June 15, 2005 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Q. I recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international business, and got accepted to a master’s program to study marketing at a business school in Ireland. As part of my degree program, I’ll be working as a marketing adviser for Irish companies, carrying out research and developing marketing plans. I want to pursue a career in marketing for nonprofit organizations, and I’m wondering: Will this master’s degree, with its emphasis on for-profit companies, help or hinder me in my intended nonprofit career?
A. Since you already know that you want to have a career in nonprofit marketing, attaining a master’s degree focusing on for-profit work is not the most direct route to your goal, says Omar Odeh, director of marketing and publications at American University of Beirut, in Lebanon. Given your objective, you might be better off jumping in and taking a job with a charity so that you get some experience, he says.
However, additional education in marketing certainly will not hurt you when you eventually decide to make your move into full-time nonprofit work, adds Mr. Odeh, who previously worked in marketing for several for-profit companies in the United States. Many nonprofit organizations today, he says, require their employees to have a broader understanding of commercial disciplines, such as business development, finance, and organizational behavior, because the strategies used in for-profit and nonprofit marketing are quite similar. In fact, there are arguably more differences between marketing for different types of charities than there are between marketing for for-profit and nonprofit entities, he says.
“All marketers, whether they are working for a for-profit or a nonprofit organization, must know their customer segments, competitors, fundamental market drivers, and core differentiators in order to communicate a compelling story,” he says. “Many essential skills learned in one environment are transferable to a number of different areas. The key is to remain versatile with respect to how you apply your skills and knowledge from one environment to another. Ultimately, it will be up to you to articulate to potential nonprofit employers how you will translate your for-profit skills and experience into ways that will advance their interests.”
The fact that the program in Ireland will add some hands-on international experience to your résumé may also be a selling point with particular nonprofit employers, says Kristin Mannion, the senior client partner in the Washington office of Korn/Ferry International, who specializes in recruiting for nonprofit organizations in the United States and abroad. Indeed, she says, many nonprofit executives today are increasingly looking to hire individuals who mix academic training with a current understanding of global issues that may affect their organizations’ missions.
This is particularly true among charities that conduct or support programs internationally, such as CARE, Unicef, the American Red Cross, and other international development and relief organizations, adds Ms. Mannion.
Meanwhile, during your time abroad, do some research and see if you can find a few nonprofit groups in Ireland that might be interested in forming profit-nonprofit partnerships with one or more of the companies you will be working with, suggests Rozanne Weissman, director of communications and marketing for the Alliance to Save Energy, a nonprofit organization in Washington that promotes energy efficiency. Her organization is currently involved in such a partnership with Procter & Gamble. “If you pitch the idea and it works out,” she says, “you could bring funding or important for-profit relationships to the nonprofit and valuable third-party credibility to the for-profit company — and, at the same time, bolster your résumé for future nonprofit work.”
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