Instead of being a responsible blog mother, I decided to spend this morning prepping for a meeting next week, reviewing a NOFA and lollygagging at the pool. Gosh, I'm the worst, aren't I?
Today's missive comes from a pal who's dealing with some difficult professional issues.
Dear Julie:
I'm in a rut. I've been an ED for more decades that I like to admit and I'm afraid that if I leave my current job and talk about my experience, potential employers will look at my resume and realize that I'm older than I look. Thanks to good genes and avoiding the sun for most of my life, I look young ... really young, in fact. Like, so young that my husband often gets confused for my son even though I'm actually older than he is. The reality is that I am within 10 years of what most people consider to be "retirement age" but I have no interest in slowing down anytime soon. I'd love to work until I'm in my 70s or even 80s, maybe not as the ED but certainly in my sector. How do I spin my many years of work history without scaring away boards that don't want to hire someone "old"?
Well, I'm not going to lie .... as someone who's deeply into middle age (Team #GenX) and creeping fast upon her 50s, I'm already starting to worry that my uncolored hair (25% gray) and my 20+ years of experience are going to start looking like liabilities instead of assets fairly soon. So here's what I think you do ... you don't LIE (because that's stupid) but you remove age indicators and you don't throw your hat in the ring for gigs that require what year you graduated from college (because that's even more stupid). Organizations that are still stuck in the "send us your college transcripts and your salary history" are not where you want to work anyway. (And that's all part of my personal vendetta against nonprofit boards who are run by rank amateurs who are hiring like it's 1969 and "Mad Men" is a model for office management.)
You can easily leave off your first "out of college" jobs on the resume and remove the year you graduated. Having 20ish years on the resume and 3 - 10 jobs is fine, anything more than that and you're going to want to cull the herd if you will.
The truth is the most boards of directors are populated by rank amateurs who have no idea how to run a nonprofit. They are inexperienced if good-hearted people who are on the board either because they are social climbers or do-gooders or someone made them do it (i.e. political appointee) and are there under duress. Sometimes being on a board is a bad habit and for others it's a way to be the petty tyrant that they've always wanted to be. I seem to run across either chronically detached and disengaged board members or those who see board membership as a stepping stone to trying to take over the organization (so they can run it into the ground). I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule, but most boards suck and it's one of my biggest issues with the nonprofit sector.
OK, you didn't write to me to hear a lecture about something you already know so here's the thing:
Prospective boards are looking for someone who's going to reassure them, who is going to make them look good and who helps them feel good about their volunteerism. Most boards do not want to be overshadowed by the ED and they are going to need to be lulled a bit with your qualifications and experience in a way that doesn't make them feel incompetent or overhwlemed. It's a complicated puzzle ... trying to appear competent and professional without being intimidating.
Oh, and I should note that this tends to be sage advice for cis women working in the nonprofit sector but apparently, if you're a human who identifies as a male, the rules are entirely different. You can totally brag about having four decades of experience etc... Womenfolk, well, the world is different. Feel free to argue but I'm right because ... I am a woman and I have lived this for more than two decades so STFU. #fightme #youlose #notafightIwanttowin
Sigh.
Sorry. This is a touchy subject and I know that I'm going to get blasted but ... there you go. Shave off a few years on your resume and try to make it look like you're in the 20ish range of years working in the industry and see if you can't get your prospective employers to peg you at late 40s to mid 50s
Sigh.
And with that, I bid you all a fond farewell as I'll be taking the next few days off. I'm heading back to the Swamp to do a thing and some stuff. I probably won't be able to post on Monday but if I do, you'll know it when I do. Cheers!
Today's missive comes from a pal who's dealing with some difficult professional issues.
Dear Julie:
I'm in a rut. I've been an ED for more decades that I like to admit and I'm afraid that if I leave my current job and talk about my experience, potential employers will look at my resume and realize that I'm older than I look. Thanks to good genes and avoiding the sun for most of my life, I look young ... really young, in fact. Like, so young that my husband often gets confused for my son even though I'm actually older than he is. The reality is that I am within 10 years of what most people consider to be "retirement age" but I have no interest in slowing down anytime soon. I'd love to work until I'm in my 70s or even 80s, maybe not as the ED but certainly in my sector. How do I spin my many years of work history without scaring away boards that don't want to hire someone "old"?
Well, I'm not going to lie .... as someone who's deeply into middle age (Team #GenX) and creeping fast upon her 50s, I'm already starting to worry that my uncolored hair (25% gray) and my 20+ years of experience are going to start looking like liabilities instead of assets fairly soon. So here's what I think you do ... you don't LIE (because that's stupid) but you remove age indicators and you don't throw your hat in the ring for gigs that require what year you graduated from college (because that's even more stupid). Organizations that are still stuck in the "send us your college transcripts and your salary history" are not where you want to work anyway. (And that's all part of my personal vendetta against nonprofit boards who are run by rank amateurs who are hiring like it's 1969 and "Mad Men" is a model for office management.)
You can easily leave off your first "out of college" jobs on the resume and remove the year you graduated. Having 20ish years on the resume and 3 - 10 jobs is fine, anything more than that and you're going to want to cull the herd if you will.
The truth is the most boards of directors are populated by rank amateurs who have no idea how to run a nonprofit. They are inexperienced if good-hearted people who are on the board either because they are social climbers or do-gooders or someone made them do it (i.e. political appointee) and are there under duress. Sometimes being on a board is a bad habit and for others it's a way to be the petty tyrant that they've always wanted to be. I seem to run across either chronically detached and disengaged board members or those who see board membership as a stepping stone to trying to take over the organization (so they can run it into the ground). I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule, but most boards suck and it's one of my biggest issues with the nonprofit sector.
OK, you didn't write to me to hear a lecture about something you already know so here's the thing:
Prospective boards are looking for someone who's going to reassure them, who is going to make them look good and who helps them feel good about their volunteerism. Most boards do not want to be overshadowed by the ED and they are going to need to be lulled a bit with your qualifications and experience in a way that doesn't make them feel incompetent or overhwlemed. It's a complicated puzzle ... trying to appear competent and professional without being intimidating.
Oh, and I should note that this tends to be sage advice for cis women working in the nonprofit sector but apparently, if you're a human who identifies as a male, the rules are entirely different. You can totally brag about having four decades of experience etc... Womenfolk, well, the world is different. Feel free to argue but I'm right because ... I am a woman and I have lived this for more than two decades so STFU. #fightme #youlose #notafightIwanttowin
Sigh.
Sorry. This is a touchy subject and I know that I'm going to get blasted but ... there you go. Shave off a few years on your resume and try to make it look like you're in the 20ish range of years working in the industry and see if you can't get your prospective employers to peg you at late 40s to mid 50s
Sigh.
And with that, I bid you all a fond farewell as I'll be taking the next few days off. I'm heading back to the Swamp to do a thing and some stuff. I probably won't be able to post on Monday but if I do, you'll know it when I do. Cheers!
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