Finding a High-Impact Job: Stand Out by Going the Other Way

With economic uncertainty, a cooling labor market, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), securing a new job has become increasingly difficult. While good causes often need good people, jobseekers looking to make an impact in the charity space are also encountering hurdles. The reason any one person doesn’t receive an offer is often nuanced, but macro environment factors and norms within the impact space also exert overarching influence. For example:

• Funding gaps: Due to recent national aid budget cuts, some nonprofits have put a freeze on hiring.

• Strong competition: Though fewer people seek nonprofit roles compared to private-sector jobs, the impact space often attracts highly skilled knowledge workers and top-achieving students.

• Closed recruitment: Many charities don’t publicly advertise their openings, opting to fill vacancies through internal referrals, invitation-only processes, and/or focused outreach.

Given these challenges, people seeking altruistic careers should incorporate strategies for navigating a developing job market in flux.

The Typical Jobseeking Process and Why It’s Flawed

Most people entering the charity or impact space from conventional industries follow traditional job-hunting methods. This approach is often referred to as the Job Search Pyramid, which biases popular pathways over more personalized tactics.

1. Advertisements & Job Boards

Jobseekers typically start by scouring online postings and applying to roles with a spruced-up resume and well-written cover letter. While this approach is logical, it’s highly competitive, making it especially difficult for an applicant to stand out.


2. Recruitment Agencies

Specialized recruiters can connect candidates with opportunities in nonprofits, but this practice is less common in the impact space than in corporate sectors.

3. Professional Organizations

Organizations dedicated to helping workers acquire high-impact skills and connections can help individuals prepare for and further their job search.

4. Networking & Word of Mouth

Regardless of the industry, connections open doors. Building relationships and leveraging your network can lead to opportunities not publicly advertised. However, many jobseekers only explore networking after other approaches fail.

5. Contacts from Existing Staff

Employee referrals significantly increase the chances of landing a job. According to Zippia, while referrals constitute only 7% of applications in the private sector, they lead to nearly 45% of hires.  Referrals are also favorable in the nonprofit space, significantly increasing an applicant’s chances of getting an interview and landing a job.

6. Internal Promotions & Lateral Moves

Many companies fill positions internally before looking outside, so the easiest way to secure a new role is by already being part of an organization—whether as an employee, contractor, or volunteer. This is especially true for experienced professionals, as organizations tend to fill senior roles from within while scouting externally for entry-level vacancies.

As you can see, starting at the base of the pyramid emphasizes personalized strategies over the more commonplace methods toward the top.

Moving Opposite the Crowd

The lower you start on the pyramid, the less competition you face and the higher your leverage. Here’s how to assess opportunities at each tier:

1. Look for Internal Promotions and Lateral Moves

Internal candidates are often preferred by employers because they’ve proven to be a good cultural and operational fit. Promoting from within also saves time and money, which can be in short order when trying to scale an organization.

Fortunately, being seen as a teammate in the impact space isn’t limited to full-time employees. Here are some lesser-known paths to joining the ranks:

• Freelance Roles: Contract positions are generally easier to obtain than staff roles. Freelancing is also a great way for workers to showcase value and build relationships while contributing to causes they care about.

• Consulting: As a way to meet needs while keeping costs down, smaller organizations sometimes seek “fractional” support in areas such as marketing, finance, and operations. Not only do these roles often offer access to founders and c-suites, but high-level work can also lead to an outsized impact.

• Volunteering: Skilled volunteering is typically a low-barrier way to get your foot in the door. It also allows you to test your fit (within a cause area and/or at an organization), gain practical experience, and make a positive impact—all without a huge commitment.

2. Leverage Employee Referrals

If you’re not currently working for your preferred organization, employee referrals are your next best option. Referred candidates not only stand out in a sea of applicants, endorsements also grant them a longer look during the hiring process.

3. Network With Purpose-Driven Professionals

The focus of networking shouldn’t be limited to cold outreach on LinkedIn. Rather, think about ways to cultivate long-term professional relationships. Strong networks provide:

• Warm introductions to peers in your field, as well as hiring managers and decision makers at high-impact organizations

• Early access to unadvertised opportunities, such as closed hiring rounds

• Like-minded collaborators for projects and/or new ventures

• Trusted peers who can review resumes and offer feedback on career plans

Some online hubs to network in the high-impact space include:

• Hive’s Slack: An active space for 3,500+ farmed animal welfare advocates from around the globe.

• BlueDot Impact Courses: Facilitator-led classes in Transformative AI (TAI) that up your knowledge and connect you with a cohort of motivated individuals. 

• Effective Giving Community Directory: Local groups of donors and pledgers from around the world interested in doing the most good with their money.

Conferences are also a great way to meet people and build relationships:

• Effective Altruism Global: Frequent events around the world connecting people in and around Effective Altruism.

• Animal & Vegans Advocacy Summit: Conference series for advocates looking to end the consumption of animals.

• The Association for Biosafety and Biosecurity Hybrid Conference: The world’s largest biosafety and biosecurity conference.

• AI Safety Events: Symposiums, hackathons, and more focused on bringing together technical and nontechnical AI safety supporters.

High Impact Professionals’ Impact Accelerator Program alumni meet-up in the Bay Area, USA.

The collective power of a network is a bit like compounding: as the individuals within your network grow, so will you.

4. Work With High-Impact Career Experts

Organizations helping with career transition into the cause-area space can provide onramps to professional development, as well as connections to people and opportunities. Some examples are:

• High Impact Professionals: Our Impact Accelerator Program helps mid-career and senior professionals achieve real-world impact through evidence-based tools and community support. You can also join our Talent Directory to get on the radar of hundreds of high-impact organizations recruiting for open roles.

• 80,000 Hours: Primarily offers career advice for those interested in AI Safety, while also providing resources on a broader range of the world’s most pressing problems and how to address them through your career.

• Successif: Personalized strategic advice for mid-career professionals looking for an impactful career in AI Risk Reduction.

• Probably Good: Resources and advising for recent grads and early- to mid-stage professionals interested in dedicating their careers to high-impact work.

5. Get on Recruiters’ Radars

External recruiters are rare in the nonprofit world, but there are organizations like Impact Ops that source talent and manage hiring rounds for various charities. While reaching out to these organizations directly might not yield a response, performing well in a hiring round they manage could prompt them to contact you about similar opportunities in the future. 

6. Scrub the Job Boards

Though not all roles are advertised, job boards are still a great way to get a sense of publicly available opportunities. Here are some top places to get an overview of the high-impact job market:

• 80,000 Hours: A wide range of roles at various experience levels in AI Safety, Biosecurity & Pandemic Preparedness, Catastrophic Risks, Global Health & Development, Global Priorities, etc.

• Probably Good: Job postings in areas such as Animal Welfare, Biosecurity & Pandemic Preparedness, Climate Change, Mental Health, and more.

• Animal Advocacy Careers: Dedicated to animal welfare careers across academia, alternative proteins, and government.

• Tälist: Specializing in jobs focused on alternative protein development and policy.

• EA Opportunities: Paid and unpaid openings that include internships, fellowships, part-time work, and open source projects.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

Traditional job-seeking methods create busywork but often yield low returns in today’s competitive charity ecosystem. Instead, go in the opposite direction of other candidates to improve your chances of landing a meaningful role:

• Consult and/or volunteer with organizations you admire.

• Grow your network and build meaningful relationships.

• Seek career advising.

• Be active in cause area groups.

And remember, searching for a new job can be a taxing journey:

• Check in with yourself from time to time to avoid burnout.

• Consider finding an accountability partner working towards a similar goal.

• Reach out to family, friends, and/or colleagues to share your feelings and challenges.

• Sign up for mental health support with an organization like Overcome.

• Seek additional help through support groups and/or therapy when necessary.

Prioritizing your emotional health doesn’t just help you stay resilient during your search, cultivating a strong foundation of well-being also enables you to make a bigger positive impact on the world.

Good luck!