content development (&) management

I often get the question, especially from the “traditional” students at the local community college, “So you’re a consultant… but what do you DO, exactly?” It’s a fun question to answer, but can often be hard to convey the true nature of my day or week. In addition, I’ve been taught that every interaction is an opportunity for marketing, so I now find myself emphasizing different things to different people.The full picture makes some folks wonder about my sanity…

As it happens, I wrote the following in response to an email from a recently reconnected mentor, and I thought I’d share an excerpt for the family and friends and classmates that wonder what one consultant does, exactly.

Liz asked: “How amazing is it when you love what you do?!”

And I responded:

“Swear to God, I didn’t know what it was like to love what you do SO much! It’s great. I got out of I.T. finally, and started writing product (sales) proposals a few years ago. And I love it… now I’m performing nonprofit grant writing, and OMG that feeds me. I am living a career dream I’ve had for over 10 years. Not that there aren’t other dreams I’m NOT living – like, rock star, for example, or winged bird (there’s this recurring one where I’m, like, a carrier pigeon flying over the stands by my HS football field… I digress) – but I never thought I’d actually live ANY of them so this is freakin’ super.

And the best part is… it changed just a few days into the week. A family member needed help with a job application. The obesity education project is on hold for the moment. The knowledge management call was cancelled (they decided they didn’t have any questions), then I got asked to do an opportunity assessment for one part-time client, then asked to join a project team responding to an RFI for another! And I wrote three blogs (and started three more), and this morning was asked to write a review of a new CD by a local bluegrass band. I got the “okay” from my artist friend to commit some of her work to a new cause… and it’ll go on like that the rest of the week. A request to edit an application for an award for an outstanding performer at one of my nonprofit clients… a timely phone conversation with a new, super-cool colleague about stress, the consulting industry, and our moral compasses… impromptu lunch with a web guru…

This isn’t the norm… well, okay, it IS the norm, but SOMETIMES it slows down. The dogs demand some attention, and it’s good to go play with them and just hang loose once in a while. My wife made a mean Thai Basil Chicken for dinner, and tomorrow I’m making a pork roast (in my new crock pot – the salvation of the hard working consultant!), but dinner and dog-time might be the only opportunities Dana and I have to see each other until the weekend.

I’ll try to remember to log this stuff every once in a while. It’s a good reminder – like the character George does, in the movie Phenomenon – to find my pace, and not get overloaded… but it’s also good to really think about what I do in a week, and respect the accomplishments. Check off the lists, mark the milestones.

And Liz would probably say, “Most importantly… love what you do.”

Exactly.

Be free,

Jeff

The Chronicle of Philanthropy had a live Q&A session this week hosted by career consultant and author Shelly Cryer. I posted a handful of the most pertinent questions and answers here, but the following excellent list includes her initial thoughts for the business professional seeking nonprofit employment:

1. GET NONPROFIT EXPERIENCE. You have to demonstrate your commitment to a specific field of nonprofit work. Regardless of your age or extent of professional experience, you will need to volunteer or intern at a nonprofit.

2. THINK STRATEGICALLY ABOUT TRANSLATING YOUR BUSINESS SKILLS. If you are in sales, think about fund raising and development. If you have done marketing work, frame your work so it resonates for a nonprofit leader looking to ramp up her communications department. Ask people in your network for feedback on your resume to make sure it “speaks” to the needs of a nonprofit recruiter.

3. BUILD A NETWORK. It is critical for every job seeker – but especially sector switchers – to have a vibrant network of individuals you are communicating with about your job search. Identify experts in the field who can help you. Organize informational meetings all of the time. Stay in touch with the people who seem the most enthusiastic about you. Go to events sponsored by organizations where you would like to work. Network. Network. Network.

It’s the word-of-mouth referral that so often lands you the job. And for someone leaving business for a nonprofit, the word-of-mouth will help you make your case … the person who can say to an executive director colleague, “Jane, you have to meet with Deborah! She has the most interesting experience that is a match for that [grant writing] position you have been trying to fill. She comes out of the for-profit sector, but I have never heard someone speak so passionately about [homelessness in Nashville]. You have to meet her!”

4. CONCENTRATE ON YOUR COVER LETTER. For the sector switcher, your cover letter is vital. It is a key vehicle for “making your case” for how your business skills translate to a given nonprofit position, and it allows you to communicate your passion for the mission of the organization to which you are applying. Ask members of your network to give you feedback on your cover letter.

5. BE PERSUASIVE BUT RESPECTFUL. You want to be a great advocate for yourself. But I often hear nonprofit leaders complain of a certain arrogance that business professionals bring to their interviews at nonprofits. Great nonprofits are very professional organizations. Value your own experience, but don’t de-value that of the nonprofit professional. Be open to hearing about the skills you might not have. Go into the informational meeting or interview having done good research about the group. Ask great questions. Show interest in the point person’s own professional experience. Communicate that you understand the similarities and differences in nonprofit and for-profit work.

Navigate over to the CoP website for the full transcript!

Be free,

Jeff