Illustration by Marian Blair

Looking for a job can be a challenge, even in the best circumstances. When you put in a lot of time and effort and don’t see the results you hoped for, your future may begin to feel uncertain as you become discouraged, anxious, or even depressed. 

There may even be a causal link between unemployment and mental health issues; in 2010 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) studied depression rates in 18- to 25-year-olds, and found that young people were three times more likely to experience depression if they weren’t employed. 

Job search depression can set in whether you’re out of work, or just unhappy with your current work situation. Learning some tactics for handling uncertainty and coping with a process that’s often outside of your control will not only make the job search easier but can offer you valuable “soft skills”—like patience and flexibility—that will come in handy once you land a job, too. 

Recognize job search burnout

 While many feel anxious on the job hunt, job search depression is more severe than garden-variety nerves. Here are some signs you might be hitting the burnout stage: 

• You feel sad and hopeless most of the time 
• You don’t think you have any skills to offer a potential employer
• Job-hunt anxiety interferes significantly with other aspects of your life
• You’re experiencing exhaustion or other physical symptoms—like headaches—that you haven’t had before 
• Editing your resume again or writing another cover letter feels impossible

There are reasons why the job search takes a psychological toll. If you’re refreshing your inbox every few minutes or perusing job boards constantly, you’re keeping your body and mind in a high-alert stress mode that can do damage over time. 

Taking care of your emotional health is one of the best things you can do while you’re looking for work. Job search depression often affects self-esteem, and it’s hard to show your talent and value to employers when you don’t feel much confidence. But as you make changes to prioritize your well-being, your self-image is likely to improve, which will boost your ability to make a great impression.

Structure your time 

 If you’re not currently working, you may not have a consistent daily schedule, and this lack of routine can make anxiety and job search depression worse. 

Making yourself a daily schedule (and sticking to it) will help you feel more competent and in control. When you start each day with a plan and a to-do list, knocking off a few tasks—like sending a thank-you email after an interview or researching some promising job leads—can give you a sense of accomplishment.

You’ve probably heard the advice to “treat the job search like a job” and this approach can be a good one for your mental health. 

• Setting specific working times and deadlines for your search, just as you might with a remote job, will keep you productive. 
• Since you’re the one making the schedule, you can arrange it in whatever way works best for you. 
• Physical surroundings make a difference too, so take the time to put together a “home office” setup where you feel comfortable. 
• Fixed job-hunt hours also give you an opportunity to set boundaries. Once you’re finished with your work hours for the day, relax, recharge, and put the job search out of your mind, instead of feeling the constant pressure to chase down another opportunity. 
• Give yourself a day off for your mental health when needed, especially if your job search stretches into the long term. 

Set achievable goals

 While you’re plugging away at your ultimate goal—finding the right job—add smaller, more immediate goals along the way. Accomplishing tasks you set out to do, however small they may seem, can kick-start your confidence and motivation. 

Pro tip: Try the SMART goal method, a technique for setting goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. SMART goal-setting is a great way to break a larger ambition down into bite-sized, manageable steps. 

For example, if you’re searching for a position in nonprofit arts administration, landing that specific roles can feel like a broad and overwhelming goal. When you focus, instead, on steps to help get you there—such as contacting two alumni from your university to request an informational interview, writing one cover letter for a museum application or identifying four strengths I can bring to the workplace—you’re narrowing down goals you can likely accomplish within a day. 

Even tasks that aren’t related to the job search, like straightening up your room or making phone calls about health insurance coverage, can earn a place on your goal list. The idea is to feel good about what you’ve achieved and feel like you’re moving forward. 

Pursue your interests

One often-overlooked aspect of job search depression is that many job seekers experience a loss of identity. Maybe your career has helped shape your sense of self for several years, or you’re searching for an entry-level role and unsure how to define yourself now that you’re no longer a student. 

Keep in mind what you do for a living is only a small part of who you are. Try taking advantage of the down time to remind yourself of your unique skills and explore your passions. You might: 

• Volunteer for a social-impact organization in the field where you’d like to work 
• Engage in a hobby you enjoy, or explore one you’ve never tried (gardening, exercise, recording a podcast) 
• Learn a new skill or research a subject you find interesting 

Whatever you do, make sure it’s something you’ll look forward to regularly —having a morale boost will do wonders. 

Socialize and connect 

People who remain unemployed for long periods tend to spend less time with their friends and family, according to a 2014 Gallup survey. 

For job seekers experiencing job search depression, it’s even more important than usual for you to lean on your support systems. Talking to a close friend about your frustrations, or pursuing therapy if that’s available to you, can give you another perspective that may change the way you look at the job hunt. Chatting about non-work-related topics with friends and family will give your mind a necessary break as well. 

You might also want to seek out an online support group—some groups are designed for the long-term unemployed or for people diagnosed with clinical depression. 

While interactions with others may bring you some job leads, the bigger purpose is to feel connected to a broader community. If you attend a professional industry event, don’t stress about making the perfect networking contact; instead, focus on meeting new people, learning more about the industry itself, and having a good time. 

It may seem like you’re on your own in the job search blues, especially if most people you know appear to be on a great career track. But remember that what you’re experiencing is incredibly common. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average worker changes jobs about 12 times in their lifetime—workplace transition is something that happens to just about everyone, and it’s not a reflection on your skill, talent, or value. 

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Looking to stay connected to the social impact space during a job search? Check out the volunteer opportunities on Idealist. 

It’s often said that you can’t choose your family—and for the vast majority of us, this is true of our co-workers too. We will always find ourselves among colleagues who have different ways of working, collaborating, and communicating, and tensions created by those differences can sometimes affect productivity and morale.

Interpersonal disagreements in the workplace can be complicated by concerns over job security, seniority, and professional success, which is why it’s so important to have the right skills to turn the temperature down when things get heated.

Read on for conflict resolution strategies to practice at work, and a few proactive steps you can take to help prevent future issues.

Conflict resolution strategies between co-workers

Whether you’re involved in a particular workplace conflict or a witness to one, there are a variety of approaches that will help smooth things over and also keep issues from resurfacing:

• Identify your work style, communicate it clearly, and be willing to compromise. Interpersonal conflicts often arise not from competing goals, but competing methods. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that everyone works differently, and there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to get work done. Gain a full understanding of your co-workers’ preferences, be upfront about your own, and work together to accommodate both.
• Make note of different communication styles, how they might clash, and how you can keep dialogue productive. Whether it’s an email meant to be straightforward that came off as curt, or constructive criticism from a co-worker that felt like a jab, the different ways we communicate can cause issues if we aren’t mindful. Make note of how you prefer to interact with others, as well as how your particular style is received. Also be sure to incorporate productive communication methods such as active listening, or conflict mediation methods like reframing, to your skill set. This will help you not just mitigate problems, but actively prevent them.
• Remember that you’re on the same team. It’s easy to lose sight of this in the midst of a dispute, but as co-workers your jobs are always in service of your organization’s mission. What’s more, we are also concerned with doing the best we can, achieving our personal goals, and feeling productive and valued at work. Collaboration is a far better way to accomplish that than conflict. Try shifting your perspective on workplace disagreements into a more productive context by intentionally cultivating empathy—both for yourself and your co-workers—and reminding yourself of common goals.

How we communicate is just as important—if not more so—than what we communicate. You can be 100% correct in everything you’re arguing or advocating for, but if your co-workers aren’t hearing or understanding you, you may as well be wrong. In the vast majority of cases, simply framing the conflict at hand in “We” language, rather than “I” “My” and “You” language, is a great way to take a more objective view and find solutions together instead of continuing to butt heads.

When to escalate to HR (and what to do if there is no HR)

If you find that your attempts to communicate and collaborate are falling flat, or if you’re dealing with excessive behavior such as insults or passive aggression, it’s time to call in for reinforcements. Here are some options for what to do if a workplace conflict gets out of hand.

• Consult your manager or supervisor. Part of a manager’s job is ensuring a safe and productive work environment, so they should always be your first point of contact. Set up a meeting to discuss the issue, and prepare for it by writing and organizing your thoughts, comments, and ideas for potential solutions. This will keep you from getting flustered and the conversation from derailing, and it will help you focus more on resolving the issue than on invective or placing blame. Remember that there could be room for improvement on all sides—including yours—and be open to following your manager’s advice or instruction.
• If the conflict is with your manager, or if attempts to get them involved have proved ineffective, contact HR directly. Reach out to your HR department via email if possible (it’s always good to have a “paper trail” to refer back to), notify them of the problem, and ask for next steps you can take to sort things out. HR departments usually have their own conflict resolution strategies on deck, so bringing your situation to their attention will likely get the ball rolling.
• If your organization has no HR department, talk to other managers or someone at the leadership level. Even if there is no dedicated HR department or representative, organizations usually need someone—sometimes a hiring manager or office manager—to handle those tasks and responsibilities. Connect with them, or a trusted supervisor from another team, and let them know about your situation. Workplace conflict is unfortunate but not totally uncommon, so if your contacts have been at the organization for a while they will likely have an idea of how disputes like yours are typically handled. Additionally, if you have an employee handbook, now is a good time to reference it for any conflict resolution policies or protocols.

Communicate early—and often

When you’re dealing with workplace conflict, it can be tempting to just let things go, but nipping things in the bud is a far better tactic in the long run. Just remember that if we approach ourselves and one another with humility and compassion, as well as an eye toward our mutual goals and interests, there’s almost nothing we can’t work out together.

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Looking for ways to catch potential conflicts early and prevent them? Check out our article, 4 Ways to Improve Workplace Relationships.

Even if you know know where you’d like to end up a few months or a few years down the road, it can still be challenging to keep yourself on the right track to reach all of your professional goals. Mapping out your vision may provide the structure you need.

To ensure you get where you want to be, try these tips for creating a career blueprint that helps you plan—even just theoretically—for the future.

Use today as your baseline

Start by taking stock of where you are at this very moment.

Whether you’re struggling through an early-career transition or celebrating many years at your current job, you’ll find it helpful to establish a starting point from which to grow.

Consider what is most important to you in your professional development. Do you need a clear path toward advancement in order to feel fulfilled at work? A little more challenge in your day to day? A sense of security and routine? A sense of empowerment and ownership? Each of us has a unique set of career needs and it’s important that you take the time to define your professional values and to honor them in your plan.

• Describe your position. Start by detailing your current situation. Rather than typing up your job description verbatim, focus on what you think best captures your role and your day-to-day responsibilities. How do you describe your job to friends and family? And if you’re seeking employment, talk about how long you’ve been searching.
• Consider your biggest challenges. List all of the parts of your job that you find demanding or that require you to push through a challenge. This could be anything from time management or workplace friendships to something more specific to the demands of your role, such as funding or recruitment goals.
• Consider your most rewarding accomplishments.
• Describe your short-term goals. Think of your 30, 60, or 90-day goals. Include specific project-related objectives and give thought to professional development planning. If you’re job hunting, lay down a few ideas for where you hope to see your search develop in the short term.

After you’ve compiled this information, start evaluating your current situation. Annotate or highlight responses that stand out to you and look for themes or commonalities. Maybe one of your biggest challenges has also come to be a rewarding part of your job. Or you may find that your goals are related to a particular area such as gaining more leadership experience or addressing conflict. Taking time to uncover what you identify as your most pressing priorities and must-haves at this moment will help you lay out what you want in your professional future.

Identify big-picture goals

After you review where you are now, it's time to start looking ahead. In this part of the exercise, allow yourself to paint broad, big-picture strokes about what you want. A few helpful things to consider include:

• Envisioning your dream job. Whether you pick a title at a specific organization or simply know the area that you have your sights set on, describe it.
• Planning your career path. If getting to your dream job includes stepping stones along the way, write down what you imagine those to be. For example, if you aim to be a nonprofit executive, your goals may be to start pursuing both informal and formal leadership and management opportunities (such as supervising an intern, serving as a team lead, or volunteering within your organization), joining a junior nonprofit board, seeking mentorship from nonprofit leaders in your field, taking nonprofit management coursework or obtaining an advanced degree, and gaining solid experience as a departmental or program manager.
• Listing key milestones. What does success on the path toward your ultimate career goal look like? Consider some common milestones for somebody in your line of work, but don't be shy about including more personal and specific milestones on this list as well.

When you’re detailing long-term goals, you have the freedom to include some details you may gloss over in an interview. For example, if you’d love to start a social-impact podcast, lead your own nonprofit while raising a family, or you have an idea of the dream team you’d love to recruit and manage one day, write it all down! This is a document for you alone, so give yourself the permission to think big as you embrace and articulate your ambitions.

Map out how you’ll get from point A to point B

Now it's time to bring it all together by creating a visual map or diagram of how you’ll get to your ultimate career goal.

While some steps may be easier to define, such as going to graduate school, other methods for working toward your goals may be less fixed or sequential. These could include a mixture of measures such as:

• Setting yearly performance goals for yourself and with your manager and/or team.
• Reminding and encouraging yourself to ask for raises or promotions.
• Prioritizing professional development through trainings, online education, or formal classes.
• Seeking mentorship as a tool for career and personal growth.

A career blueprint should be an iteration of what you envision for yourself. Remember that this is a work in progress and you have the power to make adjustments as necessary.

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About the Author | Yoona Wagener is a freelance writer and WordPress developer who believes in the value of nonlinear career paths. She has experience in academic publishing, teaching English abroad, serving up customer support to software end users, writing online help documentation, and mission-driven nonprofit marketing and communications.

Experts say one of the top reasons why New Year’s resolutions don’t last long is because people tend to try for too big a change right away. No pointing fingers here, but maybe this sounds familiar: Someone resolves to get more exercise and goes from never working out to signing up for a fitness bootcamp that meets at 7:00 a.m. every day—and then never make it to the class.

The most extreme New Year’s resolution you can make for your career is to find a new job, but that can seem just as daunting (although a bit less sweaty) as going from zero to 60 on a new exercise routine.

Studies suggest that you’ll have a better chance of success if you make smaller resolutions. So, in that spirit, here are some bite-sized career-related resolutions to try in 2018.

Update your resume

Resolutions are essentially goals, and one of the reasons why updating your resume is such a good one is because it embodies almost every aspect of a SMART goal: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Updating your resume is a small yet important step to moving your job search forward. And it’s concrete: You’ll know as soon as you hit the goal, which can help keep you motivated for the next step.

The resume section of our blog has tons of tips for improving your resume and answers to frequently asked questions, such as whether to list jobs that are unrelated to the positions for which you’re applying.

Once you’ve got your resume updated and looking fabulous, make sure to carefully check for mistakes.

Pro Tip: Ask a trusted friend or mentor to review your resume, especially for typos and other small things you may miss. Just watch out for bad advice that could come your way.

Set milestones for your job search

The one part of SMART that isn’t embodied in updating your resume—yet—is “T”: time-bound.

Setting a deadline for your resolutions is a great accountability tool. A deadline makes a goal feel more real, like an assignment instead of an aspiration.

Even better: Establish milestones you want to hit throughout your job search and assign deadlines to them. For example, you can set a milestone for applying to a certain number of jobs or doing a certain number of informational interviews by April 30. This will make it easier to assess how you’re doing as the year goes on and adjust your job-searching strategies if needed.

But beware: Unrealistic milestones can do the opposite. Setting milestones you know you can’t meet provides an easy excuse to miss each one without feeling too bad. Or you may feel so guilty about missing the milestones that you lose faith and give up altogether.

In the end, what matters is the quality of the milestone and your ability to stay on track. Try one of these tricks:

• Put the milestones on your calendar or somewhere else where you’ll see them regularly.
• Share your milestones with a friend and ask them to hold you to it. Another way to do this is to team up with a friend who is also job-searching, swap milestones, and hold each other accountable.
• Assign a reward for achieving each milestone. You know best what kind of reward would motivate you, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. It could be as simple as going on a hike you’ve been wanting, watching a few episodes of the latest binge-worthy show, or treating yourself to an at-home spa day, complete with a bubble bath and self-manicure.

Try new approaches to networking

A new year calls for new ideas. If your search has revolved around a small set of personal connections, consider expanding your network through virtual volunteering or joining a professional association. Or 2022 could be the year your digital networking game reaches new heights.

Not completely comfortable with the idea of networking? Consider making this your year to face your networking fears. If networking events is freak you out, start off with a networking email or two using one of our templates.

No matter what your approach, remember to be authentic. That means being yourself and actually engaging with people instead of seeing them as a means to an end (i.e., a job). Strong relationships formed through authentic networking are going to be much more beneficial to your job search than dozens of weak, loose connections.

Be personally invested without taking things personally

The emotional aspects of job-searching can be just as challenging as the nitty gritty details of networking, writing cover letters, and preparing for interviews. And as a social-impact job seeker looking for work that truly speaks to you, you’re more likely to get emotionally attached to a job posting—and then emotionally devastated when it doesn’t pan out.

The trick is to find the sweet spot between being personally invested without taking things personally. This resolution is less SMART than others, but it’s still important for your emotional well-being.

What does this look like? It means applying for jobs that you feel passionate about and conveying that passion in your application materials while recognizing that just because you don’t hear back from every job doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means genuinely listening to what the person in your informational interview has to share without taking it personally if they say there aren’t any open positions at this time.

And finally, it means being kind to yourself, even if you look back at this post in June 2022 and realize you haven’t made the kind of progress you had envisioned in January. We all fall off the New Year’s resolution wagon at some point, but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope.

2022 can be the year that you find a new job—just find a way to start small and keep trying.

Photo By seventyfourimages

Has the pandemic motivated you to leave your corporate job in search of a role in the social-impact space? The good news is, you don’t have to reinvent your career to switch sectors. Many of the communications skills required to be successful in a corporate setting are the same skills needed to excel at a nonprofit organization. 

But what are these skills, and how do you articulate them as you transition from a corporate communications role? Below are four transferable skills to highlight in your job search.

Writing and editing

An important thing to emphasize here is the variety of audiences for which you’ve written, and the types of writing you’ve produced. Examples of corporate audiences relative to nonprofit audiences are investors, who are akin to funders or donors, and business partners, who are comparable to NGO partners. Highlighting your ability to craft messages for different audiences will prove your versatility.

Additionally, nonprofits have brands just like corporate companies do, so be sure to share any work you’ve done that required adhering to or promoting your company’s brand. 

And don’t forget to list all the channels for which you’ve written—including websites, email newsletters, social media platforms, or any other mediums that demonstrate your ability to adapt.

Media relations

One of the most coveted transferable skills is media relations, as breaking into the press proves to be a huge challenge for some organizations. Have you written press releases or pitched reporters? Both are relevant in the social-impact sector. And if you have specific journalist contacts from your corporate communications work that you can bring with you, be sure to mention those relationships, which you can leverage in your future role.

Perhaps you’ve coordinated interviews between reporters and expert executive leadership, or organized press conferences. This knowledge and experience could be valuable to an organization seeking to raise its visibility and public profile.

And if you can train others to communicate effectively with reporters, you’ll be able to build an organization’s capacity from within. Highlight any experience you have preparing others for interviews with the press, explaining journalistic jargon, or drafting concise talking points for an interview.

Marketing

When it comes to marketing, consider both the campaigns you’ve developed and the tools or platforms you’ve used. While the purpose and impact of a corporate communications campaign might not translate, the technology and tactics you used should. 

For example, did you research target audiences, allocate an advertising budget, or monitor the traffic generated through ads? Did you organize a Tweetstorm to create a conversation online and track the hashtag performance using a tool like TweetBinder? These transferable skills showcase your technical expertise and your understanding of marketing best practices.

Setting specific goals by which to measure the success of a campaign is another transferable skill. Keep in mind the end goal for a social-impact campaign will be different than for a corporate campaign, so tell an interviewer how you’d measure results for various goals, such as increasing individual donations, diversifying a volunteer base, expanding a signature program, or advancing policy changes.

Regardless of the environment, marketing compels people to take some sort of action, and often does so through storytelling. Highlight your ability to identify stories that resonate with key audiences.

Social media

Any corporate communications experience managing social media accounts, creating content, or developing an editorial calendar is directly applicable to a communications role in the social-impact space. Just be sure to emphasize that the goals and audiences may be different, and you’re prepared to adapt.

When discussing your social media skills, highlight the specific platforms you’re familiar with, along with any software you’ve used, such as Buffer, Hootsuite, Canva, or Tweetdeck.

Social-impact organizations will likely engage followers and fans differently than for-profit companies, but the transferable skill to emphasize is your ability to adopt the brand’s voice and tone when responding to direct messages or comments. 

And if you’re familiar with accessibility standards, such as alternate photo descriptions and color combinations that make graphics easier to read, be sure to mention it.

Corporate communications skills transfer easily

Oftentimes, nonprofits operate with a lean staff, inviting employees to wear multiple hats. Even if you’re applying for a role outside of communications, it would be worthwhile to note any of the skills mentioned above if you have them. Your range of experience will be an asset.

***

Tiffany Woodall is the founder and job search strategist at Creating Better Mondays, where she helps passionate, purpose-driven people find jobs that feel fulfilling. Tiffany holds a B.A. in journalism from Penn State University and resides in Chapel Hill, NC.

Photo by Sonyachny

If you live in Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, you’ve probably seen or heard a native land acknowledgement—a verbal or written statement honoring the Indigenous occupants of the area where an organization works or an event takes place. One 2019 report estimates nearly every university in Canada has issued a land acknowledgement statement.

The practice of land acknowledgement isn’t quite as widespread in the United States, but it’s becoming more popular in both Indigenous-led and non-Indigenous-led spaces. 

If you’re a performer, artist, event planner, or someone who hosts public gatherings—on your own or on behalf of an organization—you may wonder if a native land acknowledgement statement should be part of your messaging. The statement is much more than a trendy addition to an event program; it’s a public commitment to allyship with Indigenous nations, and often a call to action. 

What is native land acknowledgement? 

 Land or territorial acknowledgements serve multiple purposes: 

• They show respect for the original inhabitants of the land. 
• They recognize the ongoing relationship between Indigenous communities and their environments. 
• They encourage awareness of, and reverence for, the land itself. 
• They frequently introduce non-Indigenous listeners to the names of the area’s Indigenous tribes and communities. 
• They challenge the “doctrine of discovery” or the idea that non-Indigenous settlers “discovered” the area. 
• They support larger efforts toward reconciliation with Indigenous nations. 

To Indigenous Mutsun Ohlone activist Kanyon Sayers-Roods, land acknowledgement statements help people consider the past, present, and future— “What does it mean to live in a post-colonial world? … And how can we be accountable to our part in history?” 

How and when to acknowledge Indigenous territory 

The specific wording of a land acknowledgement statement will change based on factors like the physical location, the speaker or writer’s relationship to local Indigenous communities, and the audience. 

Since the statement should include specific reflections and goals, there’s no broad formula or template that works for everyone. The U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, an independent nongovernmental agency, has a land acknowledgement guide for United States residents including customizable resources. Examples from other performers or organizations might also serve as jumping-off points for your own acknowledgement. 

Statements can begin simply, saying something like: 

• “I want to acknowledge that we’re on the traditional territory of [INDIGENOUS NATION NAME(S)].” 
• “This event is taking place on traditional [INDIGENOUS NATION NAME(S)]. land.” 
• “I want to honor the [INDIGENOUS NATION NAME(S)] tribe(s), the original inhabitants of this land.” 

Written statements may add a phonetic pronunciation of the Indigenous nations’ names. If your research reveals more than one tribe is indigenous to the land, include all tribal names. 

Some U.S.-based nonprofit organizations like Notchcliff Nature Programs and the Minnesota Public Health Association have land acknowledgement statements on their websites. Northwestern University’s land acknowledgement statement is also available online. 

Performance venues sometimes have a statement that’s repeated before each event, printed in programs or lobby signs, or available on their website. These statements often invite audience involvement. 

Midnight Kitchen, a nonprofit worker collective in Montreal, Canada, adds an encouragement to listeners “to learn about the history of these lands and to support Indigenous resistance.” Indigenous choreographer and performer Emily Johnson invites her audience to join her in gratitude and respect for the land’s original inhabitants. 

Creating your own land acknowledgement statement

Here are a few do’s and don’ts to keep your statement authentic, accurate, and meaningful. 

Do write and personalize a statement of your own.

Your words should reflect your own relationship (or the organization’s, if you’re writing on behalf of an organization) to Indigenous lands, cultures, and communities. Think about wording the statement in a way that inspires your audience to take action. Start by asking yourself: 

• What is my relationship to this land? How did I arrive here? 
• What actions do I want my audience/readers to take after hearing the statement? 
• How does this acknowledgement relate to my or my organization’s work? 
• What relationship do I/does my organization have to local Indigenous individuals and communities? 

If your answers to the last two questions are “no relationship” or “I’m not sure,” you may need to backtrack and start researching the history of colonial settlement in the area and the ongoing actions of local Indigenous-led organizations before crafting your statement.

Do read the statement out loud if you’re opening an event.

How you deliver the message matters. Land acknowledgement is a way to welcome your audience and consider your collective role in history, so it’s an important part of your agenda. Johnson believes a land acknowledgement statement should be delivered aloud and “spoken with intention.” This may mean practicing before you speak in public—and, of course, ensuring you’re pronouncing any Indigenous names correctly. Do your research first.

Without looking it up, can you name the traditional inhabitants of the land where you live or work? If not (and many non-Indigenous United States residents can’t), your starting point is to learn whose territory and nation you’re occupying. This map is a good reference, though it doesn’t show official boundary lines. 

Your next step is to learn more about tribal history and displacement. Consider questions like: 

• Do any treaties govern the territory? What do these treaties mean?
• Is land ownership contested by two or more different tribes in the area? 
• How did the tribe come to inhabit its present location? 
• Was the tribe forcibly relocated from the original land elsewhere? 
• How did settler colonialism otherwise impact the local Indigenous populations? 
• What acts of violence or resistance took place on the land? 
• Does the city or town where I’m located have any special significance to Indigenous communities? 

Do mention specific Indigenous people, when appropriate.

If any Indigenous professionals, artists, or organizations have collaborated with you or otherwise been important to your work, you may want to publicly name and thank them. 

Some land acknowledgement statements honor tribal elders. Others mention Indigenous experts working in a similar field.

Don’t use past tense exclusively.

For white non-Indigenous people, it’s a common mistake to treat Indigenous communities as if they only existed in the past. Though historical context is important, land acknowledgements should recognize the fact that Indigenous people still live and work on the land. 

Many Indigenous nations in the United States are involved in activism, outreach, and the creation of community resources. To learn more about what the nations in your land acknowledgement statement are doing today, look for their social media accounts or websites for more information. Ideally an acknowledgement will celebrate the nation’s ongoing work, and let the audience know how they can support that community. 

Don’t use the word “guest.”

This is a controversial word in land acknowledgement statements, since introducing yourself as a guest implies you were invited. If you’re not Indigenous yourself, the word opens up some complications (did you or your organization actually ask permission to be on Indigenous territory?). 

On the other hand, if someone from an Indigenous nation specifically asked or permitted you to be at an event, calling yourself a guest would be appropriate.

Don’t assume your work is finished.

Land acknowledgement is only a small part of understanding your relationship to colonialism and to local Indigenous communities. To be meaningful, the acknowledgement should work in tandem with relationships and actions.

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Illustration by Marian Blair

Climate change, global warming, and extreme weather events seem to be prominent fixtures in the news cycle every day, everywhere you look. Scientists and government leaders around the world agree the planet is in a state of climate emergency. Prof. Petteri Taalas of the World Meteorological Organization warns that global temperatures in the four-year range of 2017 to 2021 are higher than ever, and greenhouse gas concentrations are as high as they’ve been in three million years. 

These facts highlight the urgency of fighting climate change, and the necessity of learning new ways to live on a radically altered planet. Many organizations in the social impact space are getting creative with solutions to building a more sustainable future. From repurposing recycled materials to keeping housing safe and affordable, these seven under-the-radar climate change organizations on Idealist are making sure we’re ready for what’s next. 

Organizations dedicated to extreme weather survival

Catalyst Miami, Miami, FL 

The communities in Florida’s Miami-Dade County are no stranger to the devastation of hurricanes. Catalyst Miami is dedicated to giving lower-income Miami-Dade communities the same level of security and protection from rising sea levels that wealthy communities get.

One way Catalyst Miami helps residents weather the next storm is through its Disaster Preparedness Matched Savings Program, a grant-funded initiative that provides matching funds when participants meet savings goals. The funds become a nest egg to cover the additional expenses that households often face after a natural disaster. Participants also receive “hurricane kits” with essential supplies.

The organization’s day-to-day grassroots work includes helping clients find low-cost healthcare, offering free financial planning and credit-building advice, and running the Worker-Owned Enterprises Program for local residents who want to form worker cooperatives. 

Organizations dedicated to direct action and advocacy

Climate Emergency Fund, Beverly Hills, CA

This nonprofit’s name is designed to get your attention and doesn’t mince words. The Climate Emergency Fund provides funding to individual activists and climate change organizations in the United States. Fund recipients raise awareness of global warming and environmental change through tactics like “protest, nonviolent direct action, and public disruption.”

The nonprofit prioritizes supporting smaller, underfunded organizations and efforts that rely on volunteers. Yet many Climate Emergency Fund-supported projects earn international attention, such as the global youth climate strike of 2019 where young people rallied for climate action. 

Earth Guardians, Boulder, CO 

Named for the title they give to younger generations dedicated to protecting the planet, Earth Guardians focuses on environmental leadership and advocacy training for youth. Their leadership includes a youth council with several members of Indigenous nations in the United States, and many of its promotional materials are written for and by young activists.

The organization has diverse forms of media outreach, including storytelling, music, and eco-conscious fashion design. Other campaigns tackle issues like food and agriculture in a warming climate, or work to mobilize youth to vote in pivotal elections. 

Organizations dedicated to resources and recycling 

Container Recycling Institute, Culver City, CA

Recycling is hardly a new concept, but single-use containers and packaging materials still create waste and sap resources. 

The Container Recycling Institute takes recycling to the next level by studying the best ways for communities to collect and reuse packaging in a “closed loop” recycling system. Much of their work takes place on the policy level, encouraging local, state, and federal governments to pass legislation that incentivizes recycling. 

For instance, the success of beverage container deposit legislation or “bottle bills”—programs that charge a small deposit on beverage container purchases, and return the deposit when you recycle the container—inspired the organization to promote bottle bills across the country. 

Resources for recycling-minded individuals are available too, such as this guide offering tips about how to recycle tricky materials like lightbulbs, batteries, and electronics. 

5 Gyres Institute, Los Angeles, CA 

The 5 Gyres Institute takes on plastic pollution. Named after the five ocean gyres, or currents that carry plastic into global waters, this climate change organization conducts extensive environmental research on plastic waste around the world. 

On a local level, 5 Gyres has lobbied to reduce the use of plastic takeout utensils in Los Angeles as part of the Reusable LA Coalition. The nonprofit has also supported the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, an ambitious federal bill that would minimize and eventually phase out fossil fuel plastics across the United States. 

Organizations dedicated to culture and community

Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Oakland, CA

One important way to fight climate change is to strengthen the decision-making power of local groups, since these communities have a strong investment in the land on which they live. 

The Asian Pacific Environmental Network is centered in Oakland, a city with a robust Asian American population. Since its founding in 1993 the network has been at the forefront of environmental lobbying in California’s Bay Area, from fighting oil refinery and coal transit expansion to investing in renewable energy for Oakland neighborhoods. 

Affordable housing is another priority for the organization—fair housing prices allow community members to keep living together, strengthening the power of local cultural cooperatives. 

Cultural Survival, Cambridge, MA 

The survival of Indigenous people and traditions is entwined with the survival of the planet. According to Cultural Survival’s website, 80% of the planet’s biodiversity is located in Indigenous territories. 

This Indigenous-led organization works with Indigenous groups around the world to protect territories from environmentally dangerous construction initiatives, explore renewable energy systems, promote water and food sovereignty for Indigenous communities, and more. 

Their Keepers of the Earth fund gives grants to Indigenous-led projects ranging from crop cultivation in Panama to solar-powered homes in Mexico to preserving the Okavango Delta in southern Africa. 

**

These seven nonprofits are only a few of the many groups around the world working to keep Earth a livable planet. You don’t need to be a biologist or front-line activist to get involved—climate change organizations are diverse, and they need multiple skill sets. Start out by searching Idealist for climate change-related volunteer and job opportunities wherever you are.

Photo By halfpoint

Most social impact organizations today express a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

The National Council of Nonprofits encourages organizations to not only articulate their values, but to be guided by them and to integrate them into their daily operations. Unfortunately, not all do, and it would be incredibly disappointing to accept a job after a long search process only to discover the organization's walk doesn't match its talk.

As you move through your job search and look for evidence of an organization's DEI values in action, here are four areas to pay close attention to.

How the organization defines DEI values in the job description

An organization driven by its values will incorporate those values into their job descriptions. Make note of any stated values so that you can ask about them during your interview, and also confirm that they're using inclusive language.

You'll also want to keep an eye out for what type of language an organization uses in a job description. Descriptors like “competitive” and “commensurate with experience” may unintentionally perpetuate inequity by yielding different results for different candidates.

How they communicate with you

When you receive an email to schedule an interview, how does the recruiter or hiring manager address you? Do they make any assumptions about you, such as writing “Mrs. Smith” when they don’t know for sure that you’re married or identify as a female? And if the spelling of your name includes a special symbol or character, do they include it, or leave it out? These can be clues about unconscious bias or implicit values. 

Take a look at the sender’s email signature. Do they include their personal pronouns (she/her, he/his, they/their, she/they, etc.)? This is a small way inclusive organizations normalize gender identity.

Regarding the interview or any sample work assignments, observe whether the organization offers accommodations upfront. Examples may include sign language interpretation or alternative formats for interview materials, such as Braille or audio recordings. If not, they may unconsciously assume all applicants are equally abled, and they may unintentionally be “othering” a candidate who has to initiate a conversation about necessary accommodations. 

How an organization expresses DEI values during an interview

At the start of your interview, do they ask you to pronounce your name or make an assumption and mispronounce it, requiring you to interject and correct them? 

Whether you’re interviewing online or in person, observe who’s at the table. Does everyone appear to be of the same sex or race? Be cautious about making assumptions, but consider further research about the organization and its employees if diversity seems to be lacking.

It’s common practice to use a standard set of interview questions to avoid bias. If an interviewer goes off script, make sure their question is related to the job. Feel free to ask how the question relates to the role if it’s not obvious.

Even simple get-to-know-you questions can flag bias, such as, “Where are you from?” or “Do you have kids?” An organization committed to DEI values will invest in employee training to address potential biases and increase awareness of sensitivities. 

Which values are incorporated into a job offer

As mentioned above, look for gender-neutral pronouns or generic terms like “the candidate” or “the employee” in the contract or offer letter describing the responsibilities and expectations of the position.

If the salary was previously listed as “competitive” or “commensurate with experience,” does the organization provide an explanation for the amount they offered, or do they reference an internal pay scale? If it's not offered upfront, you can request an explanation or pay scale, as it can help determine whether or not the offer is fair. If an organization practices salary transparency, they’ll willingly disclose that information.

Read through the benefits associated with the role and confirm that health care, paid leave (for a variety of reasons), and other supports are available. If there’s a benefit missing that you require such as flexible working hours to accommodate caring for a loved one, make the request when negotiating your offer.

Most organizations are works in progress

Remember that just like us, no organization is perfect. But most organizations are trying. Pay close attention throughout your job search so that when you’re hired, you can be confident you’re joining a team that puts its values into action.

***

Tiffany Woodall is the founder and job search strategist at Creating Better Mondays, where she helps passionate, purpose-driven people find jobs that feel fulfilling. Tiffany holds a B.A. in journalism from Penn State University and resides in Chapel Hill, NC.

Illustration by Marian Blair

This time of year, your mailbox may be full of notes from friends and family members sharing updates on their lives and wishing you a happy holidays. But it's important to remember that reconnecting during this time of year shouldn't be reserved just for friends and family. The holiday season presents an authentic opportunity to reach out to professional contacts with whom you may have lost touch over the course of the year.

Even a short networking email can help keep your connection fresh and strengthen your relationship, especially because you’ll be reaching out with regards, rather than a request.

This holiday season, consider emailing the following people in your professional network to reconnect. Not sure what to say? We’ve got sample language below!

Your professional references

It’s a good idea to regularly stay in touch with your professional references so they know how your search (or how the job that they recommended you for) is going. This is also a great way to share updates on any new information about your career or skills.

The most important thing, though, is to thank them for their support—especially if your job search is taking longer than expected and they’ve given you a reference multiple times.

Here’s a sample note you can customize:

Dear [NAME],

As the year comes to a close, I wanted to thank you once again for serving as one of my references over the last few months. I know this takes time on your part, and I greatly appreciate your help.

I recently interviewed at [ORGANIZATION NAME] for [ROLE] and have been applying to other jobs in [FIELD], so I’m hoping to start a new job soon in the new year. And of course, if any of these potential employers say they’ll be calling my references, I’ll be sure to let you know.

I hope things are going well with you. [MENTION SOMETHING RECENT YOU’VE SEEN ABOUT THEM OR THEIR ORGANIZATION, SUCH AS AN ARTICLE OR SOMETHING NEW THEY’RE DOING ON SOCIAL MEDIA].

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy holiday season.

Best,

[YOUR NAME]

People who have helped you expand your network

Have you been asking your contacts to introduce you to people who can help with your job search or a career question you’re exploring? Maybe they connected you to someone for an informational interview or introduced you to a colleague who completed the same graduate program you’re considering.

The holidays are a good time to thank the people who have been vouching for you and to let them know how helpful they’ve been.

Even if you thanked them when they made the introduction, sending a quick note to reiterate your gratitude and update them on how things are going is a great way to stay connected and reinforce their positive impression of you.

Your note could look something like this:

Dear [NAME],

As the year comes to a close, I wanted to thank you once again for helping me connect with people in [FIELD]. I know this takes time on your part, and I greatly appreciate your help as I try to expand my network and learn more about this field.

[BRIEFLY MENTION ONE CONVERSATION OR CONNECTION THAT WAS PARTICULARLY HELPFUL AND EXPLAIN WHY. FOR EXAMPLE, “My conversation with Jane Smith was particularly helpful. Her observations about working in development helped me realize that I want to specialize in major gifts, so now I’ve been looking for those kinds of opportunities.”]

I hope things are going well with you. [MENTION SOMETHING RECENT YOU’VE SEEN ABOUT THEM OR THEIR ORGANIZATION, SUCH AS AN ARTICLE OR SOMETHING NEW THEY’RE DOING ON SOCIAL MEDIA].

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy holiday season.

Best,

[YOUR NAME]

People who have given you advice, or an informational interview

Your next holiday note should go to those new connections, the people who gave you advice or perhaps sat down with you for an informational interview. A simple note is all it takes to put you back on their radar, which could be useful if a job opens on their team or if they see something at another organization that seems like it could be a good fit.

Like the above note, thank the person for taking time to speak with you, give a specific example of how it helped you, and inquire about how things are going with them. For example, if you were writing a note to the Jane Smith referenced above, you could say:

Our conversation got me thinking about the different types of development, and I’ve since realized that I’d like to focus on major donor cultivation. I think this area fits with my prior experience managing VIPs in a corporate context, and it appeals to my interests in building deep relationships with a small number of people.

I’ve been talking with people who specialize in major donor cultivation and have applied for a few jobs in this area, so I hope to have some exciting news to share soon in the new year.

Former co-workers

Staying in touch with former co-workers can pay off in the long run. You may need a reference from them one day, or they may move on to another job or organization that interests you down the road.

This note should sound like something you’d send along to an old friend, although you should remember to keep it professional. In other words, be polite and stick to “safe-for-work” topics, such as your job and professional hobbies or interests.

Dear [NAME],

I hope this email finds you well! It has been too long since we caught up, so I thought I’d drop you a quick note to see how things are going as the year comes to a close. How has your work at [ORGANIZATION NAME] been? Any new and exciting projects you’re working on?

I’ve been at [ORGANIZATION NAME] for [NUMBER OF MONTHS OR YEARS] now, and it has been a great experience so far. [MENTION A RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT OR PROJECT, OR A NEW SKILL YOU’VE BEEN CULTIVATING. YOU COULD ALSO MENTION RECENT VOLUNTEER WORK OR ANOTHER HOBBY/INTEREST].

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy holiday season. Let’s find some time in the new year to meet for coffee.

Best,

[YOUR NAME]

Pro Tip: If you’re going to suggest meeting, put a reminder on your calendar for early January to follow up and schedule it.

***

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Networking isn’t just about finding a job. Strategic and effective networking can help you gain insights about yourself, and can be a source of support and strength as you navigate the peaks and valleys of a job search. Building relationships during a global pandemic, however, is hard. Here are four virtual networking tips to make it easier.

Take time for introspection

As human beings, our ability to show up fully and authentically in social or professional situations is often directly linked to how we feel about ourselves. Before engaging in building meaningful relationships, it’s important to take time for introspection. This might involve testing out a new mindfulness practice, carving out time to experiment with journaling, or spending some time outdoors. You might also use this time to assess your strengths, motivations, and what makes you tick.

If you find yourself feeling stuck on where to begin, consider reflecting on one or more of these questions: 

• What do I need right now to be at my best? 
• What types of work or activities energize me and what types of work or activities deplete me? 
• What do I want to gain from growing my network? 
• What skills or experiences can I contribute to serve my network? 

The time that you invest in introspection will likely lead to you gaining new insights about yourself and clarity about what you most want and need from your network. This is the foundation to building meaningful relationships as a job seeker. 

Create a plan for outreach  

The internet provides a plethora of opportunities to grow connections virtually. It is up to you to determine how to use it in a way that is strategic to advance your job search. By creating a plan for outreach that is tailored to your unique job search goals, you will be better positioned to protect and value your time and energy. This plan will help you bring structure, clarity, and focus to building meaningful relationships as a job seeker.

As you design your outreach plan, there are a few key ideas that can be helpful to keep in mind: 

• Be specific. The more specific you are in creating your plan, the easier it will be for you to track your progress, identify common patterns that emerge from your conversations, and stay in touch! You might want to include categories such as the name of the person and/or organization that you want to contact, what you are hoping to gain from the conversation, what you would like to offer, and any follow-up steps that you want to ensure happen after you connect. 
• Embrace curiosity. This is your time to be a sponge and learn as much as possible to help you make smart and strategic decisions about your next role. Rather than approaching someone about a specific job, try an approach that embraces curiosity and focuses on the skills and experiences needed to thrive in a particular sector or company.
• Revisit your goals. Consider who you want to talk to and why you want to speak with them. What unique offering or insights can the person share with you to help advance your job search goals? 
• Build in time for planning ahead and follow-up. Utilize tools like LinkedIn, the world’s largest global networking platform, to help you gain insights about the person and their interests before the conversation. This preparation builds trust and confidence, and demonstrates that you value the person’s time and input.

Join a virtual community, or create your own   

Navigating the peaks and valleys of a job search is hard work in any climate—but a pandemic makes it even tougher than usual. It does not, however, need to be done alone. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of online communities that are designed to bring people together with shared personal and professional interests.

The people that you meet in these groups can serve as your thought partners, sounding boards, and connectors. Most importantly, they can provide support and encouragement to help you navigate your job search. 

It can be helpful to think broadly about the types of people you might want to engage with in a virtual community. Rather than focusing on your role or industry, you might want to start with skills or hobbies that you have and want to develop. Here are a few ideas on virtual communities to help you get started: 

• The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) for those earlier in their careers; 
• Ladies Get Paid, an international Slack community that provides the tools, resources, and community to help women negotiate for equal pay and power in the workplace; 
• Out in Tech, a virtual community that empowers, supports, and creates opportunities for LGBTQ+ community members to advance in tech and social sector.

Commit to following up  

The process of building meaningful, long-term relationships is not complete without a commitment to follow-up. 

Your approach to follow-up can take many different forms. It may be as simple as a quick email to check in and update the person on what you have been working on. You may also consider sharing an article or podcast with someone that you’ve engaged with previously, if it’s on a topic of interest that you both have in common. Regardless of your approach, your message should be personalized, short, and relevant to your audience. 

The most effective networking takes place on a continuum, not in a vacuum—and your commitment to follow-up is key in making this possible. Stay engaged with the people that you meet along the job search journey. You never know how they might be able to help you land your next role!

***

Are you actively job seeking and looking for ways to grow your network, while giving back to the local community? You can explore hundreds of virtual volunteer opportunities through Idealist. 

 Image created by Catherine Cordasco. Submitted for United Nations Global Call Out To Creatives.

As an interviewee, you'd probably be thrilled to never have to respond to the "What are your strengths and weaknesses" question ever again, but alas, it's almost definitely here to stay. So rather than wing it when one of these questions comes your way, map out a professional and honest response. Here's how to tackle these questions while avoiding the more common clichés and self-deprecating responses.

What are your greatest professional strengths?

While you may have a long lists of strengths—professional and otherwise—that you're quite proud of, you'll want to be sure that you choose two or three that relate to the position for which you're interviewing and that if asked, you could speak to at length. Here are some of the strengths you'd want to highlight depending on the type of role you're going for:

• Development/fundraising: Good with numbers, negotiator, relationship builder, connector, organized
• Management: Motivator, giving actionable feedback, collaborative leader
• Marketing/communications: Creative, communicator, able to bring teams together from across an organization
• Direct-service/people person: Put people at ease, energized by the work, relationship builder, team player

You get the idea. You wouldn't want to highlight your knack for teamwork if you're interviewing for a job you know full well sits in a bit of a silo, just as you wouldn't necessarily mention an affinity for coding if you're trying to land a role in community outreach and organizing. Of course, a strength is a strength, but if it's unrelated to the job at hand, it won't quite check the box for an interviewer. You'll also leave them with more questions than answers about whether you're really a fit.

What are your biggest weaknesses?

Let's get right to it. Your favorite, well-intentioned humblebrag—“I’m a perfectionist”—holds a coveted position at the top of many a hiring manager list of most-hated responses.

So, what to say instead? Let things get a little real.

Highlight something that you know needs a bit of work. The trick is to make sure it's something that you're actually working on. If you’re more comfortable with the details than you are with strategy, share that you’re detail-oriented and working to find a balance between focusing on bigger picture items and the poring over the small stuff. Have you noticed that your meetings don’t always result in an action item or a next step? Hint at the weakness, but also share your action plan to address the issue. Are you watching webinars on meeting moderation? Are you reading a book about project management? Share what you're already doing to address that weakness. Bonus points for a fix that you’ve already implemented with positive results.

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Did you enjoy this post? Get more tips from our Interview Q&A series.

People often think of networking as something you do as part of a job search—it’s a way to meet more people and get your name out there. But networking can be a valuable tool in other situations as well, and it shouldn’t stop simply because you begin a new job. To continue networking after you’ve landed the job, simply change your approach.

First, you need to figure out your networking goals. Perhaps you want to grow your skills or expertise in a certain area, build your profile and reputation in your field, or find a mentor or mentorship opportunities. Networking can help you achieve each of these goals, but your approach may differ depending on your focus.

If you’ve recently started a new job, try these three tips to keep building your network.

Ask for suggestions

You usually don’t have to go very far to expand your network. In fact, the best contacts may be easily accessible through your new coworkers.

Who in your organization is most likely to know the kinds of people you’re hoping to meet? When you have a co-worker in mind, try broaching the subject using one of these questions:

• “If I want to learn more about X, who should I get to know?”
• “When you started in this role/this field, who did you find it most helpful to talk to?”

You can also lay the groundwork for future networking by getting to know your colleagues: “As I learn the lay of the land, I’m finding it helpful to talk to people around here about what they do and how they got here. Would you be interested in grabbing a cup of coffee sometime in the next two weeks?”

Pro Tip: If coworkers are going to go the extra mile and introduce you to a suggested contact over email, follow our dos and don’ts for connecting with people over email.

Attend in-person meetings and events in your field

Try to put yourself in situations where you can meet people, just as you would if you were still looking for new job opportunities. Attending meetings and other events will help you recognize—and be recognized by—your colleagues and peers in other organizations, and can help you to establish rapport with peers in your field. While everyone is getting settled before the meeting starts, use ice breaker questions to get connections going.

To find relevant events, you can use nearly all the same resources that you used during your job search, such as professional associations in your field, conferences, and Meetups. You can also look for any events that get passed around internally at your organization, such as announcements for lectures or receptions hosted by other organizations. Your boss may also be able to help you identify events to attend.

Before you go anywhere, hone your “elevator pitch.” This should be a short (ideally 30-45-second) explanation of who you are, what you offer, and what you’re looking for. Since you’ve just landed a new job, you should get used to introducing yourself with your new title and reconsider how to best present your goals to others at networking events.

Play the “I’m new” card

You only get to use this card for a few months, so make it count! Referencing the fact that you’re new to your job can be the hook for starting a conversation or asking to talk to someone further.

Acknowledging that you’re new doesn’t mean selling yourself short or implying that you don’t deserve to be here; it’s simply an “in” to get and keep a conversation going. For example:

When starting a conversation:

• “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met yet. I just started at [ORGANIZATION X] in [ROLE]. What organization are you from?”
• “This is my first time at this event, since I just started at [ORGANIZATION X] in [ROLE]. Have you been to these events before?”
• “I’m new here, since I just started at [ORGANIZATION X], so I’m looking to meet some friendly faces.”

To continue the conversation:

• “I’m still settling into my new role, and I think it would be helpful to learn more about what you do/what your organization does.”
• “As I get to know the field, I’d love to learn more about what you do/your organization does.”
• “Could I follow up with a few questions over email? I’m finding it very useful to talk to people in the field as I’m settling into this position.”

When making requests, remember that you’re not the first person who’s been new to a job, nor will you be the last. Some people field these types of requests frequently, so they may say no due to the time commitment—and that’s okay.

Whether you’re networking during a job search or just looking to grow your circle of acquaintances, you can be certain that things won’t work out 100 percent of the time; you won’t form a connection with every single person you meet, and that shouldn’t be the goal. The ultimate goal is to build authentic relationships, not to rack up the most business cards.

If you recalibrate your networking strategy early in your new job, you’ll greatly increase your chances of having some quality relationships by the time you’re six months or one year in. Good luck, and happy networking!

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Bilingualism, or the ability to speak two or more languages fluently, can be a huge asset for job seekers. As a 2017 report by New American Economy discovered, the need for bilingual workers in the United States more than doubled in the previous five years. This trend is projected to increase, especially for Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Arabic speakers.

But even if you don’t speak one of these languages—or don’t use a second language on the job at all—bilingualism makes you a more adaptable thinker, according to a report by the Language Institute. Quick and flexible thinkers with broad perspectives will benefit any employer.

Here are some of the benefits of being bilingual, from the job hunt to personal and professional development.

The benefits of being bilingual in social-impact careers

The New American Economy report also reveals bilingual jobs are common in fields with a high degree of person-to-person interaction. Employers in fields like education, health care, and social work actively seek bilingual workers. Dozens of languages may be represented among students at a school, clients at a housing or health facility, and residents of a neighborhood—especially in urban areas. A staff member who can serve as an interpreter or translator is invaluable. Language skills are also applicable in many advocacy jobs; immigration lawyers, for instance, often need to communicate with clients who may not speak English.

So where can your language skills be best put to use? The most in-demand bilingual skill depends on where you live. In a place where many people speak a certain language—be it Spanish in Miami, French in Louisiana, or Vietnamese in the Bay Area of California—many jobs strongly encourage bilingual candidates.

Benefits of being bilingual beyond language

Your bilingual skill set can give you an edge whether you speak your second language in the workplace or not. Knowing two languages makes your brain more flexible; switching between two sets of grammar rules, vocabulary, tones, and nuances is a lot of work! In fact, even if you’re only speaking one language, your brain activates both language systems and requires you to focus on one—making you a natural at complex mental tasks.

This adaptability can make you quicker at thinking on your feet, better at workplace problem solving, and a whiz at multitasking. When it comes to working with people, bilingual thinkers can be more adept at "reading" and communicating with others.

Bilingualism versus biculturalism

Linguistic fluency comes in many varieties. If you learned a second language in school, you’ve probably mastered reading, speaking, and listening. But if you spoke two languages at home or learned a second language specific to your ethnic background, you may also be bicultural—someone with insider knowledge of two different cultures. This includes the dominant culture of the country you’re in; for example, the English-speaking culture in many areas of the United States.

Each culture has its own rituals, values, and behaviors that go far beyond language. A bicultural candidate will be able to navigate between the complex aspects of both cultures. While this perspective is key when working with diverse cultural groups, it also gives you a skill you can apply in any job—the ability to understand and combine multiple perspectives at once, known as integrative complexity. Your aptitudes count as a bonus in many ways, from interpersonal skills like mediation and conflict resolution to brainstorming big ideas for an organizational mission.

Promote your skills

If you're bilingual, remember that you’re a standout candidate! Mention your second language on your resume, even if you don’t consider yourself fully fluent. A little ability can be just the boost you need to bring something extra to the table.

In an interview, you can emphasize your:

• Ability to understand diverse perspectives;
• Creativity and inventiveness;
• Problem-solving expertise;
• Skill at different modes of communication; and
• Any other benefits you think bilingualism has given you, since each person’s experience will be different.

***

Ready to start searching? Check out job, internship, and volunteer opportunities requiring or encouraging a specific second language skill.

Illustration by Marian Blair

The. Dreaded. Cover. Letter.

We all hope to find ways to stand out during our job search, and how best to convey “I’m perfect for this job!” to prospective employers. We also know that taking the time to write something meaningful can result in hours of procrastination and getting lost down internet rabbit holes.

So how can you make the best use of your precious time? A little preparation and intention can go a long way. Here are ten tips for how to write a cover letter that will get you noticed.

Before you start writing

Our first steps will help you organize your thoughts before you put them on paper.

1.   Read the job description thoroughly

What is the purpose of the position? What are the main responsibilities of the role and key experiences they’re looking for? Be sure to note words that appear multiple times.

2.   Summarize the responsibilities

Pretend you’re chatting with a good friend and telling them about the job you just saw on Idealist. Write down three bullet points or sentences that would sum up the job responsibilities if you were describing them to your friend. Try to communicate the job description as plainly as you can.

3.   Summarize the experiences and skills

Write down the top three skills or past experiences you think would be important to be successful in this job. What skills, experiences, or talents are they looking for based on what’s written in the description? Which stand out as the most important?

4.   Connect it to your career history

Reflect on your answers to the above questions. Think about the examples from your career that tie most directly to those responsibilities, skills, and experiences. Can you list three to five examples of times that you’ve performed those duties or responsibilities in your career?

Now that you have completed the first four steps in the process, you should have:

• Clarity on the most important elements of the job so that you can tailor your letter more effectively.
• Collateral for highlighting your most important skills and experiences in your cover letter.

Armed with your responses to these questions, you’re now ready to start writing.

Drafting your cover letter

5.   Set up your simple formatting

Think about which member of the team this position would report to, and address it to them. Not sure who the hiring manager might be? Check out the organization's website to see if you can figure out the organizational structure. If that’s not available, try using LinkedIn. Even if the person you address your materials to isn’t the person reading it, they’ll know you took the time to familiarize yourself with the team.

If you still can’t find the right person, you can always address it “To the Programs Team” or “Dear [ORGANIZATION NAME] Team.”

As for formatting, the top of your cover letter should look like this:

[DATE]

[NAME OF STAFF PERSON TO WHOM THIS LETTER IS ADDRESSED]

[TITLE OF ABOVE STAFF PERSON]

[ORGANIZATION NAME]

[ORGANIZATION ADDRESS]

[ORGANIZATION ADDRESS CONTINUED]

6.   The first paragraph

The opening of your cover letter is where you want to whet their appetite.

State the job you’re applying for and convey that you have top-level experience that translates to the position and organization. You also want to communicate your excitement about the organization:

I'm writing to express interest in the [JOB TITLE] position with [ORGANIZATION]. Given my previous experience in/with [EXAMPLES: managing operations for nonprofits, analyzing complex data and systems for improvement, or communicating vision and purpose for educational institutions], I believe I would be a great addition to your team. [A SENTENCE ABOUT WHY YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT THE ORGANIZATION DOES].

7.   The second paragraph

And now for the main course!

Go back to Step 4 above. This is where you want to showcase the examples from your career that directly tie to the responsibilities, experiences, and skills they are looking for. This will likely take four to six short sentences. The goal is to hit the top three things they’re looking for so they want to read your resume and learn more about you. You don’t want to tell them everything. There’s no exact prescription for this part of the cover letter, and there are many ways to convey you’d be a good fit.

Your sentences might start like this:

From reading the job description, it seems you are looking for someone who can [NAME THE THREE KEY RESPONSIBILITIES]. I have previous experience in all of these areas.

Currently, I serve as the [YOUR CURRENT JOB TITLE] for [CURRENT ORGANIZATION NAME] where I … I also have experience doing [EXPERIENCE] at [ORGANIZATION]. Additionally, from my time at [ORGANIZATION] I was able to …

8.   The third paragraph

The sweet dessert!

This is the section of your cover letter to really show you’re going to care about this work day after day. It should answer the following questions:

• Why do you want this job?
• What do you think you can uniquely bring?
• What about the organization inspires you?

Just saying “the mission so clearly matches my own” isn’t especially compelling. Tell them why it's a good fit! You might have one sentence about why this role is truly exciting to you, why this role makes sense for you now, or why you care about their mission. This is particularly critical if you’re applying for an organization that is fairly different from the one that you're currently working for.

I am really excited about the opportunity to utilize my [X and Y] skills to contribute to [ORGANIZATION OR TEAM’S SPECIFIC WORK.] [ONE TO TWO SENTENCES ON WHY YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT THIS ROLE AND THE WORK.] Thank you for your consideration.

9.   Proofread!

This is a critical step you must make sure not to skip!

• Take a few hours away from your computer, and then come back with a fresh set of eyes.
• Read it out loud so you can make sure it’s easy to read by someone other than you.
• Ask a friend to look it over for typos you might have missed.
• Keep an eye out for common grammar and punctuation mistakes.
• Also look out for cover letter cliches.

10. Sending your application

You’re almost done!

Remember, the goal is to make it as easy as possible for the people receiving your application to open your materials and read them. Because there are so many versions of Word, it could mean that sending your materials in Word files could result in some less-than-ideal formatting. By making your document a PDF, you ensure that what you are seeing on your screen is exactly what a hiring manager will see when they open it.

Copy the text of your letter into the body of the email you’re sending and attach your PDF (along with your resume) so that the reader is able to see your beautifully formatted cover letter without even having to open the PDF.

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Looking for more cover letter advice? Hoping to spruce up your resume? Need help assessing your current skills, or planning actionable next steps to move forward in your job search? Try Designing Your Dream Career, Idealist's free professional development course dedicated to helping you set yourself up for success.

Illustration by Marian Blair

So-called “soft skills” are often viewed as less vital and less challenging to acquire than “hard skills” like crunching data and engineering software. While hard skills are important, social-impact work hangs on relationships—which means soft skills are often the secret sauce to getting things done. 

Maybe you already know why emotional intelligence matters. But how do you improve emotional intelligence? Here are some tactics you can employ in the workplace.

Manage negative emotions

One of the most important things we can do for our career, relationships, and mental health is learn how to manage negative emotions effectively. We’ve all been there: something bad happens and before we know it, we’re in a negative thought spiral that is hard to pull out of.

Here are some steps to help manage negative emotions:

• Recognize the emotion: Are you angry? Sad? Frustrated? Disappointed? Feeling taken for granted?
• Change your reaction: If you’re feeling frustrated because a colleague didn’t follow through with something they agreed to do, you can’t change that they didn’t deliver as promised. You can, however, change your own reaction to the situation.
• Change your environment: Take a lap around the office or a break in the staff kitchen; a change of scenery can help keep us from getting stuck.
• Use a positive coping mechanism: Identify some simple mood enhancers. Maybe cat videos or memes from “The Office” give your spirits a boost; or perhaps looking through photos from your family vacation or texting a good friend does the trick.

Pro tip: If you notice you are experiencing negative emotions, consider using the HALT method before you take action or make a decision.

Cultivate radical curiosity

Unmet expectations and judgement can create a lot of strife in our relationships at home and at work. If someone did not meet your expectations, or perhaps you fell short of your own expectations, try radical curiosity on for size. Instead of getting into negative mental statements about what happened, ask for more information from a place of curiosity. 

• Instead of: “You missed that deadline and now we’re all going to be behind on this project.” Try: “Can you help me understand what happened?” 
• Instead of: “I flubbed that presentation and everyone thinks I’m an idiot.” Try: “What would have made me feel better about that presentation?” 

Any time we experience negative emotions, it’s easy to fall into black and white, all-or-nothing thoughts and statements that focus our mind very narrowly on what is wrong. Think of radical curiosity as turning on the overhead light instead of using a laser pointer, widening our view to consider options and opportunities beyond yes/no or good/bad.

If you find yourself thinking in binary either/or patterns, it is likely a good time to channel radical curiosity and expand your mental framework.

Practice empathy and compassion 

Empathy is all about sensing and understanding what another person is experiencing or feeling. How do you cultivate empathy for the people around you? 

Here are some things to try:

• Put your phone away and really observe and engage with the people around you.
• Notice non-verbal cues in others: body language, tone, facial expressions.
• Make eye contact.
• Be quiet and use active listening.
• Be genuine and share your experiences.
• Withhold judgement.
• Ask yourself: what if this person is really doing the best that they can?

Empathy and compassion for ourselves can go a long way, too. Sometimes we have such high standards for ourselves and don’t give ourselves the benefit of the doubt—and that makes it hard to have empathy for and assume best intentions of the people around us, as well. Learn to be kind to yourself to help build your skills in empathy and compassion for others.

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Illustration by Marian Blair

Searching for a job can be challenging and daunting for anyone, regardless of personality or experience. But there are particular hindrances or barriers that can surface for people with perfectionistic tendencies. 

Perfectionism, or the practice of refusing to accept anything short of perfection, can certainly make for some excellent professional outcomes. It can signal an admirable work ethic and a deep devotion to mission, and can lead to genuinely high-caliber work. When left unchecked, however, the ever-present desire to be flawless or above reproach can also be derailing. 

By disentangling unreasonable expectations from reasonable ones, you can learn how to overcome perfectionism and more easily move through the stresses and challenges of the job hunt.

Are you a perfectionist?

Before diving into the specific ways in which perfectionism can impede your job hunt, it is first helpful to assess whether you have some of these traits or tendencies. If you're a perfectionist:

• Time management is a struggle for you because you often don’t think your work is good enough to be considered complete.
• You see mistakes as a sign of inadequacy rather than a learning opportunity.
• You are aware of your areas of growth, and you do your best to hide them. You feel that if you hide your flaws, then you don’t have to experience the judgement of others.
• You are avoidant of trying new things, since success is not guaranteed.
• You struggle with feeling proud of your own work.
• You expect perfection from everyone, not only from yourself.

When perfectionism gets in the way of your job hunt

While striving for perfection can lead to great outcomes, it can, at times, be a barrier. Perfectionism may be getting in the way of your job hunt if:

• You are extremely rigid when considering the next step. You are only applying to (a few) jobs that fit your experience and skill set perfectly. If you can’t figure out what the most perfect next step is in your career, you stay in your current role.
• You spend way too much time sweating the small stuff. Seeking perfection often leads to accidental procrastination. You catch yourself spending a disproportionate amount of time worrying about a bullet on your resume, the introduction to your cover letter, or your lack of a particular type of experience. It makes you feel like you’re not ready for that next step.
• You are missing deadlines for jobs that genuinely excite you. You finally find a job that seems well-aligned with your interests, skills, and experience, but you find yourself endlessly tweaking your application package until you end up missing the deadline.
• You experience job dissatisfaction and stasis at the same time. Even though you feel ready for a new job, you convince yourself that you haven’t mastered enough at your current job to justify leaving. You end up staying put, even though an important part of you wants something new.

Pro Tip: If you need help figuring out next steps for your professional development, be sure to check out our free course, Designing Your Dream Career, and get all the guidance you need—from planning concrete steps to sprucing up your resume and cover letter.

How to overcome perfectionism during your job search

Working against your instincts can be challenging. Luckily, once you understand your default mode of being, it becomes easier to identify strategies to help achieve your professional goals. Here are some tips for moving through perfectionistic tendencies when you’re on a job hunt: 

• Lower the stakes. Perfectionists tend to operate in extremes, so it can be tremendously useful to find ways to set smaller intentions. You don’t have to find the most perfect next job in order to meet our career goals; you can simply identify new skills you want to utilize or learn, or a new industry you want to explore. If you are growth-oriented, you can learn to trust that you’ll gain something valuable out of any new job experience, no matter how perfectly (or imperfectly) aligned it might be with your larger goals.
• Set rules or boundaries around editing processes. If you are the kind of person who can spend hours writing and editing one cover letter, set some rules or guidelines. Give yourself no more than an hour per letter, or no more than three rounds of edits, or some other boundary that won’t make you feel terribly anxious. It also could be useful to build proactive templates for resumes and cover letters (based on industry, type of job) so that minimal editing is required for each application. 
• Find an accountability partner. Sometimes, being accountable to someone can be motivating and helpful. Find a friend, colleague, neighbor, or family member who is also on the job hunt. Ask them to hold you accountable to the rules and boundaries you make for yourself. Perhaps they can play a role of affirming that your cover letter is indeed free from typos and errors. 
• Incrementally and slowly build some comfort around risk-taking. Maybe you’ve never been in a managerial or directorial position before, and you don’t feel qualified to apply for positions at that level. While it might be scary to apply only to those kinds of positions, you can build in some room to try new things. Perhaps for every five job applications you submit, one of them can be for a position that is at a higher level than what you think you deserve.
• Remember: even the most high-achieving humans experience rejection. It is nearly impossible to avoid the experience of rejection during a job hunt, no matter how seemingly perfect you might be for a position. It's important to allow your excitement and anticipation to motivate you, but it is also useful to remember that the outcome of a job application process is not an indicator of your value and worth!

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Have you figured out how to overcome procrastination? Share your methods with us on Facebook.

If you're on the job hunt and are wondering whether you really need to send a post-interview thank-you email, the answer is a resounding yes! Now that we got that out of the way, use these helpful tips and the template below to draft the perfect note of gratitude to your interviewer.

Quick pointers for your post-interview thank-you email

• Send the email on the same day as the interview. Even if your interview was later in the day, you should definitely hit send before the day is done. Feel free to send in the evening, as business-hours rules need not apply to this particular situation.
• Send a different message to each interviewer. Did you interview with more than one person? Do not—I repeat, do not send them all the same thank-you email. Use unique details from each conversation, or a specific point of commonality as fodder for each message. Make it personal. Sincere gratitude is what makes these notes count.
• Proofread your message. If ever there were an opportunity to improve upon a first-impression, it’s in a post-interview thank-you email. This can influence or even change an interviewer’s first impression of you, so the last thing you want to do is fire off a message that has not been thoroughly checked.
• If you were unable to get contact information for each of your interviews, try to do a little digging online. Chances are, the email addresses for each employee at a particular organization all follow the same formula, so if you met with one person whose email address was FIRST-INITIAL-LAST-NAME@ORGANIZATION.org, it’s safe to assume that each of your interviewers’ email addresses follows that same format. If all else fails, when you do send a thank-you email to one interviewer, simply mention that you didn’t get contact information for her colleagues and ask her to please pass along your message.

The different sections of a thank-you email

You’ll, of course, want to make any email you send out your own, but here are the different sections and items that you should be sure to include:

• A clear subject line
• A greeting that matches the formality of the interview (first name versus courtesy title and last name)
• A specific reference to what, exactly, you’re thanking your interviewer for (coffee, details about the organization, great conversation, all of her insightful questions and thoughtful answers, etc.)
• Reiterate (without being too verbose or specific) what you like about the organization and/or the position, and why you think this role is a great fit for you

Post-interview thank-you email template

Email Subject: Thank you again

Dear [FIRST NAME, or COURTESY TITLE and LAST NAME],

Thank you again for taking the time to meet with me [THIS MORNING/AFTERNOON]! It was such a pleasure to hear about the culture of the team and the organization, and to have the opportunity to share some of my story with you, as well. I’ve been following [NAME OF ORGANIZATION] for some time, and so I really enjoyed having a chance to get into the details with a member of the team.

The position sounds like a wonderful challenge and an exciting next step for me, aligning nicely with my personal and professional trajectory. As I mentioned during our interview, I have a lot of ideas on how to get this work off the ground, and I’m excited to explore new ways to address [ORGANIZATION’S ISSUE AREA] alongside such an impressive team.

Of course, if you have any more questions, please feel free to reach out, and I look forward to reconnecting with you soon!

Best,

[YOUR FULL NAME]

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Need help sending messages of gratitude to others? Be sure to check out our post, 5 Thank-You Letter Examples for Extending Gratitude to Your Network

In a profession marked by challenges and change, both praise and recognition can have a powerful impact in the workplace. Knowing how to praise someone professionally has the potential to keep workers engaged, improve retention, boost performance, build trust, and strengthen relationships. Plus, acknowledging the efforts of others contributes to positive office culture and community.

There is no denying that critical feedback has an important place in growth and professional development. But appreciation and praise at work remain equally important. Here are tips to ensure effective delivery of positive feedback by capitalizing on essential leadership and communication skills.

Be specific

Being acknowledged for a job well done has a way of lifting spirits, affirming hard work, and giving a nod to good intentions. But generic language such as the classic “nice job” can sometimes fall flat—or even feel a bit basic. Empty language does little to convey to employees what’s working and what effective behaviors should be continued.

Using specifics when providing praise helps us feel seen and names the key action supervisors want to see replicated. When giving a colleague a shout-out for timeliness on a project, identify the ways they contributed to the successful completion of a project. Did they stay after hours to finish up slides for a presentation? Did they take the lead on collaboration with co-workers to create meaningful materials? Or did they take extra time to get a new hire up to speed? Being specific with praise lets folks know what they’re doing right.

Recognize effort as well as results

Social media makes it possible to see impressive outcomes, but doesn't always reveal the growth, challenges, and struggles behind the achievement. As such, it’s now easier than ever to default to impatience or frustration when goals are not accomplished immediately, or when behavior change doesn’t happen overnight.

Effective leaders know this, and use positive recognition to fuel the fire of productivity on their team. By acknowledging incremental shifts at an individual level, successful managers send a message that the process is just as important as the end result.

Leaders who see when staff are making strides can boost morale by offering positive feedback in real time. 

Default to “and” instead of “but”

Everyone has heard the dreaded “but.” It’s a three-letter word that negates all that came before. Think: “Thanks for sending the email, but you should not have included the executive director.” Or, “Great job on the grant proposal, but the funding numbers were off.”

What may be meant to convey support and affirmation of one successful action instead comes off as criticism and critique because of an additional accidental misstep. Instead, make it a habit to replace “but” with “and” so appreciation and validation is still clear. “You did a great job on that project budget, and we may need you to stay late to help the team out again tonight.” 

This small shift in language can go a long way toward communicating support and admiration for a job well done while still offering directives on what may need to improve or change.

Be gracious in how you give and how you receive

Part of being an effective manager is modeling behavior. This is true when it comes to giving praise, but it’s also true when it comes to receiving it. 

Being acknowledged for hard work, extra effort, and drive or dedication can sometimes be uncomfortable. Particularly when it means being singled out or thrown into the spotlight during morning meetings or post-work happy hours. Graciously accepting accolades as a leader shows those being managed that it’s okay to be praised, and reminds everyone on the team that hard work is doesn't go unnoticed.

So don't minimize your actions or shake off the positive praise. Instead, make eye contact, say thank you, and even respond by appreciating the person delivering feedback for a contribution they've made to the team's success. Being a leader who is able to accept gratitude fosters an environment that encourages others to say thanks openly, too.

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Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to check out What's Your Workplace Communication Style? to discover how you naturally engage and what you can do to improve your interpersonal interactions at work.

Many of us live in a world where meetings reign supreme—particularly now that many of us have switched to working remotely. For some of us, constant meetings can seem like overkill, but when done well, they offer important opportunities for colleagues to exchange ideas, facilitate discussion, share updates, and make decisions. Enter the power of ice breaker questions. 

Experts assert that team-building (the practice of building connection and trust with one’s colleagues) makes for better communication processes and increased productivity. But team-building doesn’t have to take the form of trust falls or disentangling the human knot—it can exist in small but intentional moments, like within the first and last few moments of a meeting. Questions can range from outrageous and silly to introspective and deep. Not only can these ice breakers help ground people in each other’s presence at the start and end of a meeting, they can also help people to laugh with one another and bring random understandings of folks we share (often virtual) space with every day. Let’s take a look at some examples of ice breaker questions you can use to check in during meetings.

Using ice breaker questions for levity

Sometimes, teams need levity and laughter. Perhaps you’re part of a newly-formed team that doesn’t yet know one another, or have a fatigued staff in the middle of a stressful work sprint. Whatever the case, light check-in questions can bring everyone’s attention to the present moment and help them build positive experiences with one another. 

Here are some examples of fun ice breaker questions to ask:

• What was the worst haircut you ever had?
• What is the most embarrassing fashion trend you used to rock?
• What is your go-to karaoke song?
• What breed of dog would you be, and why?
• What was your first AOL Instant Messenger screen name? 
• Who was your first celebrity crush?
• What is your favorite meme?
• If you were the 8th dwarf in Snow White, what would your name be?
• What role would you play on a team of superheroes? 

These types of questions can foster a culture of fun and openness without requiring people to be too vulnerable or exposed. 

Facilitating introspection with deeper ice breaker questions

While humor can be a valuable tool for connection, teams sometimes also need depth and seriousness. When a certain level of mutual trust and respect has already been established, some ice breaker questions can also help a team mine for issues that might be obscured by the normal functioning of the group. These types of check-ins can help surface what motivates, moves, and inspires each person on the team. Examples are:

• Describe your past week in weather terms. (e.g. “stormy,” “cloudy,” “foggy,” “mostly sunny”)
• What is something you find depleting and challenging about this project/work? And what is something that brings you energy and joy?
• What motivates you at work? What demotivates you?
• If you could rid the world of one thing, what would it be?
• What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
• Who is the best teacher you’ve ever had? What made them so great?
• Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to your 10-year-old self? 18-year-old self?
• What were you most passionate about when you were young? And what are you most passionate about now? 
• What happens when you are stressed or burnt out? 

Using ice breaker questions for focus

When there are particular deliverables attached to meetings, ice breaker questions can help bring focus to the tasks at hand. Some examples: 

• What is one thing you want to get accomplished at today’s meeting?
• Share a word on the intention you hold for today’s meeting.
• What value or guiding principle will you bring to today’s meeting?
• What’s one thing you are excited about related to today’s meeting? And something you’re worried about?
• What is a work challenge you are facing right now, and how can folks help? 

How to select ice breaker questions

Though ice breaker questions are meant to be fun and foster creativity and connection, it is important to shape them in thoughtful and intentional ways. Hyper Island provides a terrific toolbox on what they call check-in and check-out questions, with recommendations on things to think about when planning a meeting. They tell us to consider:

1. How much time you have for a meaningful check-in question, and find ways to facilitate a time-kept process;
2. The mood of the team and the tone you want to set for your meeting;
3. How to connect the check-in question with the rest of the meeting agenda/purpose of the gathering.

By integrating ice breaker questions at the start and end of meetings, people can feel more engaged, aligned, and connected, not only to one another, but also to the mission and work. 

Check out a fun list of ice breaker questions here!

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Interested in improving your ability to engage with co-workers? Check out our post, 5 Books on Communication to Help You Up Your Game.

We all know someone in our professional network we’d rave about if asked. But we often wait until we’re prompted to show it. We shouldn't! A heartfelt, genuine note about one’s work can be such a gift. It not only brings joy in the moment, but can also be helpful when it’s time for a promotion, a job hunt, or a morale boost during a tough time at work.

Here are four ways to show appreciation for colleagues and co-workers:

1. The personal note

When was the last time you got a personal thank-you card—in the actual mail, with a postage stamp and everything? I still remember the last heartfelt, handwritten thank-you I received, and the person who sent it too. I kept it on my bulletin board in my office for almost a year. 

A personal thank-you that moves someone should have substance, specificity, and feeling. For example:

“Dear [COLLEAGUE NAME],

When you invited me to guest speak at to your class, I was honored. But that opportunity to raise awareness about my organization and our mission turned into much more. Afterward, two of your students contacted me about an internship and special research project. I really appreciate your vote of confidence in me as a guest speaker, and I am so excited and thankful for the student connections this helped create. Their work helped us better understand the attrition rate for our program and make adjustments that improved our completion rate, and our impact. Thank you for being a thoughtful partner and colleague!”

2. The LinkedIn recommendation

Love it or hate it, LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for networking and landing a job you want. When you write a thoughtful, high-quality LinkedIn recommendation for someone, it’s as good as gold. Not only can people like recruiters or interviewers view the endorsement, but the person you write the recommendation for can also use it on their website, resume, and other places that help build their credibility and visibility.

Of course, since LinkedIn is public, this gesture reflects on the recommender, too. It can set the tone for what kind of recommendation you might get in return. Make sure you do a specific and enthusiastic job at the task! For example:

“[COLLEAGUE NAME] is an operations wiz who’s been keeping our office moving smoothly and efficiently since the day she joined our team. She streamlined our invoicing methods, brought us into the 21^st century with a new online payroll system and direct deposit, and built relationships with our regular vendors that have helped save the organization money.”

3. The Facebook review

Thank you’s and recognition can build the credibility of organizations as well as individuals—and sometimes both at the same time. Reviews are one of the first things that appear when you visit a Facebook business page. Consider rating and reviewing a colleague’s organization on Facebook, and giving them a shout-out for a job well done within your review. For example:

“I have had the pleasure of working with [ORGANIZATION] during our winter coat drive, and I am so impressed by how organized and energetic their whole team is—and especially [COLLEAGUE NAME]. He communicates proactively and clearly with drop-off volunteers so they know what to do and what to expect, and always has a heartfelt "thank you" for everyone making a donation or volunteering their time.”

4. The email to their supervisor

This last tactic is widely under-appreciated and underused. Most of us don’t like to “brag” about ourselves, so we’re not exactly tooting our own horn at the office. So think about how great it would feel to hear from your boss that someone else had relayed positive feedback about you to them. This can be especially important for folks who have more internal-facing work that is vital to the mission, but not visible in the same way as program staff. Here's a sample of this kind of note:

“Dear [SUPERVISOR NAME],

I just had to send a note to you to let you know how helpful, organized, and kind your front desk staff [COLLEAGUE NAME] is. We had a miscommunication on our end about the meeting last week, and she got us straightened out and back on track without missing a beat. What a great asset you have in your organization!”

There’s no time like the present to send a little kindness and gratitude out into the world! So stop waiting and start writing!

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Looking for other ways to show appreciation for colleagues and co-workers? Check out our post, How to Praise Someone Professionally | Compliments for Co-Workers.