Remember that first and foremost, a non-profit organization is a
business. You may be applying to the agency because of the cute puppies
on its publicity materials, but their job is stay in the black. That
means they have to take in more money than they spend on their mission.
Your potential job is undoubtedly related to that: generating
publicity, executing successful events, donor relations, etc.
Most, if not all, non-profits answer to a board of directors—much like
a private-sector company answers to its stockholders. Sure, the work
you do at a non-profit is generally more altruistic than most other
companies, but the bottom line is the same: you have to produce results
for your organization to continue its work.
So what does this mean for your resume? It’s essential that you include
examples of how you’ve produced results in the past. Your
results-driven experience may only include the time you helped the PTA
raise $500 through candy sales, but pointing out the results you
achieved—“By focusing the kids on specific goals, I helped them
increase their totals over the previous year by nearly 15
percent”—makes it relevant.
Other tips for putting together a top-notch resume for a non-profit organization:
Know your audience.
Most job seekers are told to eliminate anything from their resume that
may provoke a bias from a potential employer—past volunteer work for a
particular religion or political affiliation, for example. That’s not
necessarily the case when writing a resume for a not-for-profit. If you
planned a successful fundraiser for your church and now you want to be
an event planner for a non-profit, potential employers are going to
look at the fact that you carried off an event successfully—not dwell
on your religious preference.
Leave off the small stuff.
This may sound like a direct contradiction of the previous tip, but
just because you’re applying at a non-profit agency, you don’t need to
include every volunteer activity you’ve ever done. While it’s good to
demonstrate that you have a giving spirit, the organization probably
isn’t looking to hire someone based solely on how many hours a week
they stuff envelopes at the Save the Raccoon Foundation.
Don’t dismiss your business experience. The very
reason non-profit organizations are able to continue their good work is
because someone is running the business. Yes, the business. Take
whatever business experience you have—whether that’s balancing the
books at a beauty shop or acting as your fraternity’s treasurer, and
spin it into how your experience can help the organization’s bottom
line.
Highlight your innovative spirit.
Non-profits have to do a lot with relatively few resources. They’re
looking for someone who can accomplish great things—or at least
successfully fulfill their job description—without a lot of material
help. Include on your resume how you’ve been innovative on a project on
the past.
Play up your flexibility and resourcefulness.
Similar to the “do more with less” mentality pervasive in most
non-profit agencies is the hard-and-fast rule that things are going to
go wrong, generally at the last minute. After you’ve spent months
putting together a charity event featuring a four-piece string quartet,
that quartet is going to come down with the flu the day before and have
to cancel. For you, cancelling the event won’t be an option. Instead,
you’ll have to remain flexible. Detail how your past flexibility led to
a great outcome.
Include specialized skills.
Non-profits are always looking for people who can do double-duty. If
you’re applying for an executive position but have experience teaching
computer