command a deep well of knowledge on a specific topic, as well as immaculate writing skills.

Academia

               For those of you who have read the above career industries and are struggling with the idea of giving up theorizing and researching for more general use of skills developed at Lawrence, academia might be for you. One of the major advantages of going into academia is that, if a doctoral program really wants you, they will ensure that you aren’t losing money when pursuing your degree through fellowships and undergrad teaching positions. That being said, academia in general, is going through a major upheaval in the U.S. and the humanities appear to be suffering more than STEM and Social Science Departments. When asking your favorite professor for advice about pursuing a doctoral program in a humanities field, a question that will likely come up is: “would you still choose to pursue your doctorate even if you knew that it wasn’t going to lead to a job in academia?” If the answer is no, then it’s probably advisable to find a different outlet for your passion. If the answer; however, is yes, then you’ve just determined your next step for after Lawrence.

               A short list of five broad industries in which humanities majors typically find themselves working likely has not solved all of your professional development problems; however, hopefully, it has pointed you towards an industry that you might want to learn more about. In the worst case, however, this article can serve as a good tool for fending off anyone who’s mocking your decision to major in the humanities—just say you’re planning on going to law school 😊. 

Jonathan is a Third Year German and Government major. He works as a Peer Educator to assist students in the CJW and GLI career communities. In addition to professional development, Jonathan is interested in the cultural construction of the modern nation-state, normative constraints on rational behavior, and all things German. You can schedule an appointment with him here to improve your resume, learn more about the CJW and GLI career opportunities, and work on anything else professional development-related.

Idealist.org Review for #NES Community

Idealist.org is great for students who may not have their teaching certification yet, looking for non-profit work or mission-driven experiences. In the #NES Community, you can find relevant education and non-profit work easily through their search engine, and many of their opportunities are entry-level! Not only do they have jobs and internships but they also have relevant volunteer and graduate programs listed. This site is definitely a good catch-all source for those looking for relevant NES experience. Thankfully, the site is also well organized.

Their site is very easy to navigate, especially for students who are used to searching on Handshake. You just type in keywords for the field you are interested in, the area you are looking around, and then select if you are looking for “Jobs”, “Internships”, “Volunteer”, “Organizations” “Mutual Aid Groups” or “Grad Programs. There are also many other filters that can be used to apply to your search, such as “Job Function”, “Issue Areas”, “Education Level” and so much more! You can really curate the search to exactly what you are looking for, which is very helpful in narrowing down the thousands of search results. Once you find an opportunity you are interested in, then you can apply directly on their site, or it will direct you to the company site where you can apply. Depending on your specific field of interest, for those in the NES Community, we suggest using keywords such as “education”, “teaching”, “non-profit”, “social”, “fundraising” and “giving” to help kick-start your search. 

Idealist.org also has many resources listed on the bottom of its website. They have career resources and also grad resources for applying to grad school. They have hundreds of articles aimed at helping you find the perfect opportunity to apply to next!

Overall, Idealist.org is a very useful tool for searching for jobs, internships, and other opportunities. Those in the NES community should definitely check out what Idealist has to offer since they have thousands of opportunities and also many resources for applying and maintaining your opportunity.