How To: Put Technology to Use (February 2009)
Find an NPTech Job
An investment banker recently incensed the nonprofit community by asking the New York Times, "If you just take your base home, the question becomes, why not just work at a nonprofit from 8 to 4 instead of a bank where you’re expected to work weekends and every night till 10 or 11?" Setting aside the whole greed-as-motivation issue that got us into this mess in the first place, it's a bad assumption because it's becoming harder and harder to land a job at a nonprofit.
So, what should you do? TechSoup's guide to the Nonprofit Job Search is a good place to start. And lifehacker has an entertaining guide on switching careers. You might also want to check out some advice from EchoDitto's Joshua Wachs. Bottom line: typos in your cover letter = no job for you.
Once you've got a handle on the search process, peruse the listings on Idealist.org, OpportunityKnocks, or NTEN's aggregated job board, which focuses on NPTech. You may also want to set up Google Alerts with keywords focusing on your areas of interest.
If all else fails, be like Jimmy and lower your standards: our NTC intern has offered to stuff tote bags for a modest amount of money, unlimited soda, and control of the stereo.
Hire the Right People
On the flip side of the job search, you as an employer want to make sure Jimmy's actually going to stuff totes, and not just sip Obama Cola while listening to his recently purchased Jonas Brothers album.
This is more art than science, but you may want to consider "behavior-based interviewing". The HR Council for the Voluntary and Non-profit Sector has a guide to "Getting the Right People" nearly as comprehensive as its name, while Bridgestar manages to fit its advice into one (very long) page.
It can be instructive to consult the past, as well. In 1997, Fast Company profiled Netscape: "Barksdale's company focuses relentlessly on acquiring talent. Netscape has distributed more product (at last count, 60 million copies of its Web browser) and generated more revenue than any software startup in history. Which means it has to keep adding people at a ferocious pace." We all know how that turned out. So, don't be like Netscape.
It's also helpful to know how other organizations are handling their IT staffing needs. That's why we put out our IT Staffing Report. This year's survey closes February 28th, so please, take it today.
Keep Your Best People
First, the good news: employee turnover is lower at nonprofits than at for-profits. But, just because you're doing good in the world doesn't mean that mission attachment overrides the desire for higher pay.
Yes, filthy lucre tops most lists of staff complaints. But you can get around that with some creative thinking about benefits. Commongood Careers also has a great report on meeting the needs of nonprofit employees and jobseekers (PDF).
Apparently, meeting the needs of Generation Y staffers requires special attention. They're young, they have energy, but they're feisty. There's even a blog devoted to the topic.
