As part of my transition from technology into philanthropy / social impact, I enrolled full-time in a public policy graduate program with a nonprofit management concentration. My classes piqued my interest in working in philanthropy, but also helped me to realize how hard it would be to pivot into that field. People ask me all the time about how to get into philanthropy, and in summary: it’s hard and very competitive, especially to get into a mid-level position!
After many years, after a long succession of pivots, I now work for a grant maker. Here’s my career path in brief:
strategy consulting
-> Silicon Valley tech
-> inner-city and campus ministry
-> master’s in public policy
-> policy research, strategic planning, evaluation at think tanks
-> evaluation, strategy, and grant making in philanthropy consulting
-> community partnerships and social impact for tech company
-> (current) evaluation and strategy for a tech company / grant maker
It’s been a long journey into philanthropy (and of course, the journey hasn’t ended yet!). I can’t pat myself on the back for making it all happen – many transitions were due to the grace of God: a chance encounter with a kind person at a conference (whose next-door neighbor happened to work at a place where I was applying for a position); an old college friend (who isn’t in the social impact field) who introduced me to someone she met in Asia, which resulted in me pitching and getting a job; and meeting someone at a church (that I had never attended) who happened to be exactly the right person to help me partner with her nonprofit on my master’s thesis and research (I was visiting that city and leaving the next day, and had been wondering, how on earth I’d meet someone at this particular org to ask to partner on my thesis!?).
Of course, many opportunities arose from following conventional wisdom. I did my due diligence: in two years, I conducted 70+ informational interviews to understand the social impact landscape, what type of graduate program to apply for, and which school to attend. I went to presentations and connected with the speakers, one of whom introduced me to a researcher at a think tank, who ended up offering me a summer internship. I alerted my network when I was looking for job opportunities (my professor connected me to my think tank job out of graduate school). A classmate from grad school referred me to my 3rd role at a think tank. It’s also helpful that I had tech industry experience prior to my transition to social impact, which has helped me obtain social impact roles at tech companies.
But also critical to this journey is being strategically patient with slow pivots.
I’m not a patient person, but after a series of mis-steps, I learned the hard way to wait. Early in my career, I was very impetuous and if I didn’t like my job, I’d just switch. The tech industry is forgiving of this, especially for younger people in a boom economy, but I realize that I jumped around too quickly because I would jump “out of the frying pan, into the fire.” I’d think, “I don’t like this job!” and then take the next thing that came along, with better pay and a better title, without understanding what it was that I was looking for, how this next position would advance my career (and to what end), and why I disliked my job(s) at the time. When you’re in a tough situation where you’re disliking your job, it’s tempting to snatch the first thing that comes along. However, I came to realize if you don’t bide your time and carefully consider options, the relief from making an uninformed switch is only temporary, and then you may soon be seeking another position. I’ve learned to develop a stronger tolerance and often swallow my pride (usually regarding feeling under-compensated, under-titled, and under-appreciated). Now I advise folks to stick it out till the right next move comes along, as long as the current situation isn’t abusive or unethical (or seriously detrimental to mental health).
Also, more than a decade ago, my career mentor encouraged me to create a 20-year strategic plan for my career, and while my life hasn’t quite followed that trajectory (surprisingly some parts have), that exercise taught me to think strategically about my pivots. I realized how one job can serve as a stepping stone to the next, so even if a job isn’t the exact desired role, as long as I could see it leading to and being aligned with my career goals, it was worth exploring. I also realized that we might think, “I’ll just work in this role for 2 years and then pivot elsewhere,” but usually we can’t predict the timing (could be quicker or usually slower than expected) and have to be patient in that vein. Also, being a foreign national taught me patience: I was limited in terms of which employers I could work for based on who would sponsor me for an H-1B visa (tip: nonprofit research orgs / think tanks / universities have no quotas on H-1B visas!), and eventually who would sponsor me for a green card. The road to US citizenship was also a very long one for me.
Finally, if you’re mid-career and looking to transition into social impact, there can be this seeming urgency to work in the exact org or role that you want right now! But a huge consideration is whether you’d have to take a drastic pay cut and start at entry level in order to do so. Depending on how far advanced you are in your career, I don’t think it’s worth it. I’d recommend doing a series of pivots instead so that you don’t have to “start over”, but it requires a lot of foresight, strategic planning, education, and patience. Volunteer for different orgs so that you get social impact experience outside of work. Serve on their board of directors. Take online courses for additional exposure. Read a lot to get a deeper understanding of the issue area you’re passionate about. Job shadow. Do informational interviews. See how your current role and skillset translates into a role at a social impact org; even if you don’t enjoy your current role / skillset, it could be worth investing a few (even possibly many) more years by pivoting into a similar role at a social impact org, and then pivoting within that org into other roles that you do want.