Making a career switch

Q. For the last 22 years, I have worked as a writer and editor. For the next 22 years, I want to work in the nonprofit world, ultimately as a program director or executive director. I’ve been looking for more than a year now, and because I lack direct experience working for a charity, I am getting nowhere. (I do, however, have a lot of volunteer and board experience.) I have so much passion, but nowhere to go with it. Any advice?

A. It is not clear from your question how exactly you have been going about your job search so far, but it sounds like one of the first things you need to do is focus, says Maureen Curley, chief relationship officer at Bridgestar, a nonprofit consulting firm in Boston that recruits and trains leaders for its nonprofit clients.

You say you want to work in the “nonprofit world,” but what does that mean? What type of organization would you like to work for? Youth services? The environment? “Think about the type, or types, of organization that appeals to you,” says Ms. Curley. “Large or small? Direct or indirect service? Established and structured, or entrepreneurial — maybe grass roots?”

Once you figure those things out, schedule as many informational interviews as you can get with people at those types of organizations, recommends Ms. Curley. Get an understanding about how, or if, your skills and experiences might benefit those charities, then create a résumé that highlights them. Also, find out if you know anyone who sits on boards of the organizations that interest you.

“Most nonprofits are governed by at least some business people, and you may well have direct or indirect connections you never thought to explore,” she says.

Still, no matter how many connections you have, the fact remains that to land any job — whether in the nonprofit or business world — you still need to be qualified, says Jim Masuga, a recruiter at Heyman Associates, in New York, who works with nonprofit clients.

Your board and volunteer experience, for example, are certainly assets and ones that you can cite when you are under serious consideration for a job, but first you need to prove that you actually can do the work, he says. Pursuing a program-director position, for instance, only makes sense for you if the employer is searching for a program director with strong editorial skills.

“Your passion is a great asset, but you have to be able to provide to an employer examples of relevant achievements in your work experience, and not just a promise that you’ll learn or grow into the responsibilities once you assume the role,” Mr. Masuga says.

Indeed, you may have better luck by setting your sights a bit lower, says Tiziana Dearing, executive director of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

“You need to pay some dues first,” she says. “It’s a common misconception among people who have worked in the for-profit sector that their skills will both carry over directly and be directly attractive to nonprofits. But as the sector increasingly professionalizes, organizations both want and can demand people with strong nonprofit experience. You’ll need to build some of that before you reach your ultimate goal.”