Nonprofit executive search recruiters share insider tips on resumes, interviews, and working with search consultants to land your next leadership role.
To a candidate, the job search and interview process can feel foreign and stressful, like there’s a hidden rulebook that’s always changing. You’re missing the mark, and not sure why.
Executive search professionals, like the executive search team at Development Guild, eat, sleep, and breathe recruitment and placement strategy. They understand the nuance of presenting yourself well, and they know it can be the difference between landing the next right role, and being overlooked due to small (or big) missteps in the hiring process.
At Development Guild, the search team collectively represents decades of experience matching the right nonprofit candidate with the mission-driven organization that is a mutual match.
In this current hiring marketplace, both candidates and employers are feeling extra anxiety and pressure when it comes to hiring or making a career move. And yet, whether the job market, or resources in general, are scarce or abundant, the simple truth remains: enlisting a search consultant is an excellent way to improve the caliber of applications you receive, and protect your resources by investing in finding the right match.
If in the course of your job search, you find yourself working with an executive search consultant, here are a few of the things the members of the search team at Development Guild want you to know:
Treat Recruiters as Strategic Partners
Tracy Marshall
Tracy Marshall, Executive Director of Search, Senior Vice President, and Principal, Development Guild, says, “recruiters may not be the ones making the final hiring decision, but they can be powerful allies in getting you closer to the right opportunity. Respect their role, stay open to feedback, and view the relationship as collaborative – not transactional.”
While recruiters ultimately serve the client, stewarding candidates through the process is a key part of their job. If a role isn’t the right match, a professional and gracious response from you can leave a lasting impression. Good recruiters remember candidates who handle rejection well and often consider them for future roles.
The best recruiter-candidate relationships are built on trust, transparency, and mutual respect. Think long-term – because the right connection today could open new career opportunities tomorrow.
Be Specific: Resumes That Stand Out in Nonprofit Executive Search
Lynn Shevory
There are many candidates seeking roles right now–and the best jobs are always in demand, regardless of the market. One thing that search consultants crave is specificity, translating to the details hiring managers look for in resumes.
“Whenever possible, use metrics to reflect what you’ve accomplished. For example, if you’re applying for a fundraising role, articulate how much you’ve raised annually, the number of prospects in your portfolio, and the size of teams you’ve managed,” says Lynn Shevory, Vice President, Development Guild.
Follow Direction
The parameters for an application are specific by design. It’s your first opportunity to show your attention to detail, your professionalism, and your ability to take direction.
Potential employers (and their search partners) want some assurance that you are specifically interested in this role, with this team. Showing your interest is key but do not overdo it with multiple messages to the hiring manager on LinkedIn or via emails.
Instead, another way to prove your genuine interest is by closely following the preferences for each application, whether applying cold or with a search consultant. Let their first experience of you as a candidate be making their lives easier, by closely following the application protocol.
Lynn shares, “Be sure to write a customized cover letter (ideally three-four paragraphs) if one is requested. Your search consultant can guide you in further tailoring it, as well as your resume.”
Generally speaking, “If you are working with a search firm, don’t apply for every open position, because it doesn’t look like you have genuine interest in a search. Be focused and specific about which search you are interested in, and when you develop a relationship with a recruiter, you can have a more candid conversation about your career goals.”
Be Up Front
Your search consultant can be a strong ally in your application and interview process. There are many bumps in the road that they can help you navigate or avoid altogether…if you are up front about the details they need to help you succeed.
Our consultants encourage candidates, “Don’t be afraid to bring up sensitive or difficult topics with your recruiter. We can often provide some insight as to how to frame things like short stays, career changes, confidentiality issues, and more. More often than not, sensitive issues will come up at some point in the search process, and we can be your allies in navigating the right way to broach the subject.”
Lynn agrees, and strongly urges candidates to disclose other pertinent details, including any prior relationship you have with your would-be employer, scheduling challenges, and your expectations about timeframe and a possible start date.
Lynn also emphasizes: “Don’t feel pressured to continue on in the search process if you feel the role is not a good fit. Withdraw when you realize an opportunity isn’t the right next step for you.” Clarity is a gift, and generates respect and memorable interactions with promising candidates that may be a perfect fit for a different role down the line.
Keep it Kind
Erring on the side of positivity bears repeating: “ Don’t speak ill of past employers or colleagues—be transparent but diplomatic when it comes to interpersonal challenges you’ve faced,” advises Lynn.
If you’re having trouble reframing a challenging situation from your past, feel free to talk it through with your search consultant. They can help you with a reframe that shows off your skills and lessons learned; and trust us, they’ve heard it all!
Building Relationships With Executive Search Consultants
Always take the time to send a personalized thank you note after an interview, and to everyone you spoke with–including the search consultant.
Guirlaine Belizaire
Guirlaine Belizaire, Vice President, Innovation, Development Guild, offers this parting piece of wisdom: “Relationship building is key–you’re not only building a relationship with the prospective employer, but with the search consultant. And if a specific opportunity doesn’t work out, it’s important to be gracious because it could still lead to another role in the future.”
The world can be small, and the world of nonprofits, even smaller. Developing a strong relationship with a search consultant means you’ll continue to be on their mind as they hear about roles that may be (even more!) suited for you and your unique skillset.
Leaving on good terms, even after a search concludes with a different outcome than you desired, can make all the difference.
Follow directions, be up front, be kind, build relationships, and ask questions! Your search consultants are here to help.
Development Guild partners with nonprofit leaders to deliver executive search, fundraising counsel, and strategic guidance that drives lasting impact. Since 1978, we’ve combined discipline with innovation to create solutions that are evidence-based, data-driven, and rooted in decades of experience. During that time, we’re honored to have partnered with organizations across every nonprofit sector in the US on more than 900 executive searches—helping them build strong teams and achieve transformational results.
Explore our current executive searches, see recently completed searches, and learn more about our executive search services here.
