I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but out here in these DC streets, it’s been hot enough to fry an egg on my balcony. No matter how hot it gets here, though, summer will always be my favorite time of year. It’s the one season where it feels OK to laze around, eat popsicles and take time off for yourself. Some go so far as to say the summer is a “slower” time for nonprofits as employees and funders are all out on vacation. Whether that’s true for you or not, the summer is always a great excuse to take time to reflect on where you are in your nonprofit career and what you want to do next – once the weather cools off, that is. Here are six meaningful steps you can take over the next couple of months to refresh your career.
Go On a Vacation (or a Stay-cation)
Yeah, I said it. Take a week off to get away from the office and relax yourself! I just got back from a weeklong trip to Jamaica with my sister and it made all the difference in how I’m approaching my work now that I’m back home. I definitely have more purpose and clarity as I work on my various projects. If you can’t afford a romp in the tropics, just plan a “stay-cation” to relax at home and spend some time being a tourist in your own town or hanging out with family and friends. Plan a theme picnic or backyard luau to up the fun factor and make it seem like you’re actually getting away for a while!
Update Your Resume
Have you volunteered in the past year? Add your experience as a bullet point on your resume. Also list any leadership roles you’ve held as a board member or as part of a professional association. Add or revise your position description under your current job experience, especially if your responsibilities have changed. Did your job title change? Be sure to update that, too! And while you’re at it, go ahead and refresh your online profiles on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as well. Since you never know when a job opportunity could come up, it’s best to have your online professional identity up to date so potential employers can see just how talented and experienced you are.
Build a New Set of Skills
The summer is a great time to take off for training. It’s also a good opportunity to explore learning about other job functions, such as fundraising or communications, which are hot job areas in the nonprofit sector. Take a fundraising class from the Foundation Center or a social media training from CharityHowTo.com. Brush up on your marketing skills with one of Kivi’s awesome webinars at Nonprofit Marketing Guide. Join the Association of Fundraising Professionals to ramp up your fundraising knowledge. Volunteer to create a communications or social media plan for a small nonprofit and learn as you go along. You will be able to use the experience gained to branch out into different job opportunities in the future!
Rekindle Professional Relationships
You say you never have time to email all those nice folks you meet at nonprofit conferences or networking events. Well, now you do! Take part of the summer to craft a few nice notes to express your enthusiasm in connecting with people you’ve met recently. Use this as an opportunity to set up a coffee or lunch date in the near future to talk to them about their experience in the field. At the very least, sending a quick email now will remind them who you are when you need to ask a favor later. If you take the time to nurture your professional relationships now, you never know how they will pay off for you in the future!
Start a Blog
Blogging offers an easy entry point for anyone who wants to gain greater visibility in the nonprofit industry. The possibilities are endless for the reputation you can create for yourself online! In my experience, blogging is hands down, the very best social media tool to use in building your personal brand. It showcases your writing skills, social media savvy, and utter brilliance to your colleagues and future employers. If you don’t have a blog yet, use your summer downtime to create one! Sign up at Blogger or WordPress to get a free blog set up and start writing about nonprofit issues that you care about. Or even better, get a professional self-hosted blog here. For more blogging advice, download my free 37-page ebook, The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Blog. Geared toward newbie bloggers, this easy-to-read guide will take you from soup to nuts in terms of your blog concept, software, design, content, promotion and analytics.
Get How to Become Nonprofit Rockstar
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What have you done so far this year to refresh your nonprofit career? How did it help you in your day-to-day work?
