How to build your social impact credentials

Thank you to our Corporate Leadership Council speakers Michael Bzdak at Johnson & Johnson, Jarian Kerekes at Equitable Foundation, Luis Maes at the MLB Kansas City Royals, Windy Pham at Macy’s and Niki Zoli at Lidl U.S for helping advance the sector and sharing their insights on the “How to get a job in social impact” webinar. Addressing barriers—such as access to a good job—is part of CHC’s core work to ensure opportunity for every person in every community to live their healthiest life.

Watch the April 23, 2024 event recording for tips on how to find coveted social impact jobs, skills needed, how to break through if you don’t have a social impact background, interview tips, bouncing back after layoffs and more.

How to build your social impact credentials:

• Volunteer or do pro bono work with your current company to build your skills. If your employer doesn’t offer opportunities, volunteer with nonprofits, community based or civic organizations, schools and more. You can find volunteer opportunities through CHC too. It’s great networking and an opportunity to meet like-minded individuals. Add this volunteer work to your resume.
• Incorporate social impact into your current role if you can, especially if you work at a smaller company that may not have a separate social impact department. It could be helping support employee engagement efforts, running an employee resource group/affinity group, or supporting other social responsibility work. Some call this “job purposing” Why Your Values Belong at Work (hbr.org) to adjust your work to make a meaningful social contribution. If you can’t make it formally part of your job, take part in your company’s employee engagement, giving and volunteer activities.
• See if your company offers job shadowing or mentoring to learn from social impact leaders at your organization or even to help support them on a project.
• Follow social impact leaders on LinkedIn (lists below). Read what they read.
• Take courses (see list below) to learn more about social impact, sustainability, CSR, ESG and DEI.
• Read company reports. Learn more about stakeholder capitalism, shareholder value, social impact, CSR, ESG, DEI, SDGs, sustainability. Stay on top of the trends and vendors in the space as well (such as giving and volunteer platforms, donor advised funds, etc.).
• Consider your options. Join a nonprofit that aligns with your specific skills, as a starting point toward making the leap into a social impact career. If you’re a military veteran, get involved with a nonprofit that serves veterans or a company with a focus on hiring or supporting veterans. If you are currently located outside the U.S., apply for social impact roles at global companies (and nonprofits) that have a focus in your region and could benefit from your in-country expertise and perspective.