Tier 3: Calling. These individuals follow their calling. Unlike the primary or the secondary tiers, their projects are the direct outcome of individual passions and beliefs. Examples include healthcare professionals, social entrepreneurs, as well as thousands of teachers or those servicing in the Armed Forces.
Searching for Impact on Job Boards
According to Net Impact, an impact job is "one that's bringing positive social and environmental change." In recognition of the growing usage -- and variability -- around impact and impact careers, Net Impact recently added an impact section to its jobs board. You can now search for jobs in 22 Areas of Impact, including civic engagement, energy conservation, health, housing, LGBT and microfinance. Employers can also post jobs in the same 22 categories; ensuring candidates are filtered not only by skill level and expertise but also their commitment to make a difference.
“Job seekers today want to know that their work will be meaningful. Adapting the job posting format to articulate this priority seems like the logical next step,” explained Liz Maw, CEO of Net Impact. “We recognize that this is a new request for already overworked recruiting staff, and that it may result in fewer job postings in the short term. But in the long term, we believe that by asking recruiters to articulate impact areas in the posting, we’ll encourage more integration of sustainability into recruiting processes, and by extension, into the company overall.”
But Net Impact is just one job board. It is helpful to the extent you land on the Net Impact site before you can take advantage of the impact opportunity. For many, the traditional job boards and, increasingly, LinkedIn become primary avenues to figure out how they want to chart their careers. That is where we need the same impact distinctions.
Accounting for Impact: Onus on the Employers
Employers can shift the tide as well. I encourage them to consider the impact their jobs offer -- to include specific language in their job descriptions as well as an impact section on their jobs boards. And especially to make the distinction between Tier 1 and Tier 2, because that is where organizations continue to lose committed and talented candidates.
As more job seekers connect impact, meaning and financial rewards in their career search, it will be up to hiring organizations to continually make the case that they are an employer of choice.
Image by GreenBiz Group.
