How to Find a Corporate Board Seat
As the leading personalized nonprofit board matching service in the country, we at BoardAssist are approached almost daily by people interesting in serving on a corporate board. As a nonprofit ourselves, our mission is to serve the nonprofit community, focusing solely on nonprofit board matching. That said we’ve learned quite a lot from our colleagues in the corporate board space over the years– we hope these tips will be helpful.
Top Ways to Get Noticed for a Corporate Board Seat
• Be a star. Be great at what you do – you will get noticed for your accomplishments and headhunters looking for your expertise will find you.
• Network. We all know this is the true secret sauce. Being an active player in your industry area, attending conferences in your area of expertise and publishing articles showcasing your unique abilities and knowledge will all get you noticed.
• Join a Nonprofit Board. Nonprofit board service is a terrific path to corporate board service. Not only will you increase your network and visibility greatly through nonprofit board service but you’ll develop new skills and hone existing skills that may be highly useful for corporate board service.
Be Wise About Choosing a Corporate Board Matching Service
Sadly they are a lot of folks who are less than legitimate working in the corporate board search space – they prey on people who, in their eagerness to join a corporate board, ignore the warning signs they haven’t chosen the best partner.
To be careful, ask these questions as you explore services:
• Does the service charge a fee to match you with a board? This is virtually unheard of in the legitimate board matching world. If any fee is due, it should always be paid by the board you are joining – not by the candidate.
• Does the service guarantee candidates a board seat? Legitimate services cannot and do not guarantee board placement.
• Is the service using a name similar to a long standing power player in the board search space? At BoardAssist, we have had multiple problems with others who have used similar names to our US trademark registered name which we have the exclusive right to use. Squatting on someone’s trademarked name is a clear red flag. (BoardAssist.org is not affiliated in any way with other entities that are illegally using our name.)
• Are the principals listed on the website? Can you verify on LinkedIn that they really exist and are connected to others you trust? Are they leaders in their space, speaking at important industry events and at well-regarded schools? (BoardAssist, for example, has spoken for Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and Wharton as well as many other prestigious schools over the years.)
• Does the organization have third party ratings from others in their industry area? Don’t rely exclusively on what the organization claims others have said about them on their site but seek third party validation.
• Does the organization claim to be a limited liability company or corporation doing business in a particular state? It’s easy to run a search to see if they really are registered to do business where they claim to be.
• Ask AI for help. AI can be a very powerful and effective tool for rooting out scammers. Asking AI, “is XYZ organization legitimate” will most likely expose organizations you want to distance yourselves from quickly.
• Don’t rely on Google reviews. Google, Yelp and other reviews can be manipulated and aren’t always as reliable as other ways of verifying that an organization is one you want to partner with.
How to Join a Nonprofit Board
The easiest first step – reach out to BoardAssist. We’d love to help you find your Dream Board. Learn more about working with us here.
Since 2001, BoardAssist has been the leading personalized board matching service in the United States, with a focus on New York City. We’ve brought nearly $300 million into the nonprofit world since we launched. Our proudest metric – over 90% of the people we personally match with boards are serving as leaders where we placed them within 12 months of starting their board service.
As a nonprofit ourselves, BoardAssist charges no fees to the candidates we support in their board service journey. Reach out to us at info@boardassist.org to learn more. We offer New Yorkers who want to make a real change in the nonprofit world an unrivaled selection of board options and advice on selecting the right one for them.
Ready to get started? See our Top Ten Tips for Joining a Nonprofit Board here.