Embracing the Chaos: Tales from the Job Search of a Recent Nonprofit Leadership (NPL) Graduate, by: Emily Sutcliffe, NPL Alumnus Class of 2011

Last year, as graduation neared, I was anxious to see how my post-NPL career path (and life in general) would unfold. With varied interests and undetermined goals, I had concerns that my amorphousness would make it difficult to find a fulfilling position. I also worried about how my beloved, yet somewhat unconventional new skillset would translate in the prodigiously competitive job market.

Just prior to graduation I was approached about an AmeriCorps position that had become unexpectedly available midway through the service year. The opportunity would allow me to work directly in refugee resettlement, one of my areas of interest, and would also enable me to hone my Arabic language skills. Though this opportunity was missing one minor component – a paycheck! – it felt like something I needed to do. Accepting a position like that would only lead to more uncertainty, but it was a wave of chaos I felt compelled to ride.  

Within my first week at the refugee resettlement nonprofit, I facilitated an organization-wide strategic planning exercise aimed at bringing employees out of their departmental silos while gaining a better understanding of the clients’ multifaceted needs. Implementing the skills acquired from NPL proved to be seamless. I quickly recognized how useful and sought-after the NPL frame was in my new workplace. My supervisor would regularly consult with me on “big picture” ideas that were generally far beyond the purview of the role I had filled. On a daily basis I was also aware of how my NPL experiences had impacted the way I interacted with my clients. While many of my clients were facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, I focused on ways in which they could engage in acts of leadership and did my best to co-create a space of mutual enrichment. 

As my AmeriCorps journey came to an end I applied for several jobs and went to a few interviews. There was the one that involved schlepping through Manhattan during a hurricane in a new suit and heels, only to then try and present myself as an impassioned expert in transportation policy. I wasn’t particularly successful in even transporting myself to the interview, much less was I interested in a career in transportation. There was the time I watched an Executive Director’s eyes glaze over as I spoke about principles of abundance. I’m pretty certain she mumbled “crazy hippie” under her breath as she escorted me to the elevator. And, there was also a time when I jumped successfully through several hoops and came very close to getting a job I really thought I wanted/needed. That one stung.

At some point I realized that I had been going about things all wrong. I had been thinking that my ambiguous career goals meant I should apply to anything that might ultimately make me “successful”. I had lost sight of the reality that my success was not something I could manufacture based on a preset formula; it was something that would manifest organically when I was doing things I genuinely cared about. I decided to try a novel strategy – I would only apply for positions that actually interested me, ha!

Things changed almost immediately once I decided to “get real”. I saw a job posting for a position at Penn Law’s Toll Public Interest Center (TPIC) that I was extremely interested in. Unknown to me, one of my refugee resettlement colleagues from the legal department had very close ties to TPIC and highly recommended me to the Executive Director. Within a couple days I was at an interview. Instead of wearing the kind of suit that always makes me feel like I am literally taking on another person’s identity, I went dressed in something that I was comfortable in - something that reflected my personality. At the interview I didn’t try to tone down or amp up my NPL lingo, I didn’t try to cater to what I thought my interviewers wanted to hear, I simply presented them with the real me. A few days later I was offered the position.

I’ve been at TPIC for six months now and it has been the best six months of my professional life. Although many of the applicants for my position held a J.D. and had really impressive backgrounds, the Executive Director has reminded me on several occasions that I was selected because of the unique perspectives and skillsets I acquired in NPL. I currently oversee the law school’s pro bono program. This involves heavy interaction with the 24 law student-run pro bono projects, some of which are nonprofits on their own, the rest of which work within existing nonprofits. It is because of my NPL experiences that I am able to be an asset to the amazing public service work Penn Law students are engaging in. Instead of feeling at a deficit as a non-lawyer in a law school, I feel uniquely equipped to enrich the programs I am involved with.

NPL themes weave their way throughout the work I do on a daily basis and catalyze many of my new ideas. I am profoundly fortunate to have landed in a space where these themes are not only understood, but are welcomed and valued. And so, for all the times people have rolled their eyes when I talked about applied theories of abundance, I now work in a place that embraces these concepts so sincerely that my recommendation for this year’s Penn Law Public Interest Week theme was the one selected - Abundant Justice: Leveraging Our Collective Resources for Maximum Impact.

Finally, to those of you who may be concerned about how you will fare in the job market post-NPL - from the words of Dr. Kenwyn Smith, I encourage you to embrace the chaos. We NPLers are a rare and awesomely equipped bunch. While not all employers may fully understand our value, we have kindred spirits in those who do – and there are many who do. Be confident that there is wisdom in the path set before you and hang on for the ride. The NPL program was a remarkable experience for each of us and I have absolutely no doubt that we will all do (and are already doing) amazing things as we bring our distinctive resources to appreciative organizations.

By:  Emily Sutcliffe, NPL Alumnus Class of 2011