Growing Demand for Careers with Social Impact

A recent survey by Net Impact, an international nonprofit, revealed that more than 70 percent of college-goers and almost half the workforce are keen to take up jobs that make a social impact. Almost 60 percent of students are even ready to accept a reduced pay if given an opportunity to work for an employer that represents their social values.

While such jobs and careers are more than welcome, but the challenge to find such jobs continues to remain high. More often than not, such jobs are unable to fetch a good pay. The problem gets compounded because a number of recent graduates do not know precisely what nature of job they are aspiring for, or where to find such a job.

College career centers are usually not well-equipped to provide them appropriate career advice on this issue. Pamela Hartigan, Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University's Saïd Business School says: "I've seen a steady stream of graduate students knocking on my door to get guidance."

A growing number of students have awareness about large social enterprises such as Ashoka, Omidyar and Acumen, but they still have little clue on how best to approach these organizations or what kind of skills to acquire to fit the needs of these organizations. Hartigan invites social entrepreneurs to Oxford and Columbia University regularly in order to acquaint students with the idea of social entrepreneurship. This helps students acquire first-hand information and ask questions from those who are directly involved with social enterprises.

Something similar to Hartigan's effort is also being attempted online by a social innovator called Jonathan Lewis. Lewis is based near San Francisco, and he has launched an innovative video portal called iOnPoverty. This portal brings established entrepreneurs and graduates on a common platform. The content largely includes interviews with successful social entrepreneurs and business leaders. The interviews are designed to provide practical advice and actionable tips to those who are seeking jobs and careers with a social impact.

Source: The Economist


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