I’ve been looking since November for a job, and even more so after my last day at the end of January. I’ve never lost hope that perhaps the right opportunity would come along. After attending webinars about how to update my resume and cover letter so that AI can read it, creating a list of transferrable skills to apply for other lines of work, beefing up my LinkedIn, and so on and so on, I thought I was all set.

Not really. For as much work as I put into searching for a job, I still haven’t gotten one. And I’m not alone. There are many in my predicament, especially after the Feds decided that it doesn’t need to provide crucial services anymore to hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on them. Fired workers have flooded the market. For grant writers such as myself, it’s even slimmer. The grants upon which nonprofits have relied are dried up as well.

But we’re making America great again, aren’t we?

I digress.

As I was on my daily search for employment, a rather mysterious listing came up on my LinkedIn feed. A growing nonprofit sought the help of an operations specialist, but failed to state for what cause. This generally means they need someone to maintain the database, which I can do, and it’s a cause that might not be popular. On a lark, I sent in my resume out of curiosity more than anything. Then I continued on my determined search.

A couple of days later, someone answered me. Said they liked my resume and would like to set up an interview. My heart skipped a beat – this would be the first interview I’ve had in all of my job search. This person gave me the name of the organization and sent a link to the website.

Now, it’s not entirely a rare practice that job recruiters hold places of employment in secret. Often someone is going to lose their job and they want to find a replacement before that person’s last day. Or they don’t want to be flooded with resumes from unqualified people.

Turns out, the person whose website it was had a very noble cause indeed. However, the website was full of holes as far as information was concerned. There were links to the 990s – the financial information nonprofits are required to give – but no annual reports that detailed how the money was spent. In fact, there were lots of broad strokes of information, but nothing that stated $XX went to medical assistence and $XX went to purchase supplies, etc. No board list, either. Lots about the person who ran the organization, with some impressive credentials, but not much else.

I gave this person the benefit of the doubt. After all, lots of places have sucky websites. Maybe it’s new and he’s still loading content. I searched through Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Candid, ProPublica – you name it – and nothing horrible came up. This place is legit. Still, I had a nagging feeling and I didn’t know why.

The interview took place at ten o’clock in the morning, via Zoom, of course. Who does things in person anymore? After cursory introductions, the interviewer asked me a few questions about my grant writing skills. He again stated how impressed he was with my resume – so much experience! – and that he wanted to ask a few specific questions. I wound up educating him. He hadn’t heard of prospecting platforms, or BlueSky, or a few other platforms I thought he should’ve known.

At the end of the interview, he gave me a job offer. Still listening to that gut feeling, I said I’d take a look at the contract and get back to him by the afternoon. Within moments, the contract appeared in my inbox. Since my head was still swirling from the adrenaline coursing through me, I needed a cup of tea first. I relaxed for a few minutes reading in the New York Times how my IRA’s value was sinking faster than a disgraced mobster wearing cement shoes hurled into the Hudson River. Doomscrolled on the socials for a little while longer, then opened my contract.

And there it was – the catch.

Sure, I had a job and I could start right away. I would be expected to spend 10-15 hours a week working on grants. However, I wouldn’t be paid until a grant was awarded. If a grant was awarded.

First of all, anyone who writes grants knows darn well it takes more than 10-15 hours to write a substantial grant. There’s research involved – which grant does an organization apply for? Even with the help of grant prospecting sites, one still has to read through a lot of information to come to a decision. Then there’s the actual crafting of the narrative, formulating a budget, gathering attachments…all sorts of things that need to be done. Someone also has to look it over and sign off on it. Even short grants take a day or two to do.

To not be paid for this? Unacceptable. It’s worse than unacceptable – it’s stealing. Stealing time from someone who isn’t getting paid for services rendered. Can you imagine going to an accountant, having him do your taxes and say, “Well, I’ll only pay you if I get a refund.” That’s what this amounts to.

Unfortunately, there are so-called nonprofits who do this. It’s called performance-based pay. Even if you’re in sales, you get a base rate. Waitstaff get a base rate. People have bills to pay!

It seems that some places would rather take advantage of grant writers because it’s their fault if they don’t get the grants that they applied for. Never mind that so many organizations have tragically had their funding cut. Everyone has their hands out. Foundations really do want to help, but they can’t dole out cash to all those who ask. It would bankrupt them. So they choose who they believe are the neediest cases, and the rest are given apologetic letters turning applicants down. It doesn’t mean your application stunk. Just that they felt someone else needed money more than you.

My award record is pretty good. Grants I’ve written have been awarded, but some have also been rejected too. Last year, I applied for a government grant (you know, the ones that are being terminated now) that was highly competitive. Only five organizations in the entire country would receive funding. Over 100 applied. My application was denied. My boss didn’t yell and scream at me; she knew what we were up against. This application took me a month to write, going back and forth between revisions and approvals. No one in my organization felt I was wasting my time. All grants are a crap shoot and clearly this nation has more than 100 wonderful grant writers. It’s just that the federal organization only had enough funds for 5 lucky nonprofits. The feedback we requested lauded the project we applied for, and in better times, would’ve been awarded. Just not this time.

Not being paid for all that work necessary to apply for the grant, whether or not it’s awarded is a scam. No one should fall for this.

I crafted a very tactful reply. Never burn a bridge; you don’t know if you’ll ever run into this person again. Firstly, I thanked him for the wonderful opportunity and reiterated how strongly I believed in the cause his nonprofit supported. However, at this stage in my career, I told him no longer work on speculation. If he needed me for freelance writing projects, I’d be happy to discuss that. I did give him some links to platforms that assist with grant prospecting and writing – ones I use – and wished him well.

Yes, I’m disappointed I couldn’t accept the position. After high hopes, it didn’t work out. Nor would it be worth my time to accept it and thinking something else might come along. I’d be taking away from the time I devote myself to looking for steady employment.

Later on, I took myself out for some ice cream. My favorite place opened up last week. It’s located on the top of a mountain overlooking a scenic valley. Plus they make their own ice cream from their own cows! As I enjoyed my mocha java chip on a homemade cone, I purged my brain of that interview and absorbed the awakening beauty of spring.

Couldn’t resist the temptation to check my inbox when I got home. Nope. He didn’t respond, nor did I expect him to. But another job that I applied to liked my resume – would I be available on Monday to discuss?

I answered right away. Sure! How’s 11:30? Will I get the job? Who knows? But this place is legit, and they pay a salary with benefits.

My kind of place to work.