Switching, Not Starting Over

By Paul Collier, 2014 ProInspire Fellow

When I was accepted into ProInspire and transitioned to working as a Data Manager at the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center (SFCAPC), I was expecting my work to change drastically. Previously, I worked as a business process consultant for an international consulting firm. I was transitioning into a new role in a workplace with a very different culture and, to be honest, the thought of starting my career over scared me.

In the several months I’ve been at SFCAPC, I’ve been surprised to find I use many of the same transferrable skills, despite working in a different role. Let me share a few of these skills to shed some light on my transition to the social sector.

Project Management

At SFCAPC, we use a database to track all of our work with clients, ranging from therapeutic counseling to calls received on our parenting support line. Much of my current role involves tracking and prioritizing all the improvements needed to this system. At my prior employer, I kept detailed spreadsheets with all the tasks our team needed to finish, and built status dashboards off of these spreadsheets. Today, I use these same tools to track and prioritize the system needs from SFCAPC’s various teams.

Focusing on the ‘Why’

Focusing on communicating the rationale for changes I’m making has helped me explain the importance of my work to my colleagues without getting bogged down in details. In my prior role, I was often asked to train newer team members on how to execute our projects, which required backing up and spending quite a bit of time communicating bigger picture context before diving into the specifics of the work. Though the subject matter in my new role is different, the same principle of communication applies.

Defining Success Up Front

Before I begin designing a new report or outlining a new process at SFCAPC, I’m always asking myself, “What does success look like? How do I know I’m done?” Having a strong internal definition of success helps me plan my work and set realistic expectations. In my prior role, I had managers who would ask me “Is this ready to send to the client?” Today, I report directly to a member of our organization’s Senior Management Team, so having a good sense of what success looks like for a project is even more important.

Building Trust

Since arriving at SFCAPC, I’ve tried hard to build trust with my colleagues by getting to know them on a personal level and actively listening to their challenges. When I was a consultant, I worked on-site at 8+ clients a year, so building trust quickly was a necessity. Similarly, building relationships in my nonprofit has helped me get honest feedback, which helps me improve our database and excel at my role.

Like me, you might fear the change that comes with jumping into a new position, at a new workplace, with new people. Keep in mind that while you’re switching jobs, you’re by no means starting over in your career. Your work and work environment will change, but you will build off of your current skills and apply many of the same approaches to getting results. Like me, you might be surprised by how much stays the same.