{"id":302,"date":"2011-03-11T12:40:08","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T17:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/~career\/blog\/?p=302"},"modified":"2011-03-11T12:40:08","modified_gmt":"2011-03-11T17:40:08","slug":"more-recent-graduates-working-in-non-profits-why-should-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/more-recent-graduates-working-in-non-profits-why-should-you\/","title":{"rendered":"More Recent Graduates Working in Non-Profits: Why Should You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, The New York Times published this article<\/a> that talks about an unexpected consequence of the difficult economy: that more recent college graduates are working in the non-profit sector, or as they describe, \u201cyoung college graduates who ended up doing good because the economy did them wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a college student, I planned to work in a non-profit organization, and now as a career counselor I often talk with students interested in this field. I\u2019m excited to hear about this trend. I see many students come in with a few misconceptions about work in nonprofits and wanted to address some of these in this post.<\/p>\n

Myth #1: <\/strong>Only certain kinds of jobs exist in non-profits. It\u2019s not for me.<\/p>\n

Fact:<\/strong> All kinds of jobs exist in the non-profit sector! \u00a0In non-profits, there are all the same jobs as in the private sector, plus a few that are specific to non-profits, such as fundraisers and grant-writers. Non-profit jobs provide great work experience as well as a connection to a particular issue or cause. Check out this fun video from Non-Profit Careers Month, celebrated in October 2009:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WL4vOaFZAxs?fs=1&hl=en_US<\/p>\n

Myth #2: <\/strong>I won\u2019t make any money in a non-profit.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fact: <\/strong>Entry-level non-profit salaries are often comparable to jobs in the private sector. In general, because non-profits have fewer resources they may have fewer staff\u2014meaning that as an entry-level employee you might have more responsibility than in an entry-level private sector job. Not only can you get great experience this way, but it makes you a strong candidate for future career opportunities, whether in the non-profit or for-profit sector.<\/p>\n

Myth #3:<\/strong> Looking for a job in the non-profit sector is exactly the same as looking for a private-sector job.<\/p>\n

Fact: <\/strong>While the process is similar, there are several significant differences\u2014for example, the non-profit field has its own language to consider when writing cover letters (for instance, you apply for a job at an organization<\/em>, not a company<\/em>). Additionally, be prepared to talk about your passion and connection to the mission of the organization\u2014it\u2019s not just about being able to do the job, but also about a commitment to helping the organization fulfill its mission. Find ways to communicate your commitment and personal connections to the mission; sometimes doing this while remaining professional can be a challenge\u2014our career counselors are happy to help you figure this out.<\/p>\n

Considering going into the Non-Profit World of Work? Check out these web resources: <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

10 things to know about applying for a nonprofit job<\/a><\/p>\n

Idealist Career Center<\/a><\/p>\n

Idealist Guide to Non-Profit Careers for First-Time Job Seekers (free e-book, also available hard copies for purchase)<\/a><\/p>\n

Idealist Guide to Non-Profit Careers for Sector Switchers and people at mid-career (free e-book, also available hard copies for purchase)<\/a><\/p>\n

Doing Good, an article on Full-Time Service Programs<\/a><\/p>\n

Non-Profit Fellowship Programs<\/a><\/p>\n

You might also be interested in this video, titled “How to Start Working in the Non-Profit Sector.” It features an \u00a0interview with Kerry Connor, national recruitment director for Jumpstart, a national non-profit organization that focuses on early intervention for at-risk preschoolers.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CrhA95bIBh4?fs=1&hl=en_US<\/p>\n

–Laura<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, The New York Times published this article that talks about an unexpected consequence of the difficult economy: that more recent college graduates are working in the non-profit sector, or as they describe, \u201cyoung college graduates who ended up doing good because the economy did them wrong.\u201d As a college student, I planned to … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “More Recent Graduates Working in Non-Profits: Why Should You?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":832,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127941],"tags":[131420,132056,138811,603,135871,136335,136517,138181,528,138802],"class_list":["post-302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doing-good-doing-well","tag-career","tag-career-path","tag-doing-good-doing-well","tag-how-to","tag-job-search","tag-mission-driven-work","tag-non-profit","tag-socially-responsible","tag-tips","tag-your-first-job","entry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"career","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/author\/career\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/832"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}