25 Public Service Job Tips
In celebration of the Haas Center's 25th anniversary, the Postgraduate and Alumni Program debuts 25 Tips for Landing a Public Service Job. We hope they help you connect with an opportunity to make a positive impact through your work.
(And for more where these came from, contact Megan Swezey Fogarty to make an appointment for individual advising!)
Know thyself.
The most powerful tool you wield in the job search is self-knowledge. Spend serious time reflecting on your aspirations and the conditions for your success. Do you thrive in teams or work best independently? Is product king in your mind, or are you all about process? Personal preferences like these impact job satisfaction. To find a good job, you need to know what you’re looking for and what you bring to the table. Need a hand? Explore the self-assessment tools offered by the Career Development Center; or ask former supervisors, friends or mentors to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses.Articulate thyself.
The “elevator speech” isn’t just for the elevator. At every stage in the process, it is important to be able to summarize your interests and goals. Do you have to have it all figured out? Definitely not. As a recent college graduate, or even a more seasoned professional, no one expects you to have a seamless 10-year plan in your back pocket. But the more specifics you nail down, the easier it is for people to help. Develop a few key points that capture who you are, what you’re looking for, and why. Bonus: this information is also a handy answer for that omni-present interview question, “tell us a little bit about yourself.”Utilize campus resources.
Kick off your job search with the people who know best! The Stanford Career Development Center provides individual career counseling, programming and resources to help you navigate the job search process with savvy and success. As with the elevator speech, you don’t need to know exactly what you want before you step through the CDC’s door—in fact, that’s precisely what they’re there to help you figure out. The CDC career counselor who specializes in public service careers is Kristin Conner and an appointment with her is just a click away.Talk to people.
The job search is a people process. Tempting though it is, don’t spend all your time trolling the online job announcements. Instead, devote your waking hours to connecting with real live people. You should reach out to these three populations in particular:- Alumni. The Stanford alumni community is powerful and easy to access. Use the Stanford Career Network (SCN) to connect with 9,000+ Stanford alumni who have volunteered to be contacted for career advice and networking (Helpful hint: there are tips for utilizing SCN on their website.) Successful networker, Amanda Mendoza ’08 says, “Older alumni are helpful for big picture career advice, but recent grads can be useful too with resume critique and peer advice.”
- Faculty and Staff. Your campus mentors are knowledgeable about life after Stanford, too. Find faculty in your area of interest, ask their advice on your potential paths, and ask them to connect you to other former students (i.e. Stanford alumni) who are doing what you hope to do.
- Friends and Family. A huge benefit of a Stanford education is the friends you make while you’re here. Talk to them about your career ambitions and when they say, “oh, my (insert personal contact here) does that,” ask how to contact her or him. And don’t forget about your friends and organization colleagues and classmates who graduated recently. (Review your entire Facebook dossier to reach beyond the usual suspects of frequent wall-posting fame.) Reconnect with five people who graduated in the last few years, find out how they got their jobs, and you’ll emerge with more strategies than we’ve listed here. And you might just get a lead on an opportunity with one of their organizations.
Interview, the informational way.
Guess what people loooooove to talk about? Themselves! Seek out professionals in your field of interest and ask for 20 minutes of their time. (See above for ideas on where to look for contacts and also utilize social networking sites like LinkedIn and the newly-relaunched Stanford Alumni Directory to connect with Stanford alumni working in your field of interest.) Prepare in the same way you would for a job interview: research the person’s organization and bio, formulate questions, and be ready to share your career goals. Afterward, always send a thank you note and stay in touch. With a little care, a one-time conversation can blossom into a lifelong contact or mentor.Take risks and be open.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained? Absolutely. In the job search, as in other areas of life, taking risks boils down to a willingness to “say yes” and step outside your comfort zone. As you embark on informational interviews and ask for advice, listen to yourself. If you find yourself saying or thinking “yes, but” in a lot of career conversations, challenge yourself to change your outlook toward possibility and potential. As favorite emeritus faculty member Professor David Abernethy has observed after working with generations of students and alumni: in prospect, the career search is assumed to be linear; in retrospect, it was always about serendipity.Apply for a public service fellowship.
The Haas Center’s four postgraduate fellowship programs support paid and mentored opportunities in public service after graduation. There are also over 450 similar opportunities just waiting to be discovered on our Fellowships, Internships and Service Programs database.Volunteer.
Volunteering with your dream organization means two things central to nonprofit job search success: you get to know them, and they get to know you. Do good work as a volunteer and when a position opens, you’ll be first in line. Websites like VolunteerMatch, HandsOn Network and Youth Service America can connect you with opportunities. Bonus tip: supercharge your volunteer commitments by choosing roles that help you develop a new skill set or hone an existing one. You will gain experience in the organization while increasing your marketability to potential employers.Make the web work for you.
Online resources are a huge help to job seekers. Use the following websites and strategies to maximize your time online.- The Public Service Careers website developed by the CDC and Haas Center contains hundreds of relevant links and resources. The CDC’s general website also contains valuable information on every step of the career development process. From exploring career fields to negotiating an offer, they have you covered.
- Major nonprofit job websites like Idealist.org, Opportunity Knocks, and Craigslist (especially in the Bay Area and NYC) are great places to search for opportunities and get a sense of the job outlook in a particular location. Sites like the Chronicle of Philanthropy (nonprofits) and Where The Jobs Are (federal government) can help you stay current with the field and aware of hiring trends and projections.
- Industries with centralized application processes, e.g. the federal government and AmeriCorps, will let you create an account, store your resume, and set search parameters. When an opportunity matches your criteria, they’ll contact you.
Follow the money.
Get creative in your search for organizations that are hiring. Use the “Find Funders” function on the Foundation Center’s website to search for foundations by city, state or zip code. Search those foundations’ annual reports to find out where their resources are going. Ditto on federal grant dollars. New resources sometimes equal new positions.Join a professional organization.
Most professional organizations offer reduced membership rates for students and young professionals and, with the looming Boomer retirement wave, many have professional development opportunities specifically designed for recent grads. Talk to professionals in your field to identify the best regional, national or international organizations, sign up, and start taking advantage of the opportunities they afford to network and learn about job opportunities. For example, if you’re interested in breaking into the nonprofit scene, check out the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) for a chapter near you.Hit the town.
Creative networking does not require an overflowing bank account. Save your pennies and use them strategically. Many fundraising events have a student/new professional registration rate and spending $25 for the opportunity to meet movers and shakers who are passionate about your cause can be a great investment. Search for events on sites like Eventbrite and capitalize on your investment by preparing for the event as you would an interview, i.e. research the host organization, find out who is likely to be there, and be prepared to share your elevator pitch.Tailor your materials.
Each new job application requires targeted materials, e.g. cover letter, résumé, references, writing sample, etc. It is as simple as that. Time consuming? Yes. More effective? 100%. You can also minimize the time crunch by proactively creating several versions of your résumé that highlight specific skill sets or issue areas, e.g. research skills, education, etc.Sell your strengths.
According to Association of American Colleges and Universities’ 2010 survey among employers, effective communication, critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills top the list of desirable employee characteristics. A Stanford education cultivates those skills in spades; make sure you highlight them in your application materials.Google yourself.
Because your potential employers will. In this age of über-connection, it is important to be aware of your online presence and take control of your information to the greatest extent possible. For starters, revisit your Facebook privacy settings, go on a de-tag-athon, and make sure your email address and voicemail messages are professional. Then, create a LinkedIn profile that showcases your experience and goals. And if you believe your high school coach that the best defense is a good offense, consider creating new web content like an e-portfolio with your resume and an issue-related blog or a Google Profile to make sure people are seeing what you want them to see.Connect with a human.
Once you have decided to apply, try to connect with someone on the inside. Be resourceful and scan staff bios on their website and look for a point of connection with someone at the organization. Even if that person is not involved in the hiring process, contact her or him to introduce yourself and express your interest in the organization. The purpose is to gain insight into the organization’s culture and put a face/voice with your written application. This is especially important with large employers or opportunities that are likely to receive a high volume of applicants.Follow up.
Sometimes the job search process can feel like a one-sided (or nonexistent) conversation; try not to take it personally. Hiring managers are usually swamped, especially in nonprofits and government agencies. Once you apply for a job, checking in every two weeks is standard practice. Follow directions (review their timeline information and, if it says no phone calls, don’t call them), but don’t worry about becoming a pest. As long as you are always professional and courteous, persistence demonstrates your interest in the position and your follow-through skills.Find a mentor.
You might think this tip only applies if you already have a job. Certainly, cultivating mentorship in your workplace is a sure step toward career growth and success, but you can also utilize the power of a mentor during your job search. The Stanford Alumni Mentoring (SAM) program is a virtual mentoring program that matches you with an alumni mentor for career exploration. Register, submit your criteria, and choose a mentor who appeals to you.Be gracious.
A thoughtful thank you note is appropriate at every stage in the process. Email is acceptable, but handwritten will set you apart. Take it from Emily Allegrotti ’08, “Send thank you notes to everyone! People who take the time to interview you, people who read your resumes; everyone!” Oh, and send some to your references, too. Think of it this way, everyone who gives you a hand, deserves a hand(written note) in return.Pay attention to the practicalities.
You want a job that allows you to make a positive impact and offers the opportunity to learn and grow. But you also need to eat and live and be happy (turns out Maslow was really on to something). Realistic expectations are key to happiness, so think about your sticking points and identify your areas of flexibility as you develop and refine your job search criteria. Double-dare challenge: give all aspects of your self equal footing in the decision-making fight. Chances are, you’re a multifaceted human being instead of a one-dimensional drone. Reflect on what it takes for you to thrive, e.g. proximity to family or a significant other, availability of 3:00am takeout, whatever – and go for the (multifaceted) gold. It’s so much shinier!Crunch your numbers.
Just because you want to work for good, doesn’t mean you have work for nothing. Although volunteering and stipend opportunities like AmeriCorps are tested strategies to gain valuable experience, they may not be feasible for your financial situation. Or then again, they might be more do-able than you think. Use a budget worksheet and cost of living calculator to get a rough idea of what it will take for you to live comfortably, and then use that number to help you evaluate opportunities and negotiate offers.Learn to embrace rejection.
Rejection feels rotten. But once you bounce back from the initial sting of disappointment, try to view rejection in a new, more positive light: as confirmation that you’re stretching yourself. Take a note from design thinking and remember that failure is a necessary component of success. Ask for feedback so that you can continue to improve, and remember the silver lining of rejection: as long as you have carried yourself with professionalism in the process, the very folks who turned you down this time could wind up as your collaborators in the future.Be broad in your thinking and honest in your self-reflection.
Drawing on a career spent catalyzing social change, Haas Center founding supporter and current National Advisory Board member Bill Somerville categorizes effective leaders in his book, Grassroots Philanthropy:- Sparkers, who generate ideas
- Igniters, who turn ideas into programs
- Burners, who keep programs percolating within an effective organization
Keep at it, don’t give up, and give yourself a break.
If all these tips seem like a tall order, they are. It takes most job seekers three to four months on average to move from cover letter to signing the proverbial dotted line. Be realistic and keep moving forward. If you’re feeling discouraged, an informational interview with someone you aspire to be like is a great way to kick your search back into gear. Searching for a job is stressful business and, as with any stressful task or situation, it is important to take good care of yourself and keep a sense of humor.Rinse and repeat, or The Big Payoff.
The beauty of one’s career is that it is just that, a process. The skills you learn in your first job search will serve you well as your career path continues to unfurl and evolve. If success is hard won, so much the better! The Big Payoff is that, after all this work, you will be a more skillful, savvier and successful job hunter when the time comes to take the next wonderful step in your career.
Special thanks to the following collaborators who contributed to this resource: Emily Allegrotti ‘08, Carolyn Celio ‘08, Jaclyn Le ‘12, Jon McConnell, Angie McPhaul ‘10, Amanda Mendoza ‘08, Danielle Menona ‘12, Megan Swezey Fogarty ‘86.
For more information, please contact Megan Swezey Fogarty.
Groups:
Copyright ©2011 Stanford University. Terms of Use | Copyright Complaints | Report a Problem with this site.