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!