Reference Guide for Job Seekers

If you are looking for a job in the nonprofit sector, we would like to help you in your search.

Web Resources for Job Seekers

The Foundation Center's Job Corner (http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/jobs/)
Features current full-time job openings at U.S. foundations and other nonprofit organizations, including nonprofit infrastructure organizations. (Also available as a free weekly e-mail bulletin.) Click on Other Job Resources for more web sites that post job listings in the nonprofit sector.

The Foundation Center's FAQs on Nonprofit Employment (http://www.fdncenter.org/getstarted/faqs/section_4d.html)
FAQs answering questions about nonprofit employment, salaries and compensation, resume writing, and volunteer opportunities.

CharityChannel's Career Search Online (http://charitychannel.com/CareerSearch/SearchJobListings/tabid/4013/Default.aspx)
Here you can search for positions by title, location, organization, classification, or by executive search firms. Updated daily.

Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com/jobs)
Contains job openings in and out of academe. The most current listings are by subscription only, but prior listings are available at no charge.

Chronicle of Philanthropy (http://philanthropy.com/jobs)
Lists upper management jobs in foundations and nonprofit organizations. You can browse by position (fundraising, executive, program, and administrative) or by field. You can also perform keyword searches and sign up for a free e-mail with job listings that fit your interests.

Community Career Center (http://www.nonprofitjobs.org)
Allows you to search available job opportunities by job type, title, member affiliation, employer name, primary skill, work type/mission, and work location.

Council on Foundations Career Center (http://www.cof.org/Jobs/SearchJobs.cfm)
Provides searchable job listings at member organizations, resumes, and a library of job description templates. COF members can access the Career Center for free and non-members can subscribe for a nominal fee.

ExecSearches.com (http://www.execsearches.com/exec)
Lists executive and senior management positions. You can search the listings or browse by job function, industry, region, or keywords.

Idealist: Action Without Borders (http://www.idealist.org)
Provides searchable listings of job openings, nonprofit internships, volunteering opportunities, and career fairs. There is also a Nonprofit Career Center (http://www.idealist.org/career.html) with useful advice and information for those seeking employment in the nonprofit sector.

IEG Network's Sponsorship Careers (http://www.sponsorship.com/IEG-Careers.aspx)
Lists jobs in the sponsorship industry with salaries of $50,000 or more. You can also post your resume at this site (free registration is required to search or post jobs).

New York Foundation for the Arts - Jobs in the Arts (http://www.nyfa.org/opportunities.asp?type=Job&id=94&fid=1&sid=54)
A weekly arts newsletter put out by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). A national listing of jobs in arts organizations is included. Free registration is required.

The Nonprofit Times Online (http://www.nptimes.com/careers.html)
Contains nonprofit job postings at all levels.

Opportunity Knocks: Job Seeker Center (http://www.opportunityknocks.org/jobseekerx/)
Offers job postings and career resources. The advanced search allows you to search by keyword, organization type, position description and type, city, state/province, country, annual pay, and job freshness.

The print versions of the CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY, NONPROFIT TIMES, and several other publications listed here also contain job listings.

Recommended Books for Jobseekers

Burns, Jennifer Bobrow. Career Opportunities in the Nonprofit Sector. New York, NY: Checkmark Books, 2006. Each of the career profiles provides details about a job in the nonprofit sector. Information given includes position description, salary ranges, employment and advancement prospects, required education, among other particulars.

Cryer, Shelly. The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to Land a Job That Makes a Difference. St. Paul, MN: Fieldstone Alliance, 2008. Explains how to understand employment patterns in the nonprofit sector, providing profiles of specific sub-sectors, such as health, arts, and education. More general job seeking advice is also given.

Ginsberg, Beth (ed.) The ECO Guide to Careers That Make a Difference: Environmental Work for a Sustainable World. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2004. Various specialists describe their work.

King, Richard M. From Making a Profit to Making a Difference : How to Launch Your New Career in Nonprofits. River Forest, IL: Planning/Communications, 2000. A guidebook to help in the transition from for-profit fields to nonprofit employment. Resource sections include lists of professional recruiting firms, fundraising firms, professional associations, and sources of philanthropic information.

Otting, Laura Gassner. Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector: Shifting Your Focus From the Bottom Line to a Better World. New York, NY: Kaplan Publishing, 2007. A guide to transitioning from the for-profit to the nonprofit sector. Part one describes the nonprofit sector and positions within it. In part two, the author details the job search process with tips on cover letters and resumes. Part three is an appendix containing job web sites by interest area and degree programs by state.
For a bibliography of other titles on careers in the nonprofit sector, see our Topical Resource List on "Working in Nonprofits," or check under the subject headings "Nonprofit organizations--employment" or "Nonprofit organizations--employment--directories" in the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature.