No Stupid Questions

A thing to note is that staff tend not to leave good companies. That means they recruit FAR less than you would expect.

A useful method would be to make a list of all the companies you can find that seem to both be going fine, but not obviously recruiting.

Getting your foot in the door with them is the hard part. First thing is to check if you have any contacts there. Ex-coworkers, or people who are friends with a staff member. If so, try and leverage that contact to get your C.V. to them. Failing that, a polite phonecall to HR or the boss (depending on the company), with a follow up email is the best bet.

This method still has a 95%+ failure rate. The aim is to get your C.V. in front of the right person when they need a role filled, but haven't started the recruitment process yet.

In the end the deciding factor is the supply and demand dynamic for someone like you in the job market. That is going to determine how picky you can allow yourself to be in your job search. Most people will try to use this dynamic to get a higher income, but you can also use it to get better working conditions etc. So you can look into jobs with a higher demand for applicants (searching job boards (1) and asking people who actively recruit can give you a feel for what is in higher demand), and you can look into jobs that have a lower supply of applicants (less populated areas, requiring rare qualifications, "unglamorous" fields that many aren't interested in or don't know about).

Of course stuff like asking the right questions during the interview, talking to employees, doing prior research etc. is important, but that only helps if you're in a situation where you can allow yourself to be picky because you have better options. So I'd focus on how to get into that situation if I were you.

At least, this line of reasoning has been very helpful to me. There's also people with different approaches that seemed to make them happy. Just something to think about.

(1) job boards are NOT very reliable sources of information, but they're a good start

Start calling in. Use absolutely every minute of any accrued sick time. Use that time to job search and interview.

Start job hunting now. Half ass your job until they fire you.

Have you kept in touch with your old coworkers who have left? They might have positions.

I write software and I'm in the same situation. My goal right now is to focus on companies that have been there a long time (20/30 years old, I shun startups).

Better if they work on an subject that is the most boring ever, stuff that will be stable for a long time.

It is subjective but I'm fed up with crazy managers who harass people because line must go up.

How do I make sure my next job is a better place to work?

By not getting nervous. Keep your calm.

Finding a new job takes it's time. Maybe half a year, I don't know. There are statistics that answer this for your region and your field. Grant the time to yourself.

Stay there if it is still bearable, but start your looking around now in all earnest, as if you were free already. If the money reservoir's are running low, make reasonable decisions, not fearful ones.

You should have started prepping to leave when the problems started. IDK anything about your line of work, but most jobs are basically the same at the social level. Find a place that has a good vibe. If the atmosphere turns to shit move on. Don't feel you power loyalty to your employer - they're just another source of income, you don't owe them Jack shit.

We used to have a print news sheet for job listings in the non profit sector, which is very large in my home city. It would have one or two articles as well but was mostly job classifieds. Wish I could give you a specific recommendation, but I guess I’m saying just find another job?

It sounds like you want to be in that job sector, but you experienced a disastrous turnover in management at one organization. To be candid it’s a mild story compared to many I have heard. Tyrannical EDs or crazy founders with too much authority, big funding swings, politics up the wazoo… the non profit sector seems to be particularly drama-laden. I’m not sure why. But take the hit and move on. It doesn’t sound like it was about you personally.

• if you are doing well in intervoew, ask why the position is vacant. If they say the old guy was bad that could be a red flag.
• talk to coworkers. See if there is anyone they know at another place doing similar work. References to good positions is key.
• don't limit yourself to what you currently do. Think about what transferable skills you have and what job that might relate to.
• customize resume to the job you want, not the job you have.

There is no way to do that..

You could look for another job in the nonprofit sector. Your past experience will help you. You've not said what your specialisation is or what exactly you do—if you're a lawyer and want to keep lawyer-ing, I suppose you could look for another nonprofit law firm, or something like a human rights law firm.

They are not hiring an employee, you are hiring an employer. Interview them.

[off topic]

Get this book. "Discover What You Are Best At." Linda Gail.

It's a series of self tests to show you what talents you already have, and then a guide to jobs that need those qualities.

There might be a job you'd love that you've never considered.

Make sure? Impossible.

All jobs are an experiment and a guess. Interviewers are often on their best behavior, just like candidates are. There is no way to know. Hope for the best and be ready to leave, to the best of your ability.

I'm really very sorry that the situation isn't better for you. I believe I'm facing similar issues.

Good luck. Peace.

idk, but if you aren't already, make sure you're documenting everything you can, saving any communications you can, you never know when you might need that kind of stuff

Talking to other people who work there and reading reviews can help. But the real issue is hierarchical management style is always going to be vulnerable to abuse by bad actors because your managers have near total power over you.

In the private sector the solution is worker's coops. I'm not sure what it would be called in the nonprofit world but there are likely more democratically run organizations in a similar vein.

Another alternative is finding somewhere with a strong union. Unions can also be toxic in some ways but usually far less so than normal work power dynamics.

Anything that feels like a red flag, probably is, but you never know for sure until you get into it.

Start looking ASAP.