HOTLINE

Answering Readers' Questions About Changing From Social Work to Fund Raising, and More

The Chronicle's Philanthropy Careers asked its readers to submit questions about job hunting, recruitment, and management challenges in the nonprofit world. In our monthly advice column, we respond to some of your inquiries with tips about resources and wisdom from experts in the field.

Q. I'm trying to make a transition from social work to fund raising, but am finding it very difficult. Any suggestions?

A. As with all career transitions, it's crucial for you to figure out exactly how your past work experience is relevant to the job you now seek, and be prepared to explain how your past can prove useful to a new employer.

Some nonprofit fund raisers who once made the career switch you are considering say they have found ways to articulate the links between the two fields. Mary Jo Monahan, vice president of resource development at Family Service Centers, in Clearwater, Fla., sees a clear analogy between the community mental-health casework she did for 20 years and her current task of raising funds for a social-services organization.

"My clients had needs, and I found resources for them," she says. "Now, my agency has needs, and I'm connecting up these needs with the resources of the community." She proposes that philanthropists, too, are fulfilling their own set of needs through their acts of charity. Although her charity's primary mission is to serve families, Ms. Monahan says, "Our second and equally important mission is to be a vehicle for the community's generosity."

Although the two fields may have much in common, social work and fund raising make very different demands on an employee's personality and sense of self, says Joe Valentine, executive director of the Morris Stulsaft Foundation, in San Francisco, and a former social worker who headed several United Way organizations. "If you're a casework person, for example, you're geared toward creating one-on-one relationships, becoming very concerned with each client you're working with," he says. "You may not be as comfortable interacting with groups or asking for money."

One way to discover if you can handle these situations, which are requirements of the fund-raising field, Mr. Valentine says, is through role-playing in the context of a training program, such as those offered by Indiana University's Center for Philanthropy.

In addition to understanding and articulating the common ground between social work and fund raising, you must also find ways to demonstrate your willingness to learn new skills and take on new challenges.

Ann Ruff, vice president of development at CommonBond Community, a nonprofit housing provider in St. Paul, notes that her willingness to learn was the most crucial factor in her transition from social work to development. About 12 years ago, while working for a charity that ran training programs for child-care workers, Ms. Ruff offered to help keep the very small development department afloat while the board searched for a new chief fund raiser. By dint of hard work and persistence -- supplemented by training in grant-proposal writing and other skills -- she slowly convinced her bosses to give her the position permanently. Although the group's managers had hoped to install someone with fund-raising experience, she says, they were won over by Ms. Ruff's ability to learn. Also, she says, "I was loyal and committed to the organization, and that was something they weren't necessarily finding off the street."

Even if you don't have an opportunity like Ms. Ruff's to make the switch from one career to another within the same organization, there are other ways to demonstrate your willingness to learn. One place to start may be with the Association of Fundraising Professionals, which offers an array of professional advancement and certification programs as well as an annual international conference (the next one's in Toronto, March 23 through 26). As with all career switches, your best bet for landing a job may be by developing a network of contacts through such an organization.

Q. I have worked in fund raising for six years, building up experience at the associate-director level. I feel ready to look for director's positions. But I don't have a bachelor's degree, although I'm currently enrolled in college. Should I bother responding to ads that request candidates with diplomas?

A. Many fund raisers and charity managers agree that people who hire development directors usually assume that applicants have completed college, even though the most important qualification is experience. Vaneeda Bennett, the national vice president of the development division of the American Diabetes Association, in Alexandria, Va., says that in her eight years with the charity she has never encountered a fund-raising candidate who did not have a bachelor's degree. "But experience does count," she says, "and if you have a demonstrated track record with clear results, I look at that first, before I even look at the education."

In some specific fields, however, a college education may be far less important than in others. While college or university development offices will always require the completed degree, some community organizations, particularly those in the youth- or social-services fields, may be more amenable to hiring someone who hasn't yet received a diploma, says John Lubbe, vice president of fund development for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, in Philadelphia. Although most fund directors at local organizations do have one or more degrees, he says, "Some of these organizations are really hard-strapped for qualified, capable fund raisers, and might value your experience." The pay will be lower at those charities, Mr. Lubbe notes, but a director-level job will provide tremendous opportunities for you to gain experience and advance your career.

Q. I recently moved back to the States after several years of work in Africa and Eastern Europe. While I have two master's degrees, speak French fluently, and have almost a decade of experience, I can't find a job here. In interviews, employers have a hard time believing that anything done overseas could be relevant to an American charity with a domestic mission. Why isn't my international experience helping me get hired?

A. Executive-search consultants suggest that you may not be connecting the dots well enough. It's up to you to clearly and explicitly match your overseas experiences to the specific skills being sought, because the employer is not going to take the time to do so.

"When I see the résumé of someone who's worked overseas, it can be difficult to translate their experience, particularly in a field like 'community development' or 'community organizing,'" says Tom Adams, a recruiter for nonprofit clients who works in Silver Spring, Md. "It's not always clear what those terms mean, exactly." He suggests tailoring your pitch to each employer: In your résumé and cover letter, as well as in your interview, he says, you should focus on how specific skills in your previous positions led to concrete outcomes, and how these experiences are directly relevant to the job in question.

A lot of charities are fairly conservative about hiring and will want to be reassured that you have the appropriate skills, says Sally-Ann Hard, a recruiter for nonprofit organizations in New York. Furthermore, if the job has been vacant for so long that the employer has turned to a recruiter, she says, it means that the organization is in a hurry to fill the spot. "There is little or no room for a learning curve or perceived learning curve," she says. As a result, you need to make a special effort to make the work you did "look American," she says, by perhaps using more Americanized language to describe the work or spelling out the duties behind your job titles.

Mr. Adams, Ms. Hard, and other recruiters also emphasize that the best way to overcome job-hunting obstacles is to develop and depend upon a network of contacts. In this particular situation, you should identify as many colleagues as you can who have already successfully made the transition from international to domestic charity work. Then ask those people for letters of introduction to other contacts who may know of job openings or be willing to share some advice. The process of informational interviewing may also help garner relevant contacts.

Got a question about job hunting, managing, or recruiting in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com