How can you make your nonprofit resume more compelling?

What does it take?

I have long been a proponent of the two page resume, but I recently read something in Donor Centered Leadership by Penelope Burk which changed my mind. In this book, Burk talks about the 7 things an employer is looking at when assessing your resume.

Have you held progressively responsible development positions?
Is your experience level sufficient for the position?
What kind of nonprofits have you worked for?
What are the one or two most significant and measurable accomplishments you’ve achieved in each position?
Have you been promoted internally at least once?
How long have you worked for each organization?
Are there any red flags such as successive short stays, gaps of time not accounted for, lack of visible progress up the seniority ladder, or leap-frogging into senior positions without the necessary training or experience?

How can you show all of this, all on one page?

She suggests putting your job title in the left hand column, your accomplishments in the middle, and tenure at the job on the right. So how does this look in practice?

Example Resume

Development Director

Responsible for raising 100 million in two years, see appendix i

2011-2013

Development Officer

Raised $90K with grants, an increase of 50% from the previous two years

Raised $250K in events, an increase of 100% from the previous two years

Raised $35K in appeals, an increase of $10,000 from previous year

See appendix ii

2009-2011

Development Manager

Increased annual revenue through direct mail, grants, and events from $250K to $1M in two years

See appendix iii

2007-2009

I have never heard of having an appendix for a resume before, but this certainly is a way around the multiple long paragraph resume, with endless bullets for each job. If you’ve done your job right on the first page, they will be eagerly turning to the appendix to read more in depth about your accomplishments.