It is something or someone that brings you heart felt elation?

Do we lack it in this nation?

Is it true human excellence?

Is it earth shattering joy?

Is it your favorite toy?

Inspiration

How does it feel deep in your heart?

It certainly does not feel like a fart?

Is it a form of love from one person to another?

Can it [...]]]> Inspiration

It is something or someone that brings you heart felt elation?

Do we lack it in this nation?

Is it true human excellence?

Is it earth shattering joy?

Is it your favorite toy?

Inspiration

How does it feel deep in your heart?

It certainly does not feel like a fart?

Is it a form of love from one person to another?

Can it transform us to help each other?

Inspiration

Does it call you do be more?

Does it call you to open up the door to your mind and soul at a deeper level than before?

Can you decide to be inspired or is it only something to admire?

If I call myself a change agent and I don’t inspire will you call me a liar?

Inspiration

It draws you in and accelerates you to go for the gold

It has the effect to break the old mold

If you have it does it mean you will never give-up on your dream and say I fold?

Inspiration

You are the choice!

You are the leader of our mind

Focus, decide, and take action and your authentic self will find

You are the voice!

Do you remember the time you where inspired?

-Mark McCurdy 2010

Mark McCurdy runs the www.thenonprofitcareercoach.org.

Kerry Connor is the National Recruitment Director for Jumpstart, a national non-profit organization that focuses on early intervention for at risk preschoolers.  They place older adults to work one on one with at risk preschoolers.

Mark volunteered at Read for the Record, a national campaign to raise awareness around the country for [...]]]>

Mark McCurdy runs the www.thenonprofitcareercoach.org.

Kerry Connor is the National Recruitment Director for Jumpstart, a national non-profit organization that focuses on early intervention for at risk preschoolers.  They place older adults to work one on one with at risk preschoolers.

Mark volunteered at Read for the Record, a national campaign to raise awareness around the country for early childhood education.  There were over 11,000 events around the country last year.

Kerry learned about Jumpstart from the NBC Today Show.  Education has always been important to Kerry.  She grew up in Savannah Georgia and went to a school where the education was poor with a lot of disruption, including bomb threats almost everyday and even some shootings.  She was lucky because her parents read to her daily.

Kerry says there is a story everyday that givers her a reason to want to do this work.  Statistics like the fact that the number of prison cells needed is projected based on 3rd grade literacy rates.  When she looked a Jumpstart she saw a lot of opportunities.  Even though she did not have a recruiting background, this seemed like a good fit for her.

To get engaged in this sector, the mission has to resonate with you.  It’s not enough just to want to make a difference.  Break your skills down, prepare to be flexible and work hard.  For entry level people she looks for people who are coach-able.  If you want to get involved, you can in a couple of different ways.  If you are a college student, try on an internship or a strategic volunteering opportunity.  If you want to get a feel for what it’s like to work in this space, Jumpstart has community core members that work 300 hours per year working one on one with at risk preschoolers.

Find a mentor or a career coach that has major experience in the nonprofit sector are two additional ways to help accelerate your nonprofit career.

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Learn how a search powered by passion can make all the difference!

By Mark McCurdy

Passion as described in the Webster dictionary says: PASSION: A strong liking or desire for or devoted to some activity

When you build your job search or career search around the mission or position you [...]]]> Powered by Passion!

Can passion really help accelerate your nonprofit career?

Learn how a search powered by passion can make all the difference!

By Mark McCurdy

Passion as described in the Webster dictionary says:
PASSION: A strong liking or desire for or devoted to some activity

When you build your job search or career search around the mission or position you are most passionate about, you ensure a strong foundation on which to build your search. When you begin your search with passion at the core you also build emotional IQ and physical confidence. A cause you are passionate about draws from your values and spirit to help change the future. If you are passionate about the environment or stopping gun violence you probably have very strong feelings about the cause due to a past positive or negative experience. You may love the environment because you have wonderful memories of time spent with family and friends in the great outdoors, or maybe a volunteer experience with the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. If you have a deep passion to stop gun violence, chances are you or a loved one has experience in this field. Both examples give you great past experience and first-hand knowledge on which to build your job or career search which come from a deep passion that is unique in a different way than your job skills are.

Could this be you? A client of mine we will call “Stan”, is very passionate about ending gun violence and educating youth and young adults about it.  He unfortunately has had first-hand experience with gun violence growing up and has sadly lost friends who were victims of gun violence.

The emotional strategy for Stan to build his job search around this mission is actually a powerful mindset and can be an advantage throughout his job or career search. When the question comes up as to why he is passionate about the mission of stopping gun violence it is crystal clear how much he cares. The power behind his strategy is deeply rooted in past experiences and the turmoil of personal loss making it a natural fit. That fact that he is taking personal control of the loss and is taking positive actions to solve the greater problem of gun violence is another confidence booster. The fact that Stan has an emotional commitment to the mission helps build honest repoire with the interviewer and improves the chances that Stan will be called back for a second interview
The physical difference in his demeanor and body language when Stan talks about the topic of gun violence is easy to recognize.  Stan’s true inner self is revealed and his energy becomes almost contagious when we talk more about this issue that he is passionate about.   When passion becomes a daily part of your job search, or even your career, you tend to have an increased depth of self-determination and creativity. There are bound to be challenges that arise day-to-day,  but when Stan focuses on the mission that is most important to him, the organization gains an employee that has a deeper level of commitment to the cause than someone who does not have personal experience with gun violence.

Now some of you may be thinking, I don’t exactly have one mission that is most important to me, but I do love computers (or hiking, or car repair, for example). So how can this passion work for me in the non-profit world? You can still use your deep passion for your trade as a catalyst for making a difference. Often times, your trade has been or is your hobby. For example if you love working on computers and you work as the IT professional or as part of a larger IT team then you can use your passion for computers to lead your search in the nonprofit sector.  However, it is still imperative to know something about the sector and organizations in which you are applying. For example, if a close family friend has used assistance at the local food pantry in the past and you learned how helpful and supportive the food pantry was to your friend, you may offer your IT services to the food pantry.  You may start by volunteering your time and expertise.  Other organizations may be looking to hire an IT professional, but again, it is imperative that you understand the work and mission of an organization, its management and work style, and how you might fit into their culture.   On the other side, if you are applying for work at a museum but you know nothing about the museum and have no feelings about the arts, then you will most likely feel out of place in this environment.  Please refer to my past blog article on career transitions for more information on cultural fit.

Whether your passion is deep seated in the organization or in your enthusiasm for the cause, the emotional and physical advantage that comes from building your job search from the foundation of passion stacks up well against the competition from others applicants.  The competition is less likely to have the same level of passion as Stan does when it comes to gun violence. Stan’s new found knowledge that his passion is actually a major advantage against the competition builds confidence and accelerates his job search.  Your job search will be stronger when powered by passion!