Professional development is so important it should be done on a weekly basis. Each week, you should be doing something to further your career. However, if you're just getting started, the possibilities can be daunting. The good news is that you can do a lot in just a week's time!
Day 1: Polish Your Public Speaking Skills
Join your local Toastmasters. These groups can help you perfect your speaking skills as well as form a peer learning network. Or you could even sign-up to recite poetry at an open mic poetry reading in your community. The point is that you get comfortable with speaking to groups, because you will be expected to do this as a nonprofit leader and people will respect you for it.
Day 2: Join a Board of Directors
Board membership and leadership can bring credibility to your reputation as a leader as well as give you valuable skills you are not getting right now at your current nonprofit job. So - what causes are you passionate about besides the nonprofit you work for? Take a few moments to list a few skills you would bring to a nonprofit board, perhaps one smaller than yours. Could you help lead a fundraising committee or serve as a Treasurer? Sign up for accounts at boardnetUSA and Idealist.org to find volunteer board opportunities. A few quick emails and resume attachments later and you’re done.
Day 3: Become an Expert
Knowing is half the battle. No matter what your age, people respect a know-it-all. But with today’s technology, you don’t have to read the whole library of books on youth development or homeless populations or free clinics. You can pick and choose bits of information to take in to help build your expertise on your field. Set up Google Alerts for the topics you want to learn about and get quick doses of information on a daily or weekly basis from the web or from blogs.
Day 4: Ask for Feedback
If you don’t know how you’re doing, it’s next to impossible to improve your performance, let alone your skills. And who wants to wait 6 months to a year to know if they need to brush up on their organizational skills or interpersonal communications? Set a meeting with your boss and let him or her know you’re looking for some constructive feedback to help you do your job better in between reviews. Your boss will be impressed with your initiative and you’ll reap the benefit of knowing exactly what you need to do right now to get ahead.
Day 5: Learn Someone Else's Job
Good leaders need to be well-rounded to be prepared for any problem that needs to be solved. It pays to pursue learning opportunities outside of your job description. If you’re a development director, sign up to take a class in finance and budgeting or evaluation. If you’re a volunteer manager, try your hand at marketing or strategic planning. Visit your state nonprofit association to get a listing of current learning opportunities. Pick one and sign up.
Day 6: Expand Your Network
Get LinkedIn. This online social network can easily hook you up with that potential mentor you met at the annual conference. We meet folks all the time and forget to use their business cards, but LinkedIn makes it easy to keep in touch with folks you may want to work with in the future. And speaking of conferences, they are the ultimate network builder. You can meet a lot of people quickly in your desired field. Visit the nonprofit management wiki for links to conferences and other similar professional development opportunities. Sign up early to get cheaper rates and apply for scholarships if they are available.
Day 7: Join a Professional Association
There’s a nonprofit association for everything now. Visit this page to get started. The membership fees may seem a little steep for some associations, but you can’t beat the instant network it provides, as well as ongoing learning opportunities and conferences. And professional affiliations speak volumes on a resume.
Of course it always helps to have cheerleaders on your side. Join me, Michele Martin, and the other participants of the Take Back Your 9-5! Women's Career Empowerment Retreat over at our online Ning community. We're all trying to go beyond the glass ceiling. Are you?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
How to Kickstart Your Nonprofit Career in 7 Days
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4 comments:
Rosetta, I just found your blog, and am very excited. Thanks for this practical post. I look forward to following your blog.
I'm glad you found the information blog Antonette! Thanks for reading!
As usual, Rosetta, another awesome post! I'm guessing that this is the 7-day approach that you've used? :-)
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