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.:Resource Guides:Interviews-Elizabeth Jennings.
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Interviews
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Advice
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What books, magazines, periodicals, websites or other materials should people read to learn more about this field? |
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Of course, use Idealist.org! It's the greatest way to find out about and network with nonprofits around the world, and I used it for years before ever working for Idealist. For anyone interested in breaking into the nonprofit world I'd recommend
the Chronicle of Philanthropy as a way to stay current with trends. To be knowledgeable about world events, the Christian Science Monitor has some of the best international reporting. For student activists, there's no better place to start than the Midwest
Academy's publication Organizing for Social Change.
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What questions would you ask of someone who wants to do this work? |
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What are you passionate about?
How do you put your passion into action now?
How can you find mentors to learn what you need to learn, and meet who you need to meet?
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In what kinds of jobs can recent college graduates have the most impact in your field? |
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Community organizing, research, writing
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What are the major trends and/or key issues in your field? |
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We need to always be recruiting new constituencies to help us do our work, so continuing to raise the profile of the nonprofit sector in general and volunteering in particular will continue to be a big issue in coming years.
Meanwhile, organizations of all kinds need to recognize the value of diverse perspectives, and be willing to learn from and develop leadership among marginalized populations.
Resources, especially funding, are often scarce for nonprofits. We have to keep our missions first and foremost, but stay aware of how world and national events (stock markets, for instance) affect our ability to do our work. To make the most of the resources we
have, we must focus more attention to networking and collaborating among nonprofits, and among businesses and governments.
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What forms of support and/or advice have you found most valuable (mentoring, trainings, professional development, attending conferences, etc.)? |
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The unflagging support of my family makes everything I do possible. Next on the list is the mentorship of people in my writing life, in my volunteer activities and in my activism. Everything else (trainings, workshops, conferences,
courses, etc.), has been made possible by people who believed in me and gave me the tools and encouragement to keep taking on bigger and better projects.
The best advice I got when I first took a volunteer leadership position came from a veteran activist: "Your first task is to find your replacement." That's it. The bottom line is we all need to be talent scouts all the time, helping others to put their passion
into action, all the while finding the mentors to help us take our the next steps.
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What is a common or tough interview question a candidate in your field should be prepared to answer? |
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"Describe a time you failed." That may not be particular to my field, but it's always hard to confront our failures. Showing how we use those experiences to grow is a great opportunity in an interview.
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What other advice would you give people who want to do this work? |
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Keep the big picture in mind, but take time to celebrate small victories.
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next page | The Big Picture
1, 2, 3, 4 |
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Career Center Resource Guides
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