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How to use the Idealist.org Career Center
The Idealist Career Center is all about helping you succeed with your transition to a social-impact career, regardless of your starting place. The steps to success are:
- Know what you want.
- Know what's out there.
- Explore ways to become a stronger candidate.
- Learn to present yourself on paper and in person.
- Use Idealist.org to explore opportunities.
1. Know what you want
Spend the time to accurately assess exactly who you are and what it is that you want in your career. By making this time commitment early on — and reflecting honestly along the way — you'll create a more focused, efficient job search and career investment.
To start, try these two exercises from the Idealist Guides to Nonprofit Careers:
- The Career Tracks exercise lets you see where your passion fits into the nonprofit sector.
- The Five Lenses Framework exercise helps you pinpoint what draws you to the sector.
2. Know what's out there
Once you have an idea for what you want, it's important to begin to get a sense of all the organizations that are doing work that interests you — not just the ones that are currently hiring.
While you can research organizations in many ways, here are some suggestions for making the process most effective:
- Grow your network and conduct informational interviews
- Use the organization search on Idealist to explore 100,000 organizations and the range of opportunities they offer.
- Learn more about how to launch your social impact career in the nonprofit, business, and/or government sectors.
- Check out these other nonprofit career resources.
To find job openings, use the faceted search on the new Idealist, and check out this discussion.
3. Explore ways to become a stronger candidate
There's no such thing as a perfect candidate, so while you are searching for a job, you should also work on strengthening your candidacy.
You can gain experience, earn certifications or academic credit, learn new skills, or brush up on your "nonprofitspeak."
While you may not know exactly which skill, qualification, or experience will get you that job offer, it's a safe bet to try a diverse range of efforts to strengthen yourself as a candidate.
Here are a few ways to start:
- Peruse the Idealist Grad School Resource Center to learn more about grad school for the public good.
- Check out the Idealist Volunteer Center and the International Volunteerism Resource Center to learn how volunteering can expand your career horizons.
- Discover how you can conduct local, national, and international job searches.
- If you're an undergrad, check out these ways to set yourself up for success while you're still in college.
- If you're in grad school, read Composing Your Career from the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
4. Learn to present yourself on paper and in person
The more time you spend recreating your resume and cover letter for each position you apply for, the sooner you'll snag job interviews and, ideally, a job offer.
Research open positions you're applying for and the organizations that are hiring. Examine what they are asking for, and what you've got to offer them. Then tailor your resume, cover letter, and interview talking points so that you can translate your (volunteer and paid) experiences for the hiring team.
5. Use Idealist.org to explore opportunities
Idealist offers many free resources to assist you in your job search.
- Download and read our Idealist Guides to Nonprofit Careers, for First-Time Job Seekers, Sector Switchers, and Service Corps Participants.
- Create a free member profile on Idealist, and then activate the free email alerts — simply select your preferences and Idealist will email you when relevant opportunities are posted.
- Listen to our Podcasts for advice and interviews with social-impact professionals.
- Read our daily blog for career tips and a range of stories that can clue you in to the latest trends in the social sector.