The Young Professionals Forum I run at my organization (InsideNGO) hosted a great workshop on Friday about Career Building for Young Professionals.
The trainer, Maureen MacCarthy, Principal Consultant at MGS Consulting, led us through the high-energy, participatory event with tons of networking opportunities. It reminded me that while the advances in technologies that bring us webinars and other virtual events save travel time and costs, in-person events are critical for building your network and connecting with people.
Our YP Forum is different from other similar groups because everyone at our events works in the international NGO sector and shares similar experiences, challenges, and your organizations have probably partnered on projects together.
But the majority of the tips Maureen gave us apply to everyone. I want to share 4 of the most useful ones.
The first is Be What You Want to Become. Let’s say you’re a Program Assistant and want to become a Program Manager. Start acting like a Program Manager. Tell trusted colleagues/mentors that you want to be a Program Manager and to coach you on what that looks like at your organization. Practice with a friend introducing yourself as a Program Manager. Be who you want to become.
The second: Get to know your organization’s culture and what people talk about when they’re not talking about work, especially the leaders. Understand others on a more personal level so you can more easily be understood when you may present a new idea or try to get buy-in for your project. Maybe people like to chat about movies, what’s in the news, or their children. Get to know others to understand them better and use that knowledge to become fluent in your organization’s culture so you can know how to talk about your idea in a language they can understand.
Third, get to know your field. For example, organizations in the international NGO sector are funded by similar donors and government agencies. We as young professionals know we must remain adaptable and build transferrable skills because the donors might decide to fund reproductive health projects instead of HIV/AIDS projects. PEPFAR is changing phases and you have to know how to do the work. In general, the world is moving faster, there’s the economic downturn, and pressures and changes in budgets. Be aware of the trends in your field because the complexity of what your organization’s leaders are dealing with is something you should be aware of so you can adapt.
And fourth, one of the best tactics for growing your career is networking: meeting new people and passing out your business card. You might be on Facebook but be sure to also create a profile for yourself on LinkedIn because businesses and recruiters do use LinkedIn to find outstanding employees that fit their culture, know their industry, and can do the work.