Baby Boomers Seek Social Change Jobs

A recent survey by Civic Ventures revealed that as many as 3/4 of the nation’s 78 million baby boomers plan to work beyond the age of traditional retirement and that 50% of these baby boomers report they are interested in pursuing social change jobs. Boomers are leaving the corporate world because they are tired of the corporate treadmill and are in search of more personally rewarding and socially impactful work. More and more boomers are interested in charitable work just as not-for-profit agencies face a serious leadership deficit, as outlined in a report by Bridgespan Consulting.

This is wonderfully exciting news for the nonprofit sector. New blood with new energy and visions just when others are fading from hard fought battles and ready to pass the baton. A word of caution is appropriate here, however. 

All too often neither the nonprofit organization nor the individual desiring to make the transition from the for-profit world to the nonprofit world knows what’s involved in most effectively transitioning someone between these different business cultures. The individual needs to do some research about the differences between the two worlds. Talk with others in the nonprofit community or those who are knowledgeable about the organization in which you are interested. Go to the library and look through books on nonprofit management. Does that sound like what you’d like to do?

The nonprofit organization also has its work to do in order to make the pairing work. The organization needs to engage in appropriate vetting of the candidate through the interview process and, later, orientation and post-hire support. Whether or not the individual is a professional with corporate experience, the board’s work is not completed with the hire. The board makes a mistake when it hands the new executive the keys to the office, checks “done” off its list, and walks away breathing a sigh of relief. Post-hire support must be provided in order to ensure that your new hire blossoms into the effective leader you hired her/him to be. But with the appropriate self-reflection, honest communication, and proper planning, the union of someone transitioning from the corporate world can be powerful and can rocket a nonprofit organization to unprecedented success.

For more support, see New Chapter Coaching’s Life Transition Coaching Package.