Learn more about nonprofit job boards from these expert panelists.

Nonprofit Hiring: Takeaways from RealHR’s Panel with NXUnite

Crafting clear, informative job postings that showcase the value of working for your organization is essential to productive hiring. On NXUnite’s Finding the Best: Nonprofit Job Board Best Practices, panelists discussed strategies for optimizing your job postings.

Jill Krumholz, co-owner of RealHR Solutions, was joined by Vanguard Insurance President Ed Probst and Evin O’Shea of Web Scribble for this educational conversation. Key insights included:

  1. Find your strengths
  2. Highlight your benefits
  3. Hire creatively

Find Your Strengths

Jill Krumholz of RealHR Solutions offered suggestions for creating an effective job posting. Viewing your job posting as a marketing tool can help your organization highlight its strengths. Lead with what you have to offer employees rather than with what your organization needs.

Organizations should avoid being overly specific when writing job posts. While the information should be targeted, listing every responsibility associated with the role may make the post so lengthy that applicants aren’t interested in reading it.

Nonprofits have an advantage here, as mission-driven organizations are appealing to job seekers. In your posting, highlight your organization’s mission, values, and culture.

As you look to hire from outside,  identify what makes your organization appealing to current employees. Jill suggested conducting stay interviews. These conversations are an opportunity to ask people why they stay at your organization and what they feel works. Instead of waiting for an exit interview for employee feedback, stay interviews allow you to discover what you are doing well. You can leverage this information in your nonprofit marketing materials and job postings.

Highlight Your Benefits

As you write a job post that emphasizes what your organization has to offer candidates, consider highlighting your benefits. Ed Probst of Vanguard Insurance shared that 87% of employees would consider leaving their employer because of dissatisfaction with their benefits. Benefits are important to employees, and listing them on job postings can help attract candidates.

Benefits are especially important for nonprofit recruiting. Because nonprofit salaries may be unable to compete with for-profit compensation, benefits can serve as an alternate advantage to a nonprofit position.

Before promoting your benefits, Ed suggested researching your peers to ensure you have competitive benefit offerings. Consult benchmark reports from brokers, and survey your current employees to discover which benefits they value and why they stay with your company.

Clearly and specifically outline benefits in your job posting. Highlight unique benefits, like pet insurance or yoga classes, that set you apart from competitors. If you’re targeting a specific audience, emphasize benefits that will appeal to those candidates. For example, when hiring people with families, share that your organization offers childcare or remote work options.

Hire Creatively

Organizations are navigating a difficult hiring market right now. In the face of hiring obstacles, Jill Krumholz noted the importance of embracing creative hiring practices.

Jill emphasized that employers have a responsibility to look more broadly at their hiring and be more flexible. Consider applicants that may not appear to be a perfect fit, but have competencies that fit your organization. Using qualifying questions, their resume, and interviews, identify skill sets that these candidates could bring to the role.

Additionally, consider looking internally for someone to move into a role. Internal mobility is a valuable retention tool, and their old position may be easier to fill than the role you were initially hiring for.

Conclusion

Your job posting is a valuable marketing and recruiting tool. Leverage job postings to share what your organization can offer employees and highlight your nonprofit mission. Approach hiring creatively, and see capability in people who you may not have initially thought were the right hire.