Month: January 2020

Featured Yoda#3: CEO of Social Enterprise Providing Assistive Products for People with Disabilities

Our third featured social impact yoda is Keoke King, who is co-founder and CEO of Participant Assistive Products, a social enterprise which designs and produces wheel chairs, strollers, and other assistive products for people with disabilities globally. They are also currently running a WeFunder campaign to provide wheel chairs for kids around the world, if you’d like to support their work!

Keoke, thanks so much for being willing to share about your career path with us. Please start by telling us about your current role working in social impact at your organization, Participant Assistive Products.

I am co-founder and CEO of Participant Assistive Products. We have been bootstrapping for 2 years and have completed 9 iterations of our prototype, a wheelchair for children in lower income countries. My day-to-day involves a lot of Q&A with investors, coordinating our R&D team, and marketing. We have letters of intent for ~4,000 units and have raised about $400k. It looks like we will have production in May and then my role will shift towards sales and building the team.

We chose to start Participant now because this is a pivotal time in the global story of people with disabilities. Because of aging and chronic disease, the population is doubling. At the same time, many nations are adding assistive technology to their national healthcare systems, so there is a viable market opportunity. And, new technologies are opening affordable solutions. All this put a sparkle in my entrepreneurial eye and we set out to democratize assistive products so that none are left behind.

Please briefly share your career path prior to Participant.

I’ve been working in the disability field since I finished my MBA 10 years ago. My work has taken me to many corners of the world, and I have had the opportunity to work with many passionate and highly skilled people. I’ve worked on bigger projects in Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Georgia. I’ve always worked in small companies with less than 50 employees and in dynamic market environments. I’m familiar with a startup environment where decisions are made quickly, and staying in my specialty isn’t practical because there are many different needful things. I really enjoy the marketing and sales aspects of being an entrepreneur, especially where they overlap with product development and teasing out user needs.

What do you find fulfilling about your work? Why did you start Participant?

People with disabilities are the largest minority group on the planet and often the most overlooked. At the same time, working in this space is exhilarating because there are exceptional outcomes available with very little input. One of my favorite moments was following along on a motorcycle behind a guy named Purnomo. He lives uphill on a volcano in Indonesia and rides his wheelchair down to his artist studio. With that income, he has bought his family home, and his kids are on track for lives filled with opportunities in rapidly growing economy. This is a very different story line than that of the 70 million people who need a wheelchair and don’t have one. It is next to impossible for them to be productive. And in otherwise challenging situations, their families often don’t fare well versus the average. I’m delighted to see people achieve so much after becoming mobile and going where they want. With our new for-profit company, we expect the added delight of disrupting our little part of the American medical device industrial complex. It is bent towards extracting dollars from the government, not serving users. Our work abroad, where Medicare doesn’t exist, gives us an advantage in reimagining a lean supply chain that delivers high value to users.

What are the most important skills to succeed in your job? And in your career in general?

Is grit a skill? This work is exceptionally challenging, especially for someone with a preference for social enterprise versus traditional charity-oriented solutions. That’s because disability, even in ‘developed’ countries like ours, is either a charity or government-funded area. Up until recently, few lower-income country governments were buying assistive products for their people. The lack of local government leadership, lack of trained professional clinicians, and lack of funding has made solving problems more challenging. At times the little funding and government leadership available has been unstable, and we’ve seen years of work collapse. But, most things worth doing are not easy.

After grit, I’d say networking skills, speaking and writing, and a human centered design approach to product development.

What advice would you give to others who are looking to work in social impact careers? Should they go to graduate school to make the transition?

No. Please don’t. If you do, go somewhere cheap. Seriously.

Whoever it is that you want to help, my advice is, go over there, move in, and listen. You can get reading lists from wherever, buy the texts for $5 each on hpb.com, and start a book club. Also, follow the real trend. In economies that are really growing, people learn things on Youtube as much as universities. Get a volunteer job at a company that seems to be making a difference, and eventually, if you’re any good, they’ll hire you. If you are no good, then do something different. You’ll be good at something. The great news is you can switch because your diploma isn’t anchoring you to a soul killing job that is necessary for loan payments.

I’d like to see a study that surveys 5,000 Public Administration and International Development grad school candidates 10 years after graduation. I’ll bet 90% would not be in those fields and the reasons would be: #1 pay was too low or unstable (especially when covering a student loan), #2 the office culture was toxic and off mission, and #3 the work was too demanding.

If you don’t have loans then #1 is less of a problem and you can be the firebrand driving hard at #2, with less fear of getting fired. Re: #3, see below.

How do you balance your work/life?

Work-life balance helps is great for selling books and this-season’s-version of Kick Boxing classes. It is a myth and often impractical.

If you want to accomplish a lot, you’ll need to work a lot. And, if there are less resources available – the culture offers less money for progress on that problem – then to make progress, you’ll probably need to work even more. Oh, and you’re doing something hard – not selling a new flavor of booze, a fresh caffeine delivery mechanism, or a sneakier way to monetize privacy.

Good news, you will feel better about the dent in the world that you are making. Meaning is more indicative of happiness than leisure time.

If you’re reading this, then it is likely that your privilege allows you to decide what to spend your life accomplishing. This is one of the most precious choices.

Life lessons learned: Any other general advice you’d like to share about careers?

If you can’t switch, you are not free. So, become awesome at something marketable.

Be loyal if you find a mission and a solution that has real potential.

Don’t be afraid to call foul on toxic, abusive, egoist, or wasteful team situations. The people you are trying to serve deserve the team’s best efforts and you can help move towards that.

Knowing that you don’t understand is the beginning of understanding.

Get up early.

Laugh more.

Featured Yoda#2: Economic Growth Director for International NGO

Our next featured Q&A is with Karla Yoder, Technical Director of Economic Growth for Global Communities, an international development organization. She shares about her journey to working in international development, as well as advice she has gleaned along the way.

Q: Karla, please share about your current role working in social impact and your organization.

A. I work in international economic development for Global Communities, a non-profit or non-governmental organization (NGO). As a technical adviser, I support programs in youth employment, livelihoods, enterprise development, access to finance and inclusive markets in developing countries to apply best practices from these fields as well as documenting and disseminating lessons they are learning.  This means developing internal tools such as implementation standards, program models and guidelines, and contributing to the broader knowledge base of the field through writing briefs and articles and presenting at conferences.  I also do a lot of new business development work which includes leading the technical design for funding proposals and building relationships with funders and partners.

Q: Please share a little bit about your career path prior to joining Global Communities.

A: I spent my senior year of college interning for international development organizations, since I grew up in Southern Africa and knew that that was the field I wanted to work in. I took a few early detours, such as becoming a community organizer in Washington, DC (also based on my concern about equality for low-income people), and then started at the bottom as a program associate for an international development project.  Along my career path, I managed publications, and then switched to U.S.-based workforce development issues given the opportunities to do more research, writing, and technical advising.

When I wanted more on-the-ground experience in Africa, I took a fellowship for which I needed to raise my own funding, and that gave me the opportunity to design and manage an economic empowerment program. Upon my return to the U.S., I wanted more program design work and took a business development role in an international development NGO that would allow me conduct field assessment trips and lead program design efforts for USAID and foundation proposals.

Q: What do you find fulfilling about your work? Why did you join Global Communities?

A: I’m passionate about addressing inequality and poverty globally, and wanted to join a mission-driven organization that allowed me to support this work. I love knowing that the things I do, even if not directly part of a field program, are contributing to that.

Q: What are the most important skills to succeed in your job? And in your career in general?

A: Being a fast learner, having an analytical mindset, strong writing and facilitation skills, and an ability to be effective in cross-cultural situations.  Strong organizational skills have also been important.

Q: How did you end up working for Global Communities?

A: I’m in my fourth role at Global Communities.  I started ten years ago as a business development officer, and eventually transferred into a technical role. When I joined Global Communities, I had already developed some subject matter knowledge in youth employment through 5 years of work in that field, and had returned to the U.S. from a one-year fellowship in Zambia, where I designed and established an economic empowerment program for a human rights organization. I took a fairly junior position at Global Communities because I wanted to gain skills in federal proposal development, and I believed that program development for proposals was the Washington-based job closest to the on-the-ground design work I had been doing and loved. 

I found the job “cold” (not via personal referral): I had previously applied for another position there, and so I was in their HR system (but I hadn’t heard back from them at the time of application).  They later contacted me about the position I was hired for. 

Q: What advice would you give to others who are looking to work in social impact careers, especially in terms of international development? Should they go to graduate school to make the transition?

A: Choose the types of organizations that you are interested in working for and then pursue jobs there, even if not your ideal. Jobs in these fields are limited and in high demand and getting inside an organization is often the biggest hurdle. I have navigated completely different roles than where I originally started, in two different organizations.

Once you are inside, be curious, make your interests known, and volunteer for things. Be prepared to prove yourself.  My first role after grad school at one international development organization was managing the publishing for a project that supported research on health and basic education in Africa, which was admittedly not the most exciting role.  I got to know the basic education specialist on the project and talked about my past experience in that field and mentioned my interest in doing more. When she wanted assistance in doing a literature review of community schools in Africa, I volunteered and spent a few weeks of evenings and weekends working on it, since it wasn’t part of my required responsibilities. Moving internally to a role that you really want is easier once you are known and have proven your value.

I do think that graduate school is important for the more interesting and technical roles in the international development field.  There are a number of degrees in international development which are more generalist and also options that have a subject matter focus–public health, public policy, business and trade.  An MBA is also useful for working in economic development specifically.

Q: How do you balance your work/life?

A: Prioritizing exercise is key for mental health and energy– years ago I switched to getting up at 5:30 am during the week to exercise, to ensure that it didn’t get left out due to evening distractions. I run outside year round, and walk for part of my commute to ensure outdoor time during the work week. My commute is on a quieter section of the subway line where I always get a seat; I don’t read work emails and instead try to meditate.  I resist pressure to work late or on weekends if not absolutely necessary. I work additional hours when needed and try to hold myself to leaving at 5:30 pm every other day. You need to accept that you will never feel caught up or as though you’ve done enough. I also take long vacations–2 weeks at a time when I can, going to interesting places and switching off from work completely.

Q: Life lessons learned: Any other general advice you’d like to share about careers?

A: I have found that the people whom you work with and the opportunity to learn new things regularly are what make a job satisfying. Don’t focus too narrowly on a particular position. Secondly, your network is your biggest source of career advancement so use any opportunity to build it. Be curious about and interested in those you meet as authentic relationships are a true asset.  You want people in your corner who will cheer you on!

Thanks for sharing about your journey with us, Karla!

Breaking into a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Role

I’ve gotten this question a million times about how to break into a corporate social responsibility job. [CSR roles can include managing or coordinating corporate philanthropy/giving, employee volunteer programs, community relations, corporate sustainability programs, etc.] Overall, it’s pretty hard to break in. I recommend working at a large company that has a strong CSR department and pivot your way into it.

Based on my observations of people who work in these roles, here’s how it generally happens:

1. Transfer internally within a company

CSR roles are often prized within a company because you get to “do good” while making a decent corporate salary. It’s not uncommon for an individual to work at a large company for a number of years, and then transfer into a CSR role (often a good place to retire). I was trying to apply to work for the philanthropic arm of a well-known corporate foundation and was told that none of their job openings are ever posted externally because they fill all their vacancies internally.

2. Develop your own CSR role within your company

If you work at a company that does not have a CSR function (but has enough resources to support one), you could be intrapreneurial and start your own CSR initiatives on the side, e.g., an employee volunteer program. Over time, as you build critical mass and support, your company may see the value in staffing such programs. I was once offered a role at a large company where two employees had started the CSR initiative but they didn’t want to take it on themselves, and had made the business case to create an FTE to hire someone.

3. Be recruited because of your specialized knowledge / expertise

If a specialized skillset or domain knowledge is needed (e.g., sustainability and supply chains), then a company will recruit externally for such a role. I just referred someone to a social impact role at a company and she got it for this reason. However, a lot of CSR roles don’t require such a specialized skillset — e.g., the skills needed to run an employee volunteer program or a charitable giving program can be learned on the job.

4. Be recruited because of prior CSR experience

It’s easier to get a CSR role when you already have CSR experience. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area, there’s a closed networking group, the Corporate Community Relations Consortium, for CSR professionals and they share job openings within the network. That being said, even after I ran a corporate foundation, I still found it challenging to get interviews for CSR roles at other companies. A lot of times companies can be picky about recruiting CSR professionals who worked for companies in their same industry.

5. Be directly connected to the hiring manager

Not to knock employee referrals to open positions, but these roles are often so competitive that the referral may not really make a difference — unless your referrer actually knows the hiring manager personally and can put in a good word for you. I’ve even had a few senior-level people at their companies refer me for CSR roles and still didn’t even get a phone screen because the hiring managers were flooded with applications so the referral from employees they didn’t know personally didn’t make a difference. I still think it’s worth it to get an employee referral, but it may not give you a significant competitive edge.

6. Dumb luck

I know someone who didn’t have any prior CSR / philanthropy experience who filled in as a temp for someone on maternity leave, who was in a corporate philanthropy role. Through that temp experience, she was converted to a full-time permanent worker.

There are certainly venues for learning more about CSR that are open to non-CSR folks, if you’re willing to pay a registration fee. For example, I’ve attended the Northern California Grantmakers’ annual Corporate Philanthropy Institute a few times. Other regions may have similar events. If you know of other networking venues, or have advice for folks on how to break into CSR, please post in comments, or email me and I can list them here.

Choosing the Right Career Coach

The coaching industry has blossomed overnight and now you can find a coach for virtually anything. It seems that anyone can bill themselves as a coach and charge $150-$200+ per hour, whether they are qualified or not. I’ve had 9 career coaches, some of whom I paid, and the quality has ranged significantly. At times, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the insights that my coaches uncovered. I’ve also been severely disappointed. (I sometimes cynically think some coaches just spew random, off-the-cuff advice for an hour — what stake do they really have in your success as long as you can pay them? They’re not on the hook for finding you a job.) I find that people (including my past self) find a career coach through a friend’s recommendation, without doing much due diligence. STOP!

If you’re looking to pivot into the social impact sector (or at least explore what that might look like), here are some tips on finding the right career coach for you (and a lot of these tips would apply to finding a career coach regardless of sector):

Clarify why you’re looking for a career coach. A lot of people generally have a sense that they want coaching, but can’t concisely articulate why. Set clear goals if you can; otherwise, when you engage a coach, ask them to help you set clear goals. For example:

  • Social impact landscape scan: Are you looking for a coach to help give you ideas about what types of social impact careers out there? Then select someone who has deep and broad experience in the social impact space (usually you can get a sense for this by scanning both their LinkedIn profile as well as looking the number and types of connections they have on LinkedIn). I had this coach whom I assumed had broad exposure to the social impact sector for various reasons, and it turned out she did not — so she kept referring me to the same three nonprofits she was familiar with. Very frustrating and unimaginative. Ideally you want to find a coach who’s very well-networked, which means 500+ connections on LinkedIn, especially connections that you’d be interested in speaking with. However, it may be challenging to find a coach with strong social impact experience because the social impact space is rather new.
  • Tactical help with your cover letter, resume, and interviewing skills. This is pretty standard in some ways. Find a coach who has very strong communication (verbal and writing) skills, prior experience doing recruitment for social impact roles (so they’ll know how to best position your experience), and/or has had a lot of success with getting job offers. (On a side note, a career coach suggested taking an improv class to help with interviewing skills — really helps you to learn how to speak confidently and increase awareness of how you sound — no uptalking!!)
  • General motivation and strategy development to find a job. Maybe you already have the right network, but you need motivation to get started with tapping that network. Find a coach who can help you develop a manageable strategy and also can provide encouragement and accountability to implement your plan. In this case, I’d suggest that you find someone you “click” with given that the focus of this coaching is motivational/cheer-leading and probably personality-driven. You may also want to find someone who has some training in therapy, since many motivational blockers may be tied to deeper, underlying issues.
  • Advice to address your current work situation. You need a coach who probably has significant managerial experience and very strong interpersonal skills, and can navigate relational dynamics. (In contrast, if your coach has been an independent consultant for most of their career, I don’t know if they’d really understand workplace dynamics.)
  • Career advancement. Select a coach who has been able to successfully advance in their own career, and has strong interpersonal skills and relational savvy (can navigate politics). Here it also does help to have a coach who has broad knowledge of the social sector, so that they can give you ideas of what career advancement might look like, beyond your current organization. The problem is a lot of social sector orgs don’t have clearly articulated career paths for more junior staff or succession plans for their leaders, which is a real painpoint for junior staff looking to advance.

Ask your potential coach if you could speak to previous clients, especially those who had similar reasons as you do for seeking out coaching. More generally, ask your coach how many previous clients they’ve helped with similar goals (and what percentage of their clients have these goals). Also, ask for samples of past work products, if you’re asking for help with improving your resume and cover letter.

Ask your potential coach what their strengths/specialties are, as well as their gaps. First, this will give you a sense of whether they are able to address the issues you’re dealing with. Second, if they’re unable to articulate gaps, then I’d be a little suspicious about their competence, self-awareness, and/or integrity. No one is good at everything. In fact, you may need to get a couple coaches depending on your goals for coaching.

Ask your potential coach if they’ve personally addressed similar issues that you have. It isn’t always necessary that your coach has had personal experience, but it may be helpful. For example, if you’re looking for executive coaching, and your coach has never been an executive themselves, I would question the quality of their advice. Or, if you’re struggling to be motivated to transition / find a job, and they’ve also personally been in a similar rut and successfully navigated out of it, they would potentially have empathy and additional insight for your situation and how to best motivate you. However, on the flip side, sometimes having had a similar personal experience can bias a coach towards prescribing that you do what worked for them… which may not work for you! In that case, make sure your coach is a flexible thinker who can think of different strategies, instead of using the same tired one over and over.

Do you have other advice you’d offer to people looking for a career coach? Please comment or contact me!

Grad School as a Stepping Stone to Social Impact?

A lot of early/mid-career folks ask me whether it’s worth it to go to graduate school to transition into social impact. In my opinion, the answer is probably NO (and I welcome any of you to write a blog post rebutting this blog post!).

I have a lot of friends who have graduate degrees and who work in social impact, and don’t use any of the training they used from graduate school in their current work. Many of them also say they regret going to graduate school, especially those who have multiple graduate degrees. The issue is that terminal master’s degrees, certificate programs, and other similar programs can be very profitable, and so schools will churn out compelling marketing that a graduate degree is a necessary ingredient for career success.

I was chatting with my friend Maureen (who is profiled on this site) and we agreed that people should only attend graduate school under 1 of 3 conditions:

  • You are independently wealthy and can easily afford the entire expense of graduate school (or your family can).
  • Someone else is paying for it. Either your employer is paying or you get a scholarship that will cover 100% of your graduate program costs.
  • For the career you want (and first make sure you actually want that career), the only way you can get into that career is if you get this particular graduate degree. E.g., if you want to be a physician, you really have to get an MD.

Graduate school bears a large opportunity cost. You are investing 2+ years of your time into a degree where you could have been getting valuable work experience otherwise, and you are also incurring a lot of debt. On top of that, most social impact jobs don’t pay very well and so it will be challenging to pay off your school debt, unless your school has a loan forgiveness program. Also given how competitive the social impact space is, if you don’t go to a school that is fairly highly ranked, your chances of getting a social impact job may be more limited.

I would recommend figuring out what kinds of jobs that you want, and talking to people who work in those positions. Ask them how important it was to go to graduate school to get into their current position, and whether there are other pathways. I’ve conducted dozens of informational interviews and many people will say that they got their current position almost due to serendipity — they happened to be at the right place at the right time / happened to know exactly the right person (and they might not even have had the exact qualifications needed).

So think hard about graduate school. Are there other ways you could cultivate the needed skillset through your job or volunteer work? Or can you go to graduate school part-time while you continue to work?

Tread carefully.

Networking through Oblique Angles

Several people have asked me about how to network effectively. There’s a lot of conventional wisdom about networking, but I think that it’s important to find oblique angles to networking to set yourself apart (because everyone else knows the conventional wisdom, too). This tactic can be used for networking in any context, not just social impact.

First, here are examples of traditional venues set up for networking. One way I’ve developed a strong professional network was by volunteering on the steering committee for a professional philanthropy affinity group — it’s a very supportive community, and also has been a great way to both hear directly about job openings (and get referred directly), get introductions to others in the field, and plan events where we could strategically invite people to speak whom we wanted to meet. I’ve also attended a lot of professional networking events. At an alumni event, I got a job offer for a startup on the spot (which I didn’t take, and that was unfortunate because the startup was later acquired for $80M). In another case, I approached the main speaker and told him I was interested in working at his firm, and he routed my resume so that I got an interview (and eventually a job offer). However, in my experience, I’ve found that these types of events can sometimes have limited usefulness. Often most of the people there are junior to mid-career and there are very few senior-level folks there (except maybe the guest speakers). So everyone is trying to speak to the same three people. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a business card / contact info. If you’re even luckier, you’ll get a response to your follow-up email.

Remarkably, some of my most interesting conversations and connections to professional opportunities have originated outside of these professional networking venues. This is the “oblique angle” to networking I’m referring to. For one, I’ve met a wide range of people through my church community at all levels of seniority, such as the head of a social impact investment fund, an analyst at an urban development nonprofit (which I ended up partnering with for data for my Master’s thesis), the head of a nonprofit which developed a methodology for calculating social return on investment (which I ended up writing a graduate paper about), someone who knew the founder/executive director of a community development corporation and introduced me so that I could get an internship, etc., etc. One of my friends who also works in social impact space says that all of her consulting engagements have actually come through oblique angles — e.g., the parent network at her child’s school.

I’m not advocating just going to random events on the off-chance that you might meet someone who might be helpful in your career. But instead think about what you’re naturally interested in, and what are ways you could cultivate those interests while meeting other people along the way who are outside of your normal networks. It will vary by person, but consider joining a biking club, hiking/outdoors club, Toastmasters, gospel choir, etc. Or volunteer at a nonprofit where you’ll have a chance to interact with other volunteers.

Featured Yoda#1: Director of Social Impact for Fintech Startup

This is a Q&A with Maureen Klovers, the Director of Social Impact for MPOWER Financing. Among other experiences, she previously taught the urban poor in Ecuador, worked in US Intelligence, was a Presidential Management Fellow for the US Department of Commerce, and helped launch the US Department of Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative.

This profile is in three sections: Maureen’s current role, her professional background, and her career advice.

Current Role

Q: Maureen, thanks so much for volunteering to share about your social impact journey. To start, please share about your social enterprise and your current role.

A: I’m the Director of Social Impact for MPOWER Financing, a fintech startup based in Washington, D.C. that was named the best lender for international students by U.S. News and World Report. We’ve also been named by American Banker as one of the best fintechs to work for three years in a row!

I oversee our scholarship programs and our Path2Success Program, which provides resources on immigration/work authorization, career preparation and financial literacy for our borrowers and other international students. I also serve as a liaison to current or prospective impact investors, and recently my role has expanded to include customer engagement— newsletters, video contests and case competitions, and the like!

We like to say that “when our borrowers succeed, we succeed,” so a lot of my role is just that: ensuring our borrowers succeed!

Q: Why did you join MPOWER? What do you find fulfilling about your work?

A: As I’ve matured, I’ve realized that most of my job satisfaction comes from working with great people to accomplish something meaningful. Intellectual stimulation is also important to me.

During my job interview, I felt like I “clicked” with my potential boss and the team. Plus, I was drawn to MPOWER’s mission and its fast pace. (I didn’t enjoy the slower pace of the government, although there were many other things I did like.)

I constantly try new things and the attitude is “if something doesn’t work, that’s okay—just be sure you learn from it.” That appeals to me a lot, too.

Plus, I think I have one of the best jobs in the company! I give money away to needy, high-potential students and help them achieve their dreams. I also develop cool webinar series, meet lots of interesting people, and do lots of writing.

Q: What are the most important skills to succeed in your job?

A: Our HR team looks for a fit with our mission first, as well as whether you have a strong understanding of our business model. Then they look at whether you have the skills necessary to succeed in your job. In my case, they probed whether I could effectively measure and communicate our social impact, support our fundraising efforts, and grow our scholarship programs.

Professional Background

Q: I’d love to hear more about your background before working at MPOWER.

A: I have an eclectic background, which probably isn’t surprising given that social impact wasn’t even a “thing” when I graduated from college. There was Ben & Jerry’s and that was about it! No one made a career in social impact. So I graduated with a degree in International Relations, and I worked at the first organization which offered me a job, which ended up being in U.S. intelligence! So I worked as an intelligence analyst for several years, before deciding I wasn’t cut out for that life.

I planned to go to grad school, but I wanted to get more “life experience” first, particularly in Latin America. So I moved into a convent with two nuns, a Jesuit priest, and 20+ volunteers in Quito, Ecuador. I taught the urban poor from Quito’s shantytowns. Talk about an education! This experience made such an impact on me that I even wrote a book, In the Shadow of the Volcano: One Ex-Intelligence Official’s Journey through Slums, Prisons, and Leper Colonies to the Heart of Latin America.

From there, I went on to get my MBA and Master of Public Policy from Georgetown. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the dual degree program was a good mix of the business and policy work that I’d later be doing in my social impact work. At the time, though, there seemed to be an unbridgeable divide between those two worlds. I couldn’t imagine two more different sets of classmates!

After Georgetown, I was a Presidential Management Fellow at the Department of Commerce, where I was thrust into managing our troubled $850 million Revolving Loan Fund Program. That was my introduction to both grants and lending. From there, I took a job as the second employee of Treasury’s brand-new $1.5 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative.

Starting a brand-new government program whetted my appetite for entrepreneurship, so once everything was humming along, I quit my job to start my own consulting business, working with universities and state and federal agencies to become more efficient, effective, and outcomes-driven.

And then I had a baby and decided that I wanted to go back to a more “normal” job. When I saw MPOWER’s LinkedIn job posting, it spoke to me, because the role combines my entrepreneurial streak with my experience in lending, grants, education, and outcomes measurement, plus my passion for exploring other cultures and crossing cultural divides.

As a side gig, to keep my creative juices flowing, I moonlight as a mystery writer!

Career Advice

Q: How did you find your current position?

A: LinkedIn! I know everyone always says that you have to network to get a job, but that’s not always true. If you see a job that appeals to you, apply! Also, don’t limit yourself. I only met two-thirds of their “must-have” criteria…and I still got the job. Studies show that men typically apply for a job if they meet half the criteria, while women won’t apply unless they meet all the criteria.

How to Transition into a Social Impact Career

Q: What advice to you have for those aspiring to a career in social impact?

A: Hone in one what industry you want to work for and what functional skills you can bring to the table. There’s no one way to do social impact. Most roles focus on measuring and driving impact, but typically you’re expected to also support the bottom line, whether it be by launching initiatives that drive social impact and brand recognition/sales volume (e.g., our scholarship program helps students while also serves as an effective marketing channel and means of garnering good will from the universities we support) or by supporting fundraising efforts (e.g., by cultivating relationships with grant-making organizations or impact-focused equity or debt investors). Know what YOUR value proposition is and then be able to communicate it.

So if you’re already a marketing or communications professional, emphasize that. If you have a finance background, figure out how to parlay that into a social impact role.

What if you don’t have much relevant professional experience? Then try to join a nonprofit board, or volunteer to write grant applications for a nonprofit. Or, if you’re still in school, join NetImpact and enter social impact-focused case competitions. Winning a competition or having a leadership role in NetImpact is a great way to showcase your talent.

Finally, prep for informational interviews and job interviews like a pro. Be sure you can connect the dots on your résumé and showcase both your passion for the organization’s mission and how you can accelerate their double bottom line impact.

Is Grad School Necessary?

Q: Should an individual go to graduate school to make the transition into social impact?

A: That depends. If you love school and someone else is paying for it, or you are getting a full scholarship, or you’re independently wealthy, then definitely! If not, though, you want to think about whether the cost is justified.

Very few social impact jobs really require you to have a specialized degree in a social impact-related degree program, and such programs are few and far between anyway. If you were going to get a degree, I’d suggest a Master’s of Business Administration at a school that has a very strong social impact focus; then, once you being the program, get a leadership position in NetImpact, compete in social impact case competitions, take social impact-focused coursework, and do internships and consulting work for social impact firms.

But for most people, you’re probably better off spending a portion of the time and money you would have spent on another degree to (a) do a year-long volunteer assignment at a social enterprise abroad, or (b) accept a lower salary to work in a job that will leverage your current experience while getting you exposure to the field of social impact. Either of these options will give you more practical experience than a degree at a fraction of the cost.

Work-Life Balance

Q: How do you balance your work/life, especially with having a young child and working full-time?

A: I’m very fortunate that my company actively discourages working nights and weekends. Being a parent is tough on any career, but social impact jobs are generally more family-friendly. However, in some social impact jobs (particularly those focused on micro-enterprise in the developing world, or those that are investor-facing), there could be significant travel, so be sure to ask about that.

Other Relevant Life Lessons

A: First of all, don’t sacrifice your personal life for work.

Second, the “following your passion” advice is terrible: it leads too many young people to pursue passions that don’t allow them to earn a decent living and/or to agonize about finding the perfect, most fulfilling career. Instead, figure out what you’re good at, that people will actually pay you a decent salary to do. Then narrow it further based on the lifestyle you want (if you are a homebody, being a McKinsey consultant won’t work; if you’re a city girl, don’t work in forestry) and your personality type (do you want to manage people, or are you more of a lone wolf?). That will help narrow down your job function and maybe your industry. Then research organizations which would allow you to do those jobs while fitting with your values. Then narrow further by figuring out which organizations have a work culture you’d like.

Third, a lot of people think about switching careers when they just need to switch jobs. Being miserable in your job may not mean you need a new career – you may need a new organization or a new boss.

Fourth, when you interview, it’s not just about you being chosen, but it’s also about you choosing them. Approach an interview almost like a date; put your best foot forward and make sure you’re not only answering questions, but asking them. Try to get a feel for your potential co-workers and whether you’re truly a good fit. Ask yourself: is this the right boss for me? Do our work styles mesh well? Will I learn something from this person? Can we communicate well?

Finally, cut yourself some slack. Remember that no one really has everything figured out. Lots of people in their 30s and 40s (myself included) are still trying to decide “what they want to be when they grow up”…and that’s probably a good thing. The world of work is changing so fast that the last job you have before retirement is probably one that hasn’t even been invented yet. So being willing to leap to a new field is a sign that you’re curious and committed to lifelong learning.

Online Social Impact Job Posting Websites

We post jobs regularly via the Social Impact Yodas LinkedIn Group, so please join to access that information.

These are listed in no particular order. Please send me other websites to add to this collection. Thank you!

Organization/SourceWebsite
Bridgespan Nonprofit Listinghttp://www.bridgespan.org/Nonprofit_Jobs/Search_Jobs.aspx?gclid=CNfo8Nan38oCFYhffgody-ACyg
Thrive Alliancehttps://www.thrivealliance.org/job-board?offset=1552607578107
Fast Forward (tech nonprofit accelerator) Job Boardhttps://www.ffwd.org/tech-nonprofit-jobs/
EPIP – Emerging Professionals in Philanthropyhttp://www.epip.org/job_board
AAPIP – Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders in Philanthropyhttp://aapip.org/jobs
Omidyar Networkhttp://jobs.omidyar.com/careers_home.php?Company=%25&Industry=%25&Function=%25&Location=462&cmd=Search
Idealistidealist.org
On Rampshttp://www.on-ramps.com/open-positions/
Business for Social Responsibilityhttp://www.bsr.org/en/careers/job-openings
Northern California Grantmakershttps://ncg.org/jobs
Skoll Foundation Community Jobs Boardhttp://www.skollfoundation.org/about/jobs/
Chronicle Of Philanthropyhttps://philanthropy.com/jobs?cid=UCOPNAVTOP
Work for Goodhttps://www.workforgood.org/
Koya Leadership Partners (Commongood Careers)https://koyapartners.com/open/
The Musethemuse.com
Philanthropy News Digesthttp://philanthropynewsdigest.org/jobs
Council of Foundationshttp://jobs.cof.org/home/index.cfm?site_id=11690
B Corporations Job Boardwww.bwork.com
Exponent Philanthropyhttp://www.exponentphilanthropy.org/about/careers
Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakershttps://www.givingforum.org/jobs
Association of Corporate Philanthropy Professionalshttp://www.accprof.org/ACCP/About_the_Field/Corporate_Responsibility_Job_Center/ACCP/About_the_Field/Job_Center.aspx?hkey=7816e811-53b0-41f4-9488-cae34c4b14d6
Nonprofit Professionalshttp://nonprofitprofessionals.com/current-searches/
Golden Gate AFPhttp://afpgoldengate.imiscloud.com/public/afpggc_career_development/golden_gate_job_center.aspx
Taproothttps://www.taprootfoundation.org/about-probono/jobs
Edupreneur job boardhttps://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/edupreneur-jobs/info
Green Jobs Networkhttp://greenjobs.net/
Finance Mattershttps://financematters.co/opportunities/
Opportunity Finance Networkhttp://ofn.org/job-bank
Escape the Cityhttp://www.escapethecity.org/opportunities
GIINhttps://jobs.thegiin.org/
Foundation Listhttp://www.foundationlist.org/
Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation – portfolio orgshttp://www.drkfoundation.org/job-opportunities.html
Foundation Listhttp://www.foundationlist.org/
Social Venture Networkhttp://www.svn.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Feature.showFeatureList&CategoryID=4
Just Meanshttp://www.justmeans.com/alljobs
EMP Globalhttp://www.empglobal.com/1157.xml
Komazahttp://www.komaza.org/recruiting/
BSRhttp://www.bsr.org/resources/jobs/index.cfm
Doostanghttp://www.doostang.com/
Social Edge Job listing (Skoll)http://www.socialedge.org/features/job-listings
DevNet http://www.devnetjobs.org/
Net Impacthttps://netimpact.org/careers/find-opportunities/job-board/search-jobs
Just Means http://jobs.justmeans.com/
Acre http://acre.com/jobs
Social Good Jobs http://socialgoodjobs.org/
Next Billion http://nextbillion.net/jobsfeed.aspx
Escape The City http://www.escapethecity.org/
Rework http://rework.jobs/
Impact Hubhttps://jobs.impacthub.net/local/