I am trying to arm myself with some options and am going to start really looking for a new job. I have only ever had two real jobs, my first I just applied online and this one I was referred by a friend. I am looking into switching industries and don't quite know where to start. In addition to getting my networking going what sites do you recommend using when looking for job postings? Also has anyone has any success with recruiters?
Well I right now I work in healthcare technology and my last job was in pharma and both have been sales jobs. I am looking in two directions right now, I am thinking events and/or fundraising. I would like to work in non-profit or in higher ed but don't have a lot of contacts in these areas so am trying to decide where to start and what skills to work on to make myself more desirable in these areas.
I've done non-profit fundraising and event planning for the past 4 years. Do you want to get coffee or lunch one day to discuss? I am going out of town next Wednesday until May 1st, but could meet you Monday or once I am back.
I've done non-profit fundraising and event planning for the past 4 years. Do you want to get coffee or lunch one day to discuss? I am going out of town next Wednesday until May 1st, but could meet you Monday or once I am back.
That would be fantastic! I really appreciate the offer. I might be taking Monday off anyways so if I do I will let you know and see if it works for you, and if not we can definitely figure something out in May. Thank you!
Post by 5kcandlesinthewind on Mar 29, 2013 8:25:49 GMT -5
If you've been in sales roles, you probably already have some of the technical skills you'll need to transfer to fundraising. How are your writing skills? If they're weak or haven't been used in a while, you may want to look into some sort of classes to strengthen them. And if you aren't already, I'd suggest volunteering with organizations you're interested in. They are almost always looking for people to help with events, and that will help connect you with other volunteers/board members. It will also give you a taste of what it's really like.
I did fundraising for 8 years before my current job, and it's definitely something you have to love. Depending on the organization, the pay might not be great, but the hours will definitely be long, and there is a lot of thankless work. There are also a lot of good moments,too, though. Good luck!
If you've been in sales roles, you probably already have some of the technical skills you'll need to transfer to fundraising. How are your writing skills? If they're weak or haven't been used in a while, you may want to look into some sort of classes to strengthen them. And if you aren't already, I'd suggest volunteering with organizations you're interested in. They are almost always looking for people to help with events, and that will help connect you with other volunteers/board members. It will also give you a taste of what it's really like.
I did fundraising for 8 years before my current job, and it's definitely something you have to love. Depending on the organization, the pay might not be great, but the hours will definitely be long, and there is a lot of thankless work. There are also a lot of good moments,too, though. Good luck!
I don't have a ton of writing experience outside of typical work emails and my blog-which is not at all professional, lol. Volunteering is a good idea, I will look into certain organizations that interest me and see if I can volunteer there. Thanks!
If you've been in sales roles, you probably already have some of the technical skills you'll need to transfer to fundraising. How are your writing skills? If they're weak or haven't been used in a while, you may want to look into some sort of classes to strengthen them. And if you aren't already, I'd suggest volunteering with organizations you're interested in. They are almost always looking for people to help with events, and that will help connect you with other volunteers/board members. It will also give you a taste of what it's really like.
I did fundraising for 8 years before my current job, and it's definitely something you have to love. Depending on the organization, the pay might not be great, but the hours will definitely be long, and there is a lot of thankless work. There are also a lot of good moments,too, though. Good luck!
See I think this totally depends re: pay, long hours, and thankless work. I think my job is the complete opposite. I generally work from 8 am - 4 pm, although there are certainly our busy weeks/months where I work 60 hours with evenings and weekend events. I don't do a lot of travel, I think I am fairly compensated, and I have SO much vacation time. Like it comes out to 8 weeks vacation with my spring break, winter break, and fridays off in the summer (plus 20 days vacation in addition to what I mentioned).
Health care and higher ed pay the best in fundraising. Because I went to independent schools from higher ed, I was able to parlay my higher salary from higher ed into independent schools, and I was able to use my Boston salary at my old job to get a Boston salary in RI - which is so much cheaper than Boston re: housing, etc.
There are lots of career changers in fundraising. Many of them come from sales. I would not hesitate to hire someone into a higher ed fundraising job with sales experience, but I would probably want to see some sort of volunteer work at their alma mater or some other sort of non-profit. I would suspect that with your background in medical sales you might be a fabulous fit for hospital fundraising. There are thousands of these types of jobs in Boston. You can probably start perusing the websites of partners, dana farber, etc to look at them.
That being said, you probably do make more in sales than you might in fundraising. If you are looking at an entry level annual giving type job, you are probably looking at a salary in the $50-$60K range. If you decided to do major gifts, you can probably get something in the $70-$80K range with no fundraising experience. Obviously things like event planning pay less. Major gifts is where you would make the most $$, but it is going to be a travel heavy job depending on the organization and will be more sales like than say a job doing grant proposals, etc.
If you've been in sales roles, you probably already have some of the technical skills you'll need to transfer to fundraising. How are your writing skills? If they're weak or haven't been used in a while, you may want to look into some sort of classes to strengthen them. And if you aren't already, I'd suggest volunteering with organizations you're interested in. They are almost always looking for people to help with events, and that will help connect you with other volunteers/board members. It will also give you a taste of what it's really like.
I did fundraising for 8 years before my current job, and it's definitely something you have to love. Depending on the organization, the pay might not be great, but the hours will definitely be long, and there is a lot of thankless work. There are also a lot of good moments,too, though. Good luck!
See I think this totally depends re: pay, long hours, and thankless work. I think my job is the complete opposite. I generally work from 8 am - 4 pm, although there are certainly our busy weeks/months where I work 60 hours with evenings and weekend events. I don't do a lot of travel, I think I am fairly compensated, and I have SO much vacation time. Like it comes out to 8 weeks vacation with my spring break, winter break, and fridays off in the summer (plus 20 days vacation in addition to what I mentioned).
Health care and higher ed pay the best in fundraising. Because I went to independent schools from higher ed, I was able to parlay my higher salary from higher ed into independent schools, and I was able to use my Boston salary at my old job to get a Boston salary in RI - which is so much cheaper than Boston re: housing, etc.
There are lots of career changers in fundraising. Many of them come from sales. I would not hesitate to hire someone into a higher ed fundraising job with sales experience, but I would probably want to see some sort of volunteer work at their alma mater or some other sort of non-profit. I would suspect that with your background in medical sales you might be a fabulous fit for hospital fundraising. There are thousands of these types of jobs in Boston. You can probably start perusing the websites of partners, dana farber, etc to look at them.
That being said, you probably do make more in sales than you might in fundraising. If you are looking at an entry level annual giving type job, you are probably looking at a salary in the $50-$60K range. If you decided to do major gifts, you can probably get something in the $70-$80K range with no fundraising experience. Obviously things like event planning pay less. Major gifts is where you would make the most $$, but it is going to be a travel heavy job depending on the organization and will be more sales like than say a job doing grant proposals, etc.
Thank you so much for the advice! I assume I will make less but I think the trade off for better quality of life would be worth it. Those ranges would be totally doable. I never really considered hospital fundraising, that is a great idea since I have experience in health care and have a degree in health fare. I will start looking into it! I might reach out again once I get further into my search:)