Week 6: nonprofit vs corporate
I did not work this week and instead took a vacation and worked from home. However, this provided me with an even better opportunity to reflect on my time at ALSAC thus far. While in Memphis, I feel like I’m living a dream. I love where I work, I love the focus on diversity and inclusion, the culture, everything St. Jude stands for and the fact that I am not treated as an intern, but as a fully capable employee. I love that I work at a company with strong female role models that make me feel like I can do anything that I want despite the gender biases in the workforce. However, for the first time, I was taken out of my dream world and felt silenced by the world around me. I had conversations with people that work in New York City or Washington D.C. at big name companies. They loved the work they were doing, which is very understandable and amazing for them, and wanted to talk about all the perks and money they would make when they were full time employees. And every time they asked me what I do, I would briefly explain my job and they would nod almost in sympathy as if what I was doing was cute and clearly not as important as what they do. I was blown away by myself and the fact that I could let something that I am so passionate about feel less important than another job just because it is in the nonprofit sector.
Upon further reflection, I need to figure out a way to talk about my internship in a better and more approachable way. I jumped too fast to complaining that no one would listen to me, but I realize that starting off with “It’s amazing I love it so much,” may turn people off. I need to lead with why it’s amazing and what I am doing there that makes it so fulfilling and rewarding. My experience is very similar to some of the awesome experiences that people are having at other big name companies, but if I don’t lead with the things that people can relate to then I am closing off the opportunity for a conversation.
First, I am so sorry that you felt this way (at least initially). I think it is really important to remember that organizations in different sectors are not comparable in many ways (though they are in others), but that does not make them any less important/invaluable. Money does not make more time in the day and though it can solve some issues, there are many that it cannot address. I think your post-reflection is important. I think you are right – why is it amazing? I think if you can talk about the authentic nature of the organization, it’s transparency in terms of its business/finances/etc., its mission, etc. There are any number of individuals working with organizations where they receive perks, bonuses, etc. who find that their organization is missing this kind of soul and it can end up causing them real dissonance. I also think you can talk about the opportunities you are having to explore the growing reality of virtual teams; the challenge (and mastery) of developing cohesiveness and productivity without everyone being physically proximate to one another.