Nonprofit myths challenged

Private-sector and government workers often like the idea of putting their skills to use for the greater good of society but really don't understand the world of nonprofits.

"Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector" by Laura Gassner Otting (Kaplan Publishing, $16.95) challenges myths about the nonprofit hiring process. (Kaplan Publishing is a division of The Washington Post Co.)

The biggest myth is you'll starve if you take a nonprofit job. It depends on the work you do and, more importantly, the work the organization does. People often don't realize how diverse nonprofits are. The broad category includes schools, hospitals and trade groups, as well as activist and cultural organizations.

Organizations fighting for civil rights, human rights, women's rights or animal rights tend to pay less, points out Gassner Otting, founder and president of the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, a search firm based in Newton, Mass. "In fact, it's not uncommon to find nonprofits that fight against poverty paying their own employees impossibly low salaries," she writes.

Gassner Otting cautions workers about thinking nonprofit work represents a way to escape hard work and office politics. If anything, the nonprofit world can be trickier because much of the reward is emotional, not monetary. The lofty goals of the organization can quickly lead to burnout.

"This great purpose often places a heavy weight — and even, sometimes, a chip — on the shoulders of those doing the work," she writes.

Once you get past the attitude issue, there's the matter of your background. "The first thing most hiring managers look at when they open your résumé is your current job and current company and job. This will most likely be the first strike against you," Gassner Otting said.

"The second thing is your education; if it is solely business-related, it may be your second strike. Strike three may be a lack of numbers showing relevant scale or scope of your projects and accomplishments; a huge difference between what you've done and what you want to do ... won't make you look like a good fit for the position."