This article was written in the WSJ by Sarah E. Needleman
For years, the phone interview was a preliminary step that allowed an employer to give a candidate the once-over and schedule an in-person interview. But these days, many recruiters are using the phone interview to pose the kinds of in-depth questions previously reserved for finalists. What’s more, job hunters say the bar for getting to the next level has been raised much higher, catching many of them off-guard.
image by Jason Schneider
In a recent first interview for a senior marketing job, Robyn Cobb was grilled by a hiring manager for an hour and a half on topics ranging from her work history and marketing philosophy to her knowledge of the company and its industry.
“I thought it was never going to end,” says the 45-year-old Ms. Cobb, who lives in Alpharetta, Ga., and was laid off in December from a midsize communications firm.
Until recently, candidates could often breeze through most phone interviews in 10 minutes or less by answering a few softball questions. Little preparation was necessary, and most people could expect to be invited for a “real” interview before hanging up.
These days, job hunters are finding that they need to reserve an hour or more for a phone interview. They may be asked to discuss their full work history, including the exact dates of their experience in various business areas. They may also be expected to cite examples and exact stats that illustrate their strengths and offer details on how they would handle the position.
During a call earlier this year about a director-of-Internet-marketing job, Jaclyn Agy of Wheat Ridge, Colo., says she was asked to describe about 10 different marketing initiatives she’s worked on, plus provide metrics resulting from each. “I didn’t have those stats off the top of my head,” she recalls of the hour-long conversation. “I expected to be asked that in a face-to-face.”
To read this entire article click here.
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As reported by Diana Middleton of WSJ
With the unemployment rate hitting a new 25-year high Friday, many workers and layoff victims in the worst-suffering industries are looking for safer sectors.
Industries including autos, financial services and retailing have been hit especially hard during the recession, shedding tens of thousands of jobs. Even as the overall job market shows signs of stabilization, companies in some of the worst-hit sectors may recover more slowly, and job-seekers may be better off looking at new industries.
But making that change can be tough. We asked career coaches and human resource experts how to navigate into a new sector.
Redeploy your current skills.
Look for growth industries – or less hard-hit ones – where you can put your current skills to use. If you’re an accountant at General Motors, for instance, look for companies in other industries that need accountants. “People often don’t want to leave their industries, because they’re comfortable there, even when they’re miserable,” says Trudi Schutz, a Connecticut-based career coach. She suggests job-hunters look for “careers that use those same skills they love, but in a new way.” She worked with a former car salesman, for instance, who found work within the last six months as a pharmaceutical salesman.
Which industries to target? Consider employers in healthcare or “green” technology, which are both experiencing growth, said David Lewin, a management professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Education and government are also stronger than most.
For the rest of the story click here.
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As reported in the Philanthropy News Digest
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has announced two new approaches to its grantmaking to help performing arts organizations sustain their work in the short term so they can continue to plan for the long term.
As part of its arts program, DDCF typically awards large grants to intermediary organizations, which in turn re-grant funds to individual artists and arts organizations. For 2009, 2010, and 2011, the foundation will award an extra $2.5 million, total, for project support to the nonprofits and individual artists that receive “regrants.” These recipients will automatically receive the unrestricted operating support without any additional application or reporting requirements. In addition, DDCF will also allow organizations to use up to a third of regrants awarded before 2009 for core operational needs.
The foundation also announced a new policy that allows its president to amend existing endowment grants, such as relaxing annual payout requirements or harmonizing endowment payout schedules with an organization’s investment policies. To date, three grantees have requested and been approved for such an amendment to help meet bond requirements for unrestricted assets, to cover debts associated with a new building, and to provide the working capital needed to help an organization re-size its operations.
While renegotiating grant agreements is unusual for foundations, sixteen of the seventy-nine grantmakers responding to a recent survey by theCenter for Effective Philanthropy indicated that they had invited organizations to do so, the New York Times reports. Last year, for example, the James Irvine Foundation sent a letter to the roughly three hundred groups it supports offering flexibility on grant terms, which resulted in adjustments for about 10 percent of its grantees.
“It’s a minority of foundations, still,” CEP president Phil Buchanan told theTimes. “But it’s encouraging to see that some are seeking to be as flexible as they can.”
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Nonprofit Effectiveness
The Community Foundation’s commitment to strengthening and supporting our region’s nonprofit sector includes more than giving financial grants. Beginning in 2009, The Community Foundation’s Common Good Funds will provide resources for grantees’ professional and organizational development. The Foundation has identified four primary focus areas for Nonprofit Effectiveness in 2009:
- Strategic Planning & Business Analysis – includes, but not limited to, updates to current plans with an emphasis on scenario planning, long-term organizational strengthening and development, and analysis of organization’s financial health, strengths and weaknesses
- Board Development – includes, but not limited to, strengthening the needs of board members to support the organization’s financial health and effectiveness
- Fund Development Planning – includes, but not limited to, scenario planning with an emphasis on responding to the current economic state and stabilizing income for long-term sustainability
- Advocacy – includes, but not limited to, identifying issues and public policies that will impact an organization’s constituents and its mission
The Community Foundation recognizes each of these areas as important skill sets in these economic times. Opportunities available to nonprofits include:
Nonprofit Scholarships
The Community Foundation recognizes that nonprofit boards and staffs benefit from the opportunity to learn from field experts and from their peers through training, workshops and conferences; however, financial resources may not allow for organizations to take advantage of these opportunities as they arise. In order to support organizations and allow them to take advantage of these capacity-building opportunities, The Community Foundation supports organizational development through the provision of scholarships and access to learning opportunities and resources.
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Grants Plus opportunities for 2009 grantees
Grants Plus is an extremely flexible opportunity designed to help nonprofit organizations reach increased levels of vitality and effectiveness. Organizations selected to receive operating grants from the Common Good Funds program will automatically be considered for a custom-designed package of professional resources or services to help the recipient respond to a key organizational challenge or opportunity in one of the Foundation’s primary focus areas. Recipients of this non-financial award will be identified during the grant cycle in which they apply.
Questions
Not sure if your organization is eligible to take advantage of these resources? If you have any questions about the Nonprofit Effectiveness opportunities please email us at NonprofitEffectiveness@cfgreateratlanta.org. You may also contact Lita Pardi, Program Officer, or Kristina Morris, Program Associate, at 404-688-5525.
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As reported in The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s Board has approved $1.5 million in grants and support through our various grantmaking programs during the first set of grant cycles for 2009.
During the past year, we have examined and modified our approach to grantmaking, creating more flexibility for nonprofits in our region interested in funding. For 2009 our focus is on providing general operating support to eligible nonprofits. The local and national economic crisis has steered us toward these priorities as both logical and necessary. Below is a listing of grants:
Common Good Funds
The Common Good Funds program will award more than $650,000 in grants to 13 metro Atlanta organizations. The Common Good Funds, formerly known as our competitive grantmaking program, are The Community Foundation’s unrestricted dollars open to nonprofit organizations in our region through application. Click here to learn more.
- Atlanta Legal Aid – $65,000
- Center for Family Resources – $65,000
- Dad’s Garage Theatre Company – $30,000
- Genesis Shelter Inc. – $10,000
- Georgia Budget and Policy Institute – $80,000
- Jewish Family and Career Services – $60,000
- Literacy Action, Inc. – $50,000
- MUST Ministries, Inc. – $50,000
- Our House, Inc. – $65,000
- Partnership Against Domestic Violence – $75,000
- Planned Parenthood of Georgia – $75,000
- Senior Citizen Services of Metropolitan Atlanta – $25,660
- The Elaine Clark Center for Exceptional Children – $13,290
Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund
The Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund will award a total of $300,000 to four HIV/AIDS-service organizations. These grants will fund four pilot projects the AIDS Fund has initiated to strengthen efforts in the faith-based community, as well as youth advocacy and government support. Since 1991, The AIDS Fund has supported metro Atlanta’s HIV/AIDS advocacy, prevention education and service efforts through funding and leadership. Click here to learn more.
Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund
The Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund will award a total of $500,000 to 11 metro Atlanta arts organizations. The Arts Fund was created in 1992 to help small and midsized arts organizations overcome hurdles to their success and grow into strong, vital institutions. Click here to learn more.
- Actor’s Express – $60,000
- Atlanta Celebrates Photography – $20,000
- Atlanta Chamber Players – $10,000
- Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County – $25,000
- Dad’s Garage Theatre Company – $45,000
- Georgia Shakespeare – $50,000
- Madison Morgan Cultural Center – $70,000
- Quinlan Visual Arts Center – $40,000
- Theatre in the Square – $75,000
- True Colors Theatre Company – $75,000
- Youth Ensemble of Atlanta – $30,000
Fayette Fund
The Fayette Fund will award a total of $43,000 in grant support to nine Fayette County organizations. Since 2003, the Fayette Fund has granted more than $129,000 to area nonprofits to respond to the changing needs of the community. Click here to learn more.
- Association of Village PRIDE, Inc. – $5,000
- ExceptionalOPS – $5,000
- Fayette Care Clinic – $5,000
- Fayette County Council on Domestic Violence (Promise Place) – $5,000
- Fayette Family YMCA – $4,500
- Fayette Senior Services, Inc. – $5,000
- Lekotek of Georgia, Inc. – $3,500
- Real Life Center – $5,000
- The Joseph Sams School – $5,000
Neighborhood Fund
The Neighborhood Fund will award $20,500 in grants to two metro Atlanta organizations to support community leadership and organizing at the local level. The Neighborhood Fund empowers community members to positively impact their neighborhoods by providing funding and support to community groups (non-501(c)3). Since 1991, more than 300 neighborhood projects have received an estimated $2 million in grants and assistance. Click here to learn more.
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