How To Write A Successful Nonprofit Resume

This article provides information on How To Write A Successful Nonprofit Resume

It’s one thing to consider getting a nonprofit career in your chosen field of civic duty; and another to apply for one. You may think that your current resume from the for profit world of career will work just fine for a nonprofit application; but though it may work, it will work much better for obtaining an interview for a nonprofit position if you use a resume that is more tailored to the nonprofit market. Here are the best tips on how to create a winning resume for nonprofit positions.

Market Correctly

First, it’s crucial that you know to what market you are directing your talents in a resume. Though, in the regular commercial world of standard industries, a resume is often given the same tone across the board; this is not as true for people applying for nonprofit positions. This is because the objective is completely different of a nonprofit than a company that is seeking to profit. This means you have to offer a more human touch to your resume content, offering more focus on communication skills, multitasking, and fundraising/volunteer experience. They do not really care that you were the star salesman of last year-rather they are more interested in how many people you may have helped-for example.

Focus on the Right Characteristics

In a for profit situation, the applicant would focus on a number of inherent characteristics that they could bring to a position. Along with the last tip on resume writing, there are certain characteristics that a nonprofit is looking for that is different from what for profits are. Most central is your connection to the cause, your sense of humanity/compassion, flexibility, ability to wear many hats and adapt, and resourcefulness. These are all key characteristics of someone who will help them fulfill their nonprofit mission. Moreover, it is significant if you can offer a nonprofit an ability to make more with less resources through an innovative mind-as resources are always stretched in most nonprofits.

Focus on the Right Skills

Not just characteristics but also skills are vital to getting the job at a nonprofit-meaning the same skills you might apply with for a marketing company, should not necessarily be the same skills you dress up in a resume to a nonprofit. While it is crucial that you show that many of your skills are transferable to their nonprofit’s operations; some just won’t win any awards with those hiring at a nonprofit-such as increasing profit margins and corporate buzz word speak. Instead, focus on the skills you offer-both specialized and general-and how they can transfer and bring success to the nonprofit’s mission.

This said, there are a host of specialized skills that you may not think may be applicable to a nonprofit’s goals and operations; but are actually very much needed. So, if you are applying for a specific position with a nonprofit, and have specialized skills in another area; do not think just because these skills do not apply to that position specifically, that you should exclude them. Why? Because a nonprofit is a business, and does require many of the same experience that a for profit business does, and having more than one applicable skill set-even unrelated-could make you a more qualified candidate for a position.