Non-Profits

Common Good Careers

As an industry, non-profit and common good organizations span an array of different areas and a huge number of different jobs. Public interest and advocacy orgs, arts and cultural institutions, social services, etc. all have a variety of needs when it comes to the types of roles they hire for; it’s worth thinking both about both the type of overall mission that aligns with your morals and values, but also considering what type of individual roles could match your skills and interests. Check out Vault Guides to learn more about specific industries, fields, and job functions.

Connect with Employers and Alumni

Networking is simply talking and building relationships with professionals in careers that interest you to help you learn what it’s like to work in a particular role, field, or industry. In addition to MyPenn (formerly QuakerNet) and LinkedIN, you can take advantage of Penn institutions such as The Netter Center for Community Partnership and Civic House to connect with alumni. Read more here about how to make connections.

Finding Opportunities

Non-profit and common good opportunities can be found in a variety of places, from larger job boards, to industry-specific boards like Idealist, to the career page of an organization’s website. We’ve curated a number of industry specific job boards as a jumping off point.

In Handshake, use keywords or the industry filter to hone in on relevant opportunities, the most recent of which are featured to the right.

Find Resources

On this page, we’ve compiled many resources to help you prepare for a career in non-profits. Of particular interest should be our industry specific job boards, resources/opportunities through Penn (like the Civic House Community Engagement Internship, the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program, and the Penn Program for Public Service Summer Internship), as well as various professional organizations in the field.