On Our Minds
Are background checks undermining your DEI goals? Learn what questions to ask—and what to avoid—to ensure that your background checks are thorough but bias-free.
Looking for meaningful summer reading? Check out one of the podcasts or books that are shaping the way On-Rampers are thinking about work, equity, and the search process.
Emily Cherniack, Founder and Executive Director of New Politics, shares why and how she looks for candidates who make community engagement a priority.
Acumen’s Director of Talent, Anna Stillwell, shares what she’s learned leading the organization in early adoption of pay transparency and equity policies.
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed how we work. Understanding which changes are the new, permanent normal, will help organizations be more competitive in this fierce hiring market.
How can organizations strengthen their fundraising and advance their DEI goals? On-Ramps Partner Nakia James Jenkins shares her insights from a recent Women in Development panel.
A strong development department is essential for any nonprofit to thrive—but navigating donors, DEI, and a turbulent job market is no easy task. Learn how Wendy Sealey, Vice President for Development at the Guttmacher Institute, and Erin Dodd, Vice Dean for Development and Alumni Relations at Columbia Business School, do it.
We’re closing out the year with laughter and cheer—and a whimsical holiday word game.
How can organizations set new hires up for success? On-Rampers Imani Doyle and Shanna Masdea share their insights into creating an effective onboarding program.
The world of employee benefits is changing. On-Ramps Partners Sarah Grayson and Nakia James Jenkins share what candidates and employers need to know to keep up without sacrificing equity.
How can hiring managers successfully traverse a job market that advantages candidates? On-Ramp’s partners Sarah Grayson and Robert Mayer share their thoughts to help guide employers through the dynamic hiring process.
Hiring a new team member can be overwhelming—especially when it's your first time doing it. Veteran On-Ramper Diana O’Neal shares six tips that Hiring Managers can keep in mind to set a search up for success.
On-Ramper Katrina Nill shares what she’s learned working at On-Ramps, and how her work as an animator and artist relates to her Project Coordinator role.
In their well-intentioned effort to create a more inclusive work environment, some employers have headed in the wrong direction. Here are seven tips for balancing boundaries and openness to help employees feel truly comfortable at work.
Are you searching for a new chief executive officer? Our team shares their insights into finding and hiring a CEO that fits the needs of your organization.
Research Specialist Laura Polk reflects on how her personal identity, experience in anthropology, and commitment to DEI drive her work at On-Ramps.
On-Ramps recently reassessed our own policies around compensation equity. Here’s what we learned in the process and how equity-minded leaders can implement pay transparency at their organizations.
We recently asked Desy Osunsade, Global Head of People and Culture at Imaginable Futures, why so many employees are leaving their jobs and what employers can do to keep them during this wave of departures and beyond.
Search Consultant Imani Doyle reflects on her four years at On-Ramps, the importance of empathy in the workplace, and how she refuels after a busy week.
Wondering what it's like to join On-Ramps in a senior position? We asked three On-Rampers about their experiences bringing prior career experience to the team.
Thinking about changing jobs? Here’s our advice for a successful job search.
Are you thinking about creating a Chief Operating Officer position or filling an existing one? Our team discusses the challenges, benefits, and nuances of this always bespoke role in social sector organizations.
At On-Ramps, trivia has become a staple and tradition during our celebrations. The stakes were high this fall: the winners would get to pick the organization who would receive On-Ramps’ annual charitable contribution fund. Here are who the winners picked and why.
Holiday wishes (and treats) from On-Ramps.
How can a Chief Diversity Officer make concrete changes to organizational culture? Our team shares their insights into effectively hiring and retaining a CDO to build a more equitable and inclusive organization.
On-Ramps’ founding partners reflect on the lessons they’ve learned—as a team and as individuals—over the last decade and a half.
We asked social sector thought leaders to share their favorite interview questions for ascertaining mission and cultural alignment. Here’s what they had to say.
We recently caught up with Dana Winfield, Chief Human Resources Officer at The Frick Collection. She shared with me the museum’s journey to building a more inclusive staff, which included employing people with disabilities. Here are the tips, takeaways, and beautiful benefits from her experience.
Our newest search analysts discuss why they chose On-Ramps during their recent job search.
Building a fair and impartial recruiting process—and ultimately building a more diverse team—requires implementing a number of best practices. Here are five we think are essential.
Hiring managers can create more equitable interviews by replacing gut feelings with a more intentional, structured methodology. Here’s a look at how disciplined, competency-based assessment can help combat the pitfalls of style-based biases in the interview setting.
After working remotely for many months, On-Ramps came together recently for a long overdue in-person meetup. It was a joyful reunion, and a reminder of just how invigorating it can be when teams interact in real life.
On-Rampers, who are also members of the LGBTQ+ community, discuss insights and practices that have helped us match queer candidates with welcoming workplaces.
When we’re not face-to-face, we need a more intentional approach.
The multiple crises of 2020 forced a much-needed reexamination of employee policies and benefits to support mental health. Here are some of the changes On-Ramps and partner client New York Cares made.
When an organization’s board of directors is handling the search and hiring process, synthesizing the numerous voices and opinions can be a challenge. Here are 4 best practices to add clarity and fairness to the process.
What does the absence of day-to-day connections show us about how we spend our days? Our culture team unpacks Roxane Gay’s latest op-ed for The New York Times about how our society is re-evaluating work life.
On-Ramps surveyed 100 social sector organizations to find out what changes we should expect to see in workplaces post-COVID19. Here’s what we learned.
Search associate Saad Qureshi discusses how his role as a board member at the nonprofit Act to Change informs his work at On-Ramps.
Can the traditional search process yield successful results in a predominantly remote working world? The answer might surprise you.
What goes into keeping a company together when everyone is working remotely? Here are the questions, decisions, and ideas that have fueled our culture initiatives over the last nine months.
8 interview questions to give you a better sense of a company’s culture—including its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Our team reflects on 2020 and welcomes in 2021.
A holiday greeting (and treat) from On-Ramps.
Extraneous barriers to the interview process reveal larger issues of accessibility and privilege. It’s on us to check our biases and hold ourselves accountable.
How to make the career switch from the private to the social sector.
We discuss the questions, challenges, and opportunities that come with making hiring processes more accessible and equitable to a broader range of candidates.
Clients hire us in part because diversity, equity, and inclusion best practices are integrated into the process we use to find them the best candidates. Here’s how we strive to walk the talk when hiring for our own team.
Founding partner Michelle Kedem shares how working as co-founder of Red2Blue helps her work with others.
There are more effective—and equitable—alternatives to back-channel references.
Tips for hiring managers: who to include in interviews, and how to approach the process.
One of our founding partners, Harry Weiner, draws upon his own experience in executive search for the financial services industry to respond to the Wells Fargo CEO's ridiculous and harmful statement.
Search consultant Omar Lopez discusses how his role as village trustee for a small New York town complements his role at On-Ramps.
On-Ramps search specialist Cindy Menz-Erb shares how mentorship is a form of social capital, and offers 6 tips for mentors and mentees.
On-Ramps search consultant Diana O’Neal discusses how her experience as a first-generation college student inspired her mentorship, and shares 3 tips for mentees.
On-Ramps search analyst Saad Qureshi shares 8 tips on making mentorship meaningful for both parties, based on his experience volunteering at NYC’s LGBT Community Center.
In this webinar recap, Nakia James-Jenkins shares advice on the nonprofit job search process for BIPOC leaders at any stage of their career.
An announcement about our list highlighting open roles at mission-driven organizations that On-Ramps is not involved in filling.
4 tips for how to effectively gather and use references in your onboarding process.
Nakia James-Jenkins, a Partner at On-Ramps overseeing the organization’s operations and talent practices, discusses 3 changes her team has made in response to the pandemic—and the conversations that went into making those changes.
Here are some resources and actions each of us can take to show a commitment to anti-racism.
Zeryn Sarpangal, chief financial and people officer at Code for America, shares how her organization has adapted its remote working practices in order to preserve its strong culture during the pandemic. This unique chance to experiment with different approaches has resulted in changes that may become permanent.
Jennifer Anderson, vice president of people and culture at JFF, shares the 4 big shifts in talent practices that her organization has made during COVID-19—some of which might live on past the pandemic.
Today, mission-driven work is more important than ever, particularly for organizations that serve our most vulnerable communities. On-Ramps is eager to help, which is why we’re sharing the Community Hiring Collective—a list of open jobs at great mission-driven organizations.
6 ways hiring managers can move the job interview process forward when in-person meetings aren’t an option.
Whether you’re a hiring manager or a candidate, we have some advice to ensure a smooth, productive conversation.
Here’s how we’re addressing COVID-19 at On-Ramps.
Move beyond “fit” with a more thoughtful approach.
Here’s how to listen and act on what your team really needs.
How can organizations protect their employees’ access to reproductive care? We sat down with Public Rights Project Founder and President Jill Habig to find out how her organization does it.