Unemployed "Big Girls" Learn How Foundation Proposal Writing and Job Hunting Are Similar

The bonsai tree pictured here is almost 400 years old and lives at the US National Arboretum.  It has weathered a lot, grown stronger and survived.  And so will those of us who are unemployed.  Here's to us!

Recently, an unemployed friend and I took a day-long refresher course on foundation proposal writing.  We drove into the city at a very early hour, we joked that we had not commuted in some time, and that when we do have meetings in in the city, we aim to avoid rush hour.   We also made light of the fact that we felt like “big girls” again, donning our grownup clothes and hassling with the traffic just like real working people.  It has been a while since either of us worked in full time jobs.

It was possibly a tad exhilarating and good to learn something, too.  We were among the eldest of the students, but participated admirably and asked good questions.  

Almost immediately, what struck me were the parallels of writing a grant and looking for a job.  Here are actual notes taken during the class, with annotations about the applicability to job hunting and marketing yourself.  It was a useful exercise for me to write them out and to remember the next time I am writing a cover letter for a resume, or a foundation grant application for a client.  If you are looking for a job (or writing a foundation grant), I hope this will be helpful to you, too.

Writing a Foundation Proposal: Application to Job Hunting

Attachments are increasingly important.  In addition to the resume and cover letter, more employers are asking for work samples and references with the application.

Tell why the program is essential for your organization and your community.  Turning this around a bit, in a cover letter, it is important to tell your potential employer why you are essential to them.  What is special about you that will make you a good employee?

The person you deal with at the foundation, your advocate, is paid to bring good ideas to their board.  As the Foundation grants officer brings the good proposals to the board, so the resume-reader/ human resources person must bring good people to the hiring manager of an organization.  They look good when a good idea/candidate is presented so make them look good for recommending you for an interview!

Write grants in lay language because the screeners are not technical people.  Resumes filled with technical jargon cannot be understood by most of the people who initially read them (and don’t explain why you should have an interview).  Make it easy to understand and highlight your skills that are critical to their mission.

Follow the directions.  One of the main reasons grant applications are initially rejected is that they did not follow the directions.  Did you include the required attachments?  If they ask for salary history and a writing sample, provide it.  Employers may receive hundreds of resumes for one position announcement; don’t give them a reason to reject you before even reading the resume.

What is your reputation with their colleagues?  Employers are well connected in the community?  Are you?  What is your reputation with the people they know?  Who writes on your Facebook page?  Who are your references?  Do you have LinkedIn recommendations from people they know?  Would someone the employer respects make a call on your behalf?

Prompt their curiosity but don’t tell them everything (leave something for them to want to find out).  This applies to dating and a myriad of other selling situations.  Provide an intriguing resume but don’t tell them everything you would tell them in the interview.  The purpose of the cover letter and resume is to get you an interview so you can WOW them with the details of those gems that will get your hired.

Make it short.  There are 98,000 grantmakers and 1.2 million organizations.  Make your cover letter enticing without writing a thesis.  There may be 400 resumes and cover letters received for one job announcement.  You want them to sift through and notice the important points in yours right away.

Verbs should outweigh adjectives.  This is pretty obvious.  Yes you may need to have some quantifying adjectives (“I developed the only program in Virginia...”), but the action words will highlight your accomplishments.

Write with substance over style.  Your resume and cover letter need to address what they are looking for.  Graphics, flowery wording and colors generally detract from telling them why you are perfect for the job.

Hit me in the heart.  This was what one foundation grants officer said should be the result from reading the summary of the proposal.  Of course you should do the same thing with your cover letter to apply for the job.  Say why you absolutely are the perfect person to get it but you might not want to make them cry!

The Executive Summary should be the jacket copy for your best seller.  I loved this.  This applies just as much to a cover letter and resume package as it does for the foundation proposal.  Employers should know who you are and what you can do by reading the first half of the first page of your resume.  Your cover letter should specifically address what about you makes you perfect for their specific job.

This is what I will do...tie the request and result back to the mission.  What is the mission or purpose of the organization/company you want to work for.  What makes you uniquely qualified to help them achieve it.  Tease them with an unique idea where appropriate.

Define how you are going to change your piece of the world.  This applies more directly to the interview than the cover letter.  In the cover letter, you may want to tell how you have already changed your piece of the world (innovations, outcomes).  If you have ideas for the new job, allude to them; but tell only enough that they want to interview you to hear more!

Make sure you clearly understand the problem.  Do you clearly understand what they are hiring for?  Read the position description carefully and write your cover letter to address their requirements with your relative abilities.  If necessary, reorganize some of the accomplishments on your resume to address their needs first.

Are you low-risk?  No human resources officer wants to spend the time and the organization’s money to interview or hire you only to find out that you aren’t right for the job because of something that should have been obvious. Make sure you have clearly defined why you are right for the position and are worth the time to interview. 

Communicate and stay in touch!  If you are fortunate enough to get an interview, make sure you write a thank you note to each person who interviewed you, as well as to the human resources staff who may have set up your interview.  When you go in for the interview, make a point of meeting the assistant or secretary for the person who interviews you and thank them for their help.  A thank you to the support staff whose opinion often matters is a nice touch and always appreciated.


The process always takes longer than you think it will.  Well, isn't that the truth.  

These points were all helpful reminders for me as a job seeker.  If you are looking for a job, I wish you the best of luck.  We seekers need to support one another.  The competition for jobs, as for Foundation grants, is tough.  Stay focused, be good to yourself, and spend your time with people who are positive and supportive.  They will help keep your spirits up.  That is why I spend time with my "big girl" friends.