December 15, 2004 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Q. I’m a native New Yorker with a background in finance who’s been working for a nonprofit organization in the Middle East for the past three years. I’m working in program development and training now, but would eventually like to return to New York and work for a multinational for-profit company. I’d like some advice on how I can ease the transition back to the business world. Should I look for a job in nonprofit operations or human resources?
A. Easing into the business world after a stint with a nonprofit organization can certainly be a challenge, says Rosemarie Jaszka, who was in a similar position as you just a few years ago. After working as a fund raiser for an international nonprofit organization, she decided to switch gears and try her hand at for-profit public relations. She sent her résumé out to recruiters in New York, hoping to land a job at a large public-relations firm, but was snubbed over and over again.
“Everyone I approached told me that it would be ‘nearly impossible’ for me to move into the for-profit-agency realm with my nonprofit background,” says Ms. Jaszka. “I had run million-dollar departments and handled numerous levels of client service, from major donors to media to board members to senior staff, but somehow I wasn’t qualified for for-profit jobs because I didn’t actually have ‘business-to-business’ experience.’” It took several years of networking “with whoever would listen to me,” she says, before she learned about an opening at a book-publicity company. Even then, Ms. Jaszka had to prove herself first as a freelancer before being offered a full-time job.
Even though she had a negative experience, she still suggests that you go ahead and pursue the corporate route, but be prepared that you may need to take a lower-ranking position than you think you deserve to get your foot in the door. While you’re still in your current job, begin reworking your résumé to highlight your most transferable skills and make copies of reports or other exceptional work you have done to provide to potential employers as evidence of your competency (assuming such work is not proprietary, of course).
If your current employer knows about your plan to return to New York, ask your boss, colleagues, even donors and board members, to write you letters of recommendation specifically outlining your help with a recent project.
Even though it may be hard at first to break back into the corporate world, don’t give up. Not many companies will be put off by an applicant’s nonprofit background, says Alison Talbot, vice president of human resources at Safeco Insurance, a national company with headquarters in Seattle whose community-relations manager is a former nonprofit veteran.
For example, says Ms. Talbot, your background in finance, training, and program development would be valued in her field. “We have found that people who have worked at nonprofit organizations have often been exposed to people from a variety of diverse backgrounds and, because of this, many have strong interpersonal skills and a high levels of experience with and understanding of the communities where we do business,” she says. “In fact, we encourage our current employees to volunteer for nonprofit organizations in order to gain such skills and experiences.”
Got a question about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com.
