In 2021, I was in my junior year of college, studying history at Florida Southern College. My professor asked those of us on a pre-law track to raise our hands. Every hand but mine shot up. Had I felt compelled to study law? Sure. You can add law school along with my ambitions to study library science, political science, English, art history, philosophy, French, and Spanish. It took me a few years to arrive at my current role: a membership manager at a botanical garden.

In contrast to my soon-to-be lawyer classmates, I wouldn’t have shot up from my chair to offer to my professor what I am doing now. I knew that I wanted to make my living in a museum, which was solidified when I took Introduction to Public History and Introduction to Museum Studies. This meant entering the nonprofit industry.

Initially, when I thought “nonprofit,” I recalled all the places I volunteered at: Easterseals, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, Florida Railroad Museum, Anna Maria Island Historical Society, and Polk County History Center. Most of my interactions at these organizations were limited to volunteer coordinators.

Museums, botanical gardens, private foundations, and other nonprofits require incredible talent like yours to fulfill critical missions. Here are just a few of my tips (based on my personal experience) to landing a job in the nonprofit industry:

1. Check hyper-specific job boards. Indeed and Glassdoor can be useful tools for jobseekers, but they can often muddy the waters. Check your state’s nonprofit and museum alliances for job boards. American Alliance of Museums, Government Jobs and National Council on Public History also have job boards that can be narrowed to what you’re looking for. Is there an organization you like nearby that you’d like to work at? Look at their career page to see if they have any openings.

2. Start small. When I graduated college, the job market was less than favorable. Applying to jobs and interviews became my full-time job for the three months between graduation and when I accepted my job at Selby Gardens. I started as an entry-level visitor services associate. As a qualified internal candidate, you will have proven yourself as a dedicated employee. With that, your foot is already in the door.

3. Advocate for yourself. When I was hired, my manager knew that my qualifications were suited for other roles. During one-on-one meetings with my manager, I would remind them of my desire to work with other teams. Within just ten months, I was offered a job as a membership coordinator.

4. Build relationships with other professionals. This is easy, just be yourself, do your job to the best of your ability, and build positive relationships with the people you work with! Your kindness will go far; your coworkers are great ear worms for human resources and departments looking to fill a role.

This advice may be simple, but I have tested and tried these methods and they work! In no time, you'll be a nonprofit professional, ready to tackle the world's biggest issues.