8 Reasons Why Graduates Should Look For Jobs at Non-Profits

Graduating from college is a new turn in your life. People are usually confused about the selection of their careers. Choosing the first job is not only confusing, but it is also an important pillar for the rest of your career.

When we choose our first job, we are mostly concerned about the pay, the work experience, and the work environment. What most of us don’t consider is that our job selection makes a difference in society.

Not many people choose Non-profit organizations as their first career choice because it does not pay as much as the corporate world. However, apart from being a morally sound choice, employment in the non-profit industry can be valuable too!

Before discussing the benefits of the job, let’s first bust the number 1 myth surrounding non-profits jobs:

The Number 1 Myth: Non-Profits Don’t Pay

It is time to remove out all the misconceptions about working in non-profit organizations from your head. The most common misperception is that non-profits pay less than their corporate counterparts. It is simply not true!

Did you know that in the U.S. workforce, the non-profit sector is the third-largest? It is estimated that almost 1.8 million non-profit organizations are working in the United States. These organizations employees around 13.7 million people and account for almost 10 percent of the country’s workforce. On average, these non-profit organizations pay $322 salaries to their workers.

It is true that non-profits jobs pay slightly less than industry jobs, but the pay cut is not as drastic as it’s made out to be. According to research by Payscale, on average, non-profits pay 4 to 8% less than industry jobs.

That is not so bad, is it? If you do not plan to work in a non-profit organization for a longer time, you can at least get a start with it. For a short period, there are many reasons that you should consider to convince you to work for a non-profit.

Some of them are:

1. The Job Hunt is Easy

The job hunt is not easy for fresh graduates in this cut-throat business world. Almost every for-profit shortlists and hires people with relevant experiences in the industry. This limits the job opportunities for those who have just graduated from college.

Comparatively, it is much easier to get your first good job in the non-profit sector. Since not many people are vying to get their first job in a welfare organization, the competition is thin, and you have a better chance of getting a good job.

In fact, NGOs are more than happy to hire fresh graduates. A job in the non-profit sector will not be easier to get, but it would also polish your employable skills and pay you well.

2. You Can Earn a Good Salary

Working in a non-profit does not mean that you will get less salary. While most people think that working in a non-profit means “No Money,” it is a misconception. Not every non-profit pays you a lot, but most of them offer a competitive salary.

In 2013, Urban Institute conducted research in which it concluded that the non-profit sector contributed almost $905.8 billion to the economy of the U.S. Moreover, researchers say that the starting package for both profit-based and non-profit organizations is almost the same, which means applying in the non-profit sector can be as fruitful as other industries.

3. Ample Job Opportunities

The doors of the non-profits are always open for the fresh graduated and less experienced people. Most for-profit organizations are usually reluctant to invest in fresh graduates; even the biggest for-profit organization prefer to hire people with prior experience in the industry.

Companies like carpet cleaning Oxford normally prefer to hire experienced staff in comparison to less experienced. Furthermore, when they hire fresh grads, it’s not internships and newbie positions that pay less.

The hiring criteria for a non-profit sector are different. For instance, NGOs are always willing to hire people who are passionate about working even if they are less experienced. If you have the right attitude, NGOs will be more than happy to hire you.

4. You Learn Employable Skills

Working in non-profit organizations makes you more responsible. Such an organization gave you the position and titles that evoke the factor of responsibility in individuals. These titles include communication leader, Assistant Director of Development, or somewhat similar.

These titles and the work associated with them develop leadership traits and make a person more confident and more responsible. These personality traits help a person to climb the ladder of success in both for-profit and non-profit sectors.

5. Lets You Gain More Experience

While working in a non-profit organization, you are not working in a fixed or rigid environment. Here the things do not happen in the same way every day. In a non-profit organization, you meet different people every day. These people come from diverse backgrounds, and so you learn to grow as a person and a professional.

A fresh graduate learns different things when working on different projects every single day. Working in a non-profit organization makes you learn more beyond your expectations. It teaches you how the basics of the job along with skills that you won’t learn in a traditional office setting.

If you work for a non-profit, you are likely to acquire people skills and other soft skills that will increase the chance of your growth in the corporate world.

6. You Can Communicate With Higher Hierarchy

In a profit-based organization, it is almost impossible to see the people working on a higher hierarchal level like CEO or Deputy Director. These are separated by the layers of middle management.

However, in non-profit organizations, the higher management is easily approachable to the people on the lower hierarchy level or fresh graduates. You can interact with them and share your feedback or also clear queries, if any.

This interaction creates an excellent mentor-mentee relationship. This helps to gain more experience. Besides experience, a fresh graduate with little experience can make more connections that might be helpful for future ventures.

7. Develop a Network of Peers

Non-profit sectors have a higher ratio of youngsters working for the betterment of the community or other social causes. Here you can work on developing a strong network with peers of your age. You can also get registered in the Young Nonprofit Professional Network.

The YNPN is a movement on the national level to support the growth and learning of fresh graduates. This network with peers lets you utilize them when applying for future jobs. It also promotes the growth of the non-profit sector.

8. Use of Transferable Skills

Non-profits organizations require the transferable skills that student has gained in college or university.  These transferable skills include research or development, organization, or excellent communication skills.

It means that a student can easily fit into a non-profit sector without any prior experience and training. Skills that you gain while working in a non-profit organization can be easily transferable and helpful when you switch to a for-profit sector.

About Muhammad Shoaib
Shoaib provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. His educational background in the technical field and business studies helps him in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development and digital marketing. He occasionally writes articles for Dynamologic Solutions.