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Features Column 6 On your mark, get set, go!: The value of applying for jobs well in advance

Hi Cathy,
I am a senior in college, and graduation is just around the corner. I am interested in working for a nonprofit that focuses on education, preferably early childhood. I have a few questions: first, when is it too early to start? If I mail in resumes now, will they just get filed away, or would I be getting a jump on my classmates? I am also thinking of relocating to a new state. Other than sites like Idealist.org and Monster.com are there any good resources for doing an out-of-state job search? Lastly, what is "entry level" in the nonprofit world? Thanks for any light you can shed on these questions.
—Adey

As someone who works with a fair number of people who have lots of trouble getting into the starting position on their job search, I say go forth into job searchdom! The job search bug can be hard to catch, so I see no need to tempt the fates and give senior slump even a second to creep in. Now, that's not to say that you shouldn't do some pre-search work to most effectively use your time and energy. The more clarity you have before sending out your resume and cover letter, the less likely they are to just get filed away.

It's true that some organizations might be slower to respond when they see that you won't be available for another four or five months, but many organizations will be impressed with your proactive attitude and actions, and occasionally when a nonprofit totally loves a candidate, they may close their search and wait until the person is available! While you can't count on that kind of star treatment, the biggest factor in getting a job is very often the content of what you have to offer and your overall fit with the job and the organization, and not necessarily the timing.

It's great that you already seem to have some clarity, having narrowed down your focus to early childhood education. And while that's still a really huge area, if there is ever a time in life to keep your areas of interest and options open, it's at the very beginning of your career. It's also difficult to be super specific when you don't have lots of experience. Indeed, being too specific now might close doors that you may not get the opportunity to open again for a long time. Right now, it's important to expose yourself to a few areas that give you energy and build your skills so that over the next few years you can refine your search.

Idealist itself posts many other helpful nonprofit job sites in its Career Center. I don't know if you have any interest in the sub-field of special education for children, but if you do the Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education could also give you some leads. Tapping into the resources available at your college or university if you haven't done so already is also a great way to start. Many schools provide wonderful job search resources through their Career Centers. Most also have extensive alumni networks, which can be very helpful to access. You never know who or what an alum might know or be able to connect you to.

The job market is quite different from state to state, so it could increase the impact of all of your work to figure out where you will be living, or, at least, narrow it down to a few states before beginning your search. At the same time, because you are at the very beginning of your career, simply gaining experience in the job search process, including everything from working on your resume to going on interviews, could be quite beneficial to you.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean when you ask: "What is 'entry level' in the nonprofit world?" If you mean what are some examples of entry level jobs, then that's a tough question to answer because there are so many nooks and crannies in the sector. In the area of early childhood education, however, some entry-level direct service jobs might be a teacher's aide or day-care teacher's aide. You could also be seeking more administrative entry-level positions, which might include receptionist or office assistant. You might be interested in doing advocacy work in early childhood education, in which case you might be looking at a position like research assistant. Or, perhaps, ultimately, you would like to do program development and/or management in this area, in which case you might be looking at a position as an assistant to a program manager or director.

If you mean what is the salary for an entry-level position, that's an even harder question to answer. Salaries vary widely from state to state, and even from one part of a state to the next. You can find links to some salary surveys on Idealist. Unfortunately, many of the surveys come with a fee and can cost as much as a few hundred dollars. Additionally, you'll notice that most don't have salary listings for entry-level positions. A safe bet for the range of such a position is about $22,000-$35,000, depending on your location, the exact nature of the position, size of the organization, etc.

It can take time to find the right job, especially when you're new to the professional world. But don't despair. I've said it before in this column, and I'll say it again: While you're looking for your dream job, or at least a good one, try your hand at volunteering with a nonprofit that jazzes you. You'll build your skills and experience, and also clarify exactly what it is you want to do. Also, these days more and more organizations are providing paid internships so don't rule that out in your search. You might not make oodles of money this way, but often it can be enough to get by while you are building skills and making contacts. You'll find a whole section of internship listings on Idealist.

You're obviously a very motivated person, which bodes very well for finding a good or even great fit in your first post-college job. I don't know about you, but I think I just heard the starting bell! Get going in your job search, and best of luck!