Five reasons why the nonprofit sector may be the perfect fit for you

Are you wanting more challenging and interesting work, accompanied with great colleagues, innovative environments and an organization that cares about social responsibility initiatives? Then you may find working for a nonprofit organization the perfect fit for your career. Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Purpose

Today’s up and coming workforce is extremely ambitious and hungry for a job that makes them feel both fulfilled and challenged. Meaningful work coupled with hands-on experience is a win-win and more and more workplaces are now putting their social responsibility initiatives at the forefront of their recruitment campaigns in an effort to attract the top talent.

In fact, a recent survey conducted by TalentEgg revealed that nearly half of the respondents said that a company’s social responsibility initiatives are the first thing they look for on a company’s career website. At a nonprofit, you’ll find that you have the chance to directly contribute to meaningful initiatives that make the world more compassionate, sustainable, or innovative. Not only will your workplace contribute to a cause that you value, its entire mission statement will be geared towards improving it.

2. Open Communication

It’s no secret that the teams you’ll find yourself working with at a nonprofit are usually a lot smaller than their corporate counterparts. From day one at your nonprofit gig, you’ll be quickly integrated into a tight-knit team of individuals who are seriously committed to your organization. If you have an idea about how something can be improved, you can speak up and have your voice heard.

In the nonprofit world, you’ll oftentimes get to skip complex approval procedures that move through intricate hierarchies and have the chance to speak with colleagues at the executive level when sharing your thoughts.

3. Well-rounded Experience

The truth is that at a nonprofit, you’ll find yourself wearing a ton of different hats to get the job done. Because teams (and in many cases, budgets) are smaller, you’ll have the chance to develop innovative solutions and tackle problems in areas that extend beyond the expertise you were hired for.

For example, in an executive assistant position, you might find yourself taking on the responsibility of managing your organization’s social media pages – or perhaps you’re a policy analyst who has an interest in event planning and takes charge of the logistics at your organization’s annual general meeting. The lines between roles are often less defined in the nonprofit world, as the primary objective is really about getting things done.

4. People and Environment

If you’re someone who’s looking for an open and transparent corporate culture in your first career, you’ll find that in the nonprofit sector too. Nonprofit employers work hard to develop a sense of mutual respect between themselves and their staff, and present employees with a high level of trust and authority to effectively do their jobs.

Being part of a small team banding together for a bigger cause, it’s easy to build a sense of community in the workplace. And while you all share one common passion, people in the nonprofit sector tend to come from all different backgrounds and have a wide variety of experiences under their belt.

5. Challenge and Growth

With regular changes in funding, short-term goals, and legislation, you’ll find that your career in the nonprofit sector will evolve all the time, giving you the chance to develop creative new ways to adapt and develop new solutions for your organization’s exciting challenges. In addition to this, you’ll develop exemplary critical thinking skills and superior multi-tasking skills, often being met with several tasks to tackle at once.

While a different kind of learning experience than the private sector, new grads who are looking for the chance to play an influential part in major projects and be met with meaningful responsibilities from day one will likely find a perfect fit in a nonprofit career.

We’re sure you’ve heard people say that the nonprofit sector is not for the faint of heart. What they really mean by that is that it’s a place for go-getters to get their hands dirty, steer their career in their own direction, and give back to their community. And, with Canada’s nonprofit sector being the second largest in the world (giving you an estimated 170,000 organizations to choose from) there’s no shortage of opportunities for you to explore!

This article was originally posted on TalentEgg and altered for Bmeaningful readers.

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