May 15, 2003 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Q. I’ve been a manager in the for-profit world, and now I’m looking for a full-time position in fund raising or program management –areas in which I have significant volunteer experience. However, I keep getting asked to do volunteer work, and haven’t been making progress in locating a paid nonprofit job. What can I do to move beyond volunteer work and onto a charity’s staff?
A. Many career counselors say that volunteering is the best way to make the switch from the for-profit world to a charity. And while that’s great advice, it’s rare that a volunteer will suddenly get offered a job without doing a little extra legwork.
It will take some effort to turn your labors of love into a paycheck, but others have done it, and you can, too. You should use your volunteer work not just to do good, but also to build your own personal network of contacts, because you never know where they’ll lead. For example, Kris Mattione, who has worked as a lawyer and real-estate broker, was volunteering at Advocates for Children in Aurora, Colo., when she got her break. “My volunteer supervisor called me one day, and told me that she had a friend who was starting a nonprofit and needed a lawyer to help,” she says. “I helped create the organization that eventually became Dress for Success Denver.” Last December, she was hired as the charity’s executive director.
Ms. Mattione suggests that you redesign your résumé to highlight your accomplishments at nonprofit organizations, and to emphasize how your for-profit experiences would benefit a charity. “If there is a particular place that you would like to work, I would recommend becoming involved at all different levels within that organization,” she says. “Get to know the board members personally, and share with them your desire to switch careers. Since the board often hires the executive director, and can have considerable influence regarding whom the E.D. hires, this should be beneficial.”
If you don’t have a particular organization in mind, then spend some time attending local business functions, seminars for nonprofit employees, and so on. And don’t forget to tell people about your goal of landing a nonprofit job. “If more people know about your desire to switch careers, then you have a greater chance to find the right job,” says Ms. Mattione.
You can also increase your volunteerism, suggests Anne Segerson, a public-relations manager at WAMU, a public-radio station in Washington. While working full-time in public relations for a for-profit company, she volunteered at the station, and was hired for her current position last November. She urges you to treat your volunteer work as “a professional commitment — go above and beyond. (This is sort of like the principle of dressing for the job you want to have — if you look the part, the theory goes, you might get the job.) Do a great job, build relationships with the staff, and do all of this without the expectation of getting hired,” she says. You never know when your hard work will pay off. “Much of the luck of changing careers is in the timing,” she says.
Finally, be ready to make the case to the organization about why it should put you on its payroll when you’re already contributing to the organization. “You’ll need to sell yourself to them in a way that demonstrates that by having you on staff, you will enhance or increase their bottom line,” says Michelle Mancini, director of development at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission, in Atlantic City, N.J.
For more on making the transition from volunteer to staff member, check out From Making a Profit to Making a Difference: How to Launch Your New Career in Nonprofits, by Richard M. King (Planning Communications, 2000, $16.95). It includes a chapter on strategic volunteerism that should be helpful.
