The professional isolation experienced by solopreneurs and work-at-home business owners is well documented, as are solutions – such as regular networking with colleagues, becoming an active member of your professional association or Chamber of Commerce, attending conferences and seminars and participating in online forums and discussion groups, just to name a few. Today, I’m writing about another, less well known strategy, serving on a third sector (charity, not for profit or community group) board – which has the altruistic advantage of allowing you to give back to your community, cause or profession at the same time as overcoming professional isolation. While these positions are generally unpaid, they are an excellent way to build professional reputations, develop a high profile, obtain leadership experience and take the first step towards gaining experience that could lead to a paid position on a corporate or government board in the future. Australia’s third sector is growing rapidly, comprising over 700,000 organisations to date, so there is sure to be a board or management committee that’s right for you! If you need inspiration, you could visit www.ourcommunity.com’s Boardmatch service, or www.seek.com.au’s listings of volunteer roles which include serving on boards or management committees.
When you’ve located a role that interests you, you will most probably be required to submit a CV or résumé for consideration by the selection panel or recruiter. To present yourself in the best light for a board position, it’s important that your board CV is targeted to highlight your leadership skills and the attributes you can bring to the board. It’s not difficult to write a third sector board CV – it just requires a slightly different perspective from the standard employment résumé. In general terms, your board CV should be strongly targeted to highlight your leadership skills, knowledge of and commitment to the community or industry in which the organisation is working. It should be succinct – 2 to 3 pages at a maximum – and the following information should be included at a minimum:
- your name, telephone and email contact details – making sure that any email addresses you use sounds professional
- a concise and tailored statement of the experience, skills and networks you can bring to the relevant board – bullet points are fine
- previous roles you’ve held on boards or management committees – even if they’re not relevant to the position of interest, they all demonstrate your commitment and leadership skills
- membership of any professional organisations or community groups
- a succinct overview of your employment history – include the name of the organisation, the dates your employment started and ended and your job title – unless a role is of specific relevance to the board you’re interested in, try to keep the information you include about your responsibilities to a maximum of three lines
It’s not unusual for boards to ask applicants to also address other requirements, such as providing brief biographies and listing referees, so before submitting your application, make sure you’ve read the recruitment information kit carefully, doubled checked your application for grammar and spelling and provided all the requirement information to demonstrate that you’re the best candidate for the role.
