how nonprofits open professional doors

My Journey: Doing Good + Doing WellHow Nonprofits Can Open Doors, Not Close ‘Em

Omar GarriottSenior Product Marketing Manager, LinkedIn

Former (and probably future) Nonprofit Guy

Me: ‘Phase 1’Direct service, nonprofit social enterprise, intensive learning about myself + the world

2001 2002 2003 2006 2007

Me: ‘Phase 2’

2011 20142007

My social sector experience gets me into a top business school + leading tech companies

But…many new grads overlook nonprofitsDearth of ‘Career-oriented’ majors in the sector

NACE 2013 Student Survey report (56% identified as a career-oriented major; 44% academic)

Nonprofit Sector: Fiction from FactA capitalist society’s conscience = big economic slice

10% $800B

5.5%1.5MM

Independent Sector: 2010 analysis of economic contribution

% of workforce it employs contribution to GDP

contribution to GDP# of U.S. nonprofits

Nonprofit Sector: Fiction from FactNot all bleeding hearts. Actually, head + heart!

10

%

$800

B

5.5

%1.5M

http://nyti.ms/1uOCBzf

The value of nonprofit work for new gradsLots of future opportunities (+ self-learning) await

Let’s get specific: Top 10 lessons learned* How a nonprofit stint can accelerate your career

1) You get to make strategic decisionsAnd learn by trying. (The best way to learn)

2) You get to–you have to–be creativeShort on resources, nonprofits breed innovation

3) You get to drive stuff that matters Anything that’s strategic + scalable will add value

4) You (often) can create the job you want Wanted: Scrappy go-getters. See a problem? Fix it!

5) You work hard for the right reasonsLearning to be committed to something bigger

6) You’ll (probably) have a great managerThey like to mentor + see employees holistically

7) You can have career flexibility Companies value this experience (tell a good story)

8) You speed up learning about…you! Who you are (and are not) + what animates you

9) You build a professional lighthouseTo illuminate your path + remind you who you are

10) Oh, and you can change the worldIt desperately needs your zeal, new ideas + smarts

*Caveats

• I’m super biased. I’ve only know the experience I’ve had. But I offer my story as one data point.

• Not all nonprofits are created equal.• My MBA helped me a lot. It’s hard to say how much. • But don’t we need more people to stay in the

nonprofit sector? To make it their life’s work?• I-banking, consulting, tech is great experience too.• This work is hard. Burnout is real. You won’t get rich.• Pros & cons to experiential learning and all-hands-

on-deck environments. You may not get great mentorship or exposure to true functional experts.

Many ways to make a difference Mapping (some of the) social sector opportunities

High-touch High-scale

Part of larger whole

Entrepreneurial ability

Startup for-profit social venture

Int’l Development NGO

Socially responsible for-profit startup Established nonprofit –

development role

Foundation consulting

‘Field’ work / direct service

(Peace Corps, TFA, etc) Startup nonprofit

Foundation –National or Int’l

CSR –

big company

VC / Foundation –early stage

Foundation – SE-focused

Foundation – Local

Government

Nonprofit consulting

Socially beneficial product, vertical, or ‘extracurriculars’ in big company

B Corp / socially responsible

medium to big company

IMPACT

AUTONOMY

Established nonprofit –program role

• Consider building out a transferable skill set. It can open doors, across sectors.

• Know where you are on the ‘Impact’ axis (direct vs. @ scale)at all times. This may change over time. That’s okay.

• Watch Dan Pallotta’s TED Talk. Like, now.• For vetted (and growing) social enterprises, check out who

these groups support: Skoll Foundation, Gates Foundation, New Profit, Omidyar Network, Broad Foundation, New Schools Venture Fund, Ashoka, REDF, Google.org, Schwab Foundation for SE, CNCS Social Innovation Fund, Echoing Green, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.

• Visit linkedin.com/alumni to map possible career paths.• Get ready, go, get set. (You’ll know infinitely more once you

get moving. Failure is fine when it comes to self-learning.)

Parting words

So…

(NO IMAGES ARE MY OWN – all publicly available from Google Image searches)