April 20, 2011

How to transition from a corporate job to the nonprofit sector

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By Kristen Fife
NWjobs

Q: I am searching for a position that will use my corporate work experience in the nonprofit sector. I am having trouble finding work. I have a recent Master's in Public Administration with four years of experience in financial services. Does anyone know of a place hiring, or how to make the transition from corporate to nonprofit?
--AO, Seattle

Kristen says: The nonprofit field is very popular with many professionals. Depending on the exact nature of your previous financial services, I would recommend you try hospitals for a patient financial representative position, or something similar. The University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview, Swedish, Overlake and Children’s Hospital have an ongoing need for this type of position.

There are several job portals for nonprofit careers. Idealist is probably the main one, as well as the NonProfit Times career page. Vocation Village has a fairly detailed list of local Seattle nonprofits that you can use to start your search. Visit the organizations to see who is hiring professionals in your discipline.

You can also use job boards like NWjobs and Monster to see which temporary agencies local nonprofit organizations are using. Run a search on the organizations you have identified locally and keywords related to your skills. Keep in mind that you will most likely need to start at an entry-level position; with the fierce competition out there, your previous corporate experience is what you are going to want to use as a guide for getting your foot in the door within a new industry.

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