My Soapbox: Reacting to Nonprofits? Not a Recessionary Refuge for Job Seekers

in blogs, connect, musings by faryl on January 28th, 20096 Comments

Earlier today I read a post Nonprofits? Not a Recessionary Refuge for Job Seekers by Nancy Lublin (founder of Dress for Success and CEO of the not-for-profit Do Something) in which she laments the number of requests she’s been receiving since the recession from people interested in “breaking into” the not-for-profit sector.

At best the piece was self-pitying and whiny; describing it as obnoxious and alienating would not be off-base. I’m not sure what bothered me more, Lubin extolling ”the goodness” of her “unnaturally large heart, which should be considered a handicap” or this nonsensical metaphor for those looking to work in the sector with prior non-profit experience limited to volunteering

I had braces, I brush my teeth every day, and (sometimes) I floss. This doesn’t mean I can perform root canals.

Instead of looking at the current economic climate as an opportunity to perhaps choose from a wider pool of candidates with a diverse range of experiences, Lubin reminds anyone considering a career change that

News flash: We’re not a bunch of dummies in Birkenstocks who sit around watching Oprah all day. Your résumé’s expensive paper stock does not tell me anything about your office abilities. Your matchy-matchy suit and accessories don’t tell me that you understand our business model. Your Harvard MBA won’t make me drool. Twenty percent of my staff graduated from Ivies — and we’re not the smartest people on the team.

Pardon me while I hop onto my soapbox for a bit

While I respect everyone’s right to an opinion, as someone in the pool of people Lubin’s chastising, I frankly am offended by what she had to say. I commented on the original post, and am sharing a slightly revised version below.

(To comment on the original post, you must be registered at fastcompany.com. At this time, Ludlin’s not replied to any of the comments left for her.)

What do you think?
Feel free to share your comments here. You don’t need to register for your voice to be heard. And I will be sure to reply.

My response to Nancy:
Wow.

As soon as I read this that was my first reaction. And after re-reading it, it’s still my reaction.

Wow.

I’m hoping you’ve had a bad day and forgot to have the presence of mind to step away from your computer and re-read what you wrote before hitting the “publish” button here.

My parents paid for me to go to an Ivy League school and I spent most of my life trying to find a job that earned enough to (in my mind) justify their investment. I put in 16-20 hour days working at one of the top four public accounting firms. I also busted my tail at an internet startup with similar hours.

During those years I found time to volunteer for causes I believed in and was able to donate money to others. My “money-centric” company facilitated opportunities to donate both time and money to local not-for-profits.

We may have had some perks – but we also worked hard for our clients, our employers and ourselves. I don’t think that the fact that we were making money makes us any less deserving of recognition – financial or otherwise. That ride to our car was out of concern for our safety – do you begrudge someone that?

All that aside – after being laid off two years ago and going from a six-figure salary to a zero-dollar income, I’ve often thought that part of the silver lining is that I now feel free to choose a job based on what I want to do – where I think I can make the biggest difference in the world – and not on financial compensation. Granted, I don’t have a family to support, so that gives me the added freedom of choice.

To me, being able to work at a non-profit would be a luxury – not based on a misconception of it being an easier job – but based on being able to follow one’s heart instead of chasing a dollar.

Nancy, my prior employment aside, the fact is you would be lucky to have me work for you – I am ambitious, bright, creative, energetic, outgoing, warm, compassionate and a hard worker. And I’ve been blessed with a life that allows me to bring my business experience to the table as well.

With all due respect, unless anyone’s in the market for a job working for a woman with an overwhelming chip on her shoulder, who either doesn’t have the self-awareness to realize how judgmental she sounds or else just doesn’t care, my guess is you’ve pretty much resolved your problem with this post. After reading it, I have a hard time understanding why someone would apply for a job working for you.

OK. I’m off my soapbox now!

Your turn.
What do you think?

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I love technology, pop culture, animals & ice cream. I'm firmly against mayonnaise, math & meat.

Responses to “My Soapbox: Reacting to Nonprofits? Not a Recessionary Refuge for Job Seekers”

AnneMac January.01.2009 @ 5:44 pm
I felt really similarly to you. Here is what I posted on her site:

I have spent most of my career in startups, but for 2 years I was the IT manager for a not-for-profit social services agency in Chula Vista. They do amazing work there and pay their people well, and their grant writers are aces at getting grant support for modernizing IT equipment. I don't see any distinction among my work environments: both for-profit and not-for-profit groups drove their teams with clearly-defined mission statements and the kind of visionary leadership that inspired their teams to put in mega hours and tons of dedication with nearly zero budgets and massive creativity. Most of us had Master's degrees and very specific skills that were developed from our time in the trenches. However, the kind of bitterness you are experiencing here seems extreme. I was really put off by your condescending tone. In reality, good candidates come from all walks of life and pedigrees, as do poor candidates. I would hope you would put general postings on your sites that were helpful, reminding people to pick up a copy of “What Color is My Parachute?” or something to get back to basics, and to approach any potential job with the same zeal they did when they were 22, working feverishly in the career center at college, desperately practicing how to package themselves for the career of their dreams. Basically, with a lot less contempt, you can still get it across that these people who were high-fliers until their recent layoff just need to jettison the ego-identity they indulged at the top, and remind themselves that now that they are out, they are back at ground zero. Anyone who has ever done customer service knows that you have to please the customer, and rattling off their pedigree-laden resume will never do that. Any job hunter needs to remind themselves that the hiring manager is like a customer, always thinking, “What's In It for Me?” (Remember everyone's favorite radio station is WIIFM.) You can deflate their outsize egos with kindness and leadership. The bitterness and condescension smacks of someone who has allowed her frustration to escape prematurely and unpackaged. I wish you joy and balance and peace, and a return to your generous spirit. Put some nice suggestions on your facebook and delegate to your assistant the task of responding to repetitive banal or lazy questions, or set up an autoresponder. But don't let the pressure get you down. Best of luck to you!
richandcreamy January.01.2009 @ 6:07 pm
She just sounds pretty burned. It's depressing to read that she's at the point where she looks at every candidate with some prejudice but it does sound like she's had all sorts of people snub her.

Well in regards to my tweets, I've been used as a stepping stone in people's careers. When you're the person in it for the issues or caring about people and you're working with people who are all WIIFM and feel that those people are doing more harm than good, you get a little jaded.

I took a break from volunteering but now I'm back in the scene. I'm not as emotionally invested though, I'm just kinda “hanging out”
KyNam Doan January.01.2009 @ 11:31 pm
I can see how she's a little frustrated with this sudden interest in the NP field. A part of her knows that this talent will flock back to the for-profit world when the economy straightens. She also has to deal with for-profit individuals who look down their nose at nonprofits. When I tell people I'd love to do marketing for a nonprofit, they don't take me seriously.

On the other hand. I'm not quite sure what point she was trying to make besides vent her frustrations–it is a blog after-all.
faryl February.02.2009 @ 7:47 am
Great feedback – thanks guys!

From reactions here and in conversations on Twitter, I get that Nancy's feeling understandably frustrated.

I re-read Nancy's post today and a few things still don't sit right with me. Rather than squeeze them in here, I'm going to share them in a follow up post
Jobs for 14 And 15 Year Olds February.02.2009 @ 5:36 am
Great articles here and you really are very talented and deserve an honest compliment. Thank you

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