Last week, Allison Jones and I hosted our first #ynpchat of the year on creating a 2012 nonprofit career plan. (For those who don’t know, #ynpchat is our monthly Twitter chat for young nonprofit professionals. It happens every first Wednesday of the month from 12:00pm-1:00pm Eastern time.) The questions we used to guide the discussion were adapted from my previous post: 15 Powerful Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Nonprofit Career. It was a great way to ring in the new year and a fabulous reminder that 2012 can be as amazing as we want it to be. I shared a few of my 2011 accomplishments and 2012 goals here and I wanted to be sure to offer the opportunity to those of you who are in planning mode for your own career right now. Here are a few guidelines for creating your 2012 nonprofit career plan.
Ask Good Questions
These are the exact questions we asked during the chat: 5 Questions to Help You Create Your 2012 Nonprofit Career Plan. Feel free to use them to guide your thinking about what you want your nonprofit career to look like this year (or come up with your own questions!). Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? Most importantly, who do you want to be?
Create a Portfolio of Accomplishments
One of the questions we asked was about looking back on what you did in 2011. This exercise is always helpful because most nonprofit professionals are not sitting at their desks patting themselves on the back most of the time. They are out in the community doing the work! Unfortunately, by the end of the year, it can be tough to articulate exactly what you were able to accomplish with your hard work. This is where creating a portfolio can come in handy, as Allison suggested. How? You can do this in a simple Word or Google document with bullet points by month or quarter. Or, if you start a nonprofit blog, you can create a page to post links to all the projects, reports and programs you’ve worked on or contributed to throughout the year.
Identify Opportunities for Growth
Now that you know what you want to see for yourself in the coming year, it’s time to seek out ways you can make those things happen. If you want to build your nonprofit network, for instance, are there specific conferences or events you want attend during the year? Certain people you want to meet for lunch? If you want to find a mentor this year, who can you ask to support you in your leadership journey? If you want to learn how to become a better manager, what are some stretch assignments you can take on in the next 12 months? 2012 is not the time to wait for opportunities to come to you. Make your own.
Commit to Taking Action
Give yourself a deadline for when you want to achieve certain milestones throughout the year. What do you want to make progress on first? Where do you want to be in the next 30 days? The next three months? Write all your goals down and set dates on your calendar now for tasks, meetings and events you don’t want to forget about later. If you’re looking for a new nonprofit job, set a measurable goal for how many applications you want to submit or informational interviews you want to conduct by the end of the month.
Honor Your Values
Whatever you do, don’t set ANY goals for your nonprofit career in 2012 if they don’t fit with who you really are or who you want to be. Sometimes what your boss wants from you is not in alignment with the path you truly want to follow for your life and work. Also remember that taking on more commitments at work can mean less time or energy to focus on your commitments at home. Be honest with yourself and honor your values. It’s better for everyone that way.
Stay tuned over the coming weeks as I explore other ideas for taking action on your 2012 nonprofit career plan!
If you would like to talk through these questions and strategies with a coach, I am now offering 30-minute introductory career coaching sessions that you can book here.
