After progressing with your career for many years, you decide that your next job will be with a not-for-profit organization (NPO). You’re excited about contributing to society, and are looking forward to a positive change. What can you expect? How can you translate your “business” skills into this new sector?

First, there is the question of timing: is now the right time to move? Many years ago, I had met a successful executive who shared an interesting philosophy: First you learn, then you earn, then you return. I understood this concept to mean that the better your education (formal and informal), the more that you could earn. The more you earned, the greater you could later return to society. If you stopped your learning too soon, you would not maximize your earnings. And if you stopped your “earning” too soon, you couldn’t maximize what you returned to the world. If you buy into this philosophy, then the question of timing becomes relatively important.

Remember that there are multiple paths to the same goal. On one hand, you may be able to move directly into a junior or middle-management position at an NPO, and then slowly grow to a more senior role. Or, you may be able to grow more quickly within your current role (or functional expertise), and then “transfer in” to a senior NPO role directly. Once again, timing and order of operations must be considered.

Let’s make the assumption that you’ve decided that the timing is right, and that you do want to make the change right now.

The second major issue is why an NPO? And why a particular NPO? Maybe you enjoy the time you spend doing volunteer work in the community, and so you decide on doing it on a full-time basis. If this is how you came to your decision – no problem. Just make sure that you do the same due diligence on your prospective NPO employer, as you would do on any other organization.

Depending on the role that you are seeking, some of your experience will be transferable, and some will not. For example, fundraisers play an important role within NPOs. Yet does this role have an analog in the for-profit world? The answer is “somewhat”: sales executives, for example, have some of the required experience. But most sales executives are used to selling a tangible product, not a less-tangible set of goals. If your skills are in marketing, finance, or operations, these skills might be a bit more transferable, but don’t kid yourself. What is your experience dealing with miniscule marketing budgets? How about volunteers – instead of employees? And financial systems that aren’t quite as up-to-date as what you’re used to? Under the covers, there are many differences between an NPO and a commercial business:

Non-financial Objectives Are Primary: You’re likely used to a system that focuses on the bottom line. Are you prepared for organizational performance being ranked primarily by non-financial objectives? What impact would this change have on your personal motivation?

Stakeholder Differences: In the corporate setting, the number one stakeholder groups are usually defined to be customers, then variously shareholders, employees, and then perhaps others. We tend to value “focus,” spend most of our time with one or two of these groups, and keep the rest on maintenance mode. NPO weightings are skewed differently, often with the community, regulators, and special interest groups nearing the very top of the list and having real weight. Even if you are hired because of your sharp business sense, to be successful you must be able to successfully juggle this very different set of stakeholders.

Sense of Urgency: Most organizations understand the importance of speed, from the impact of a faster product development cycle on costs, to the impact that faster customer service has on customer retention. In many NPOs, a sense of urgency does not exist to the same extent as in the corporate world. And in some NPOs, attributes such as speed rank far behind attributes such as equity, need, or public accountability.

Personnel Policies: Staff retention and longevity are usually very high for non-profits, regulators, and associations, often because the jobs tend not to be pressured the way corporate jobs are. Unfortunately, in some non-profits, retention is high because there are often poor (or non-existent) personnel policies and practices. Managing volunteers adds another interesting dimension.

When you consider it, in fact, the differences are quite considerable! What can you do to improve your chances of success – and be more effective for the organization at the same time? Here are some ideas:

1) Recognize that to fully leverage your skills, it is possible that your next “full time” role should NOT be at an NPO. For example, if you are looking at an Executive Director position, but have never interacted at the board level in a volunteer capacity, you will likely not be as effective compared to someone who does have that experience. No matter the role you seek, getting some experience first also helps you understand how the “business” of a NPO works: the interplay between service delivery, fundraising, governance, etc. Start getting that volunteer experience immediately by looking for committee and board roles.

2) Industry knowledge: If you are interested in a health-related NPO (eg Hospital, Cancer Society, etc), and your industry experience is in another field, craft a plan to learn the industry. This can be done by volunteering within your chosen NPO “Industry”, talking to people within the field, and doing library and internet research.

3) Be realistic with respect to compensation and promotion. Generally speaking, people who work in the industry are motivated by factors beyond just their personal compensation. Is a fat bonus important to you? Will you be satisfied if you do a great job, but you don’t get a raise, nor a promotion?

4) Is it possible to do a test drive? Can you “try out” a position, with no compensation, for a period of time? This might mean weekend and evening work, or it might be for a particular project; doing so will help you get a better understanding of the organization. Fortunately, it is very easy to “test drive” a role in an NPO: it’s called volunteering.

One of most useful tools for those considering a job change is a Gap Analysis. (Leaving The Mother Ship includes a detailed Gap Analysis Worksheet for this purpose). Whether you use this one, or devise one of your own, the goal is to assess the difference between your current job and your new one, on as many different dimensions as you can. Some of these dimensions include industry, size of organization, and scope of responsibility. Once these gaps are identified, it is a relatively simple matter to devise a plan to close them – and lower your risk when you finally make the change.

(Adapted from an article published at http://www.LeavingTheMotherShip.com.)

Randall M. Craig is a management consultant, former senior executive, and author of Leaving The Mother Ship, a book about managing your career. More information, as well as additional career planning tools, are available on his book’s web site at http://www.LeavingTheMotherShip.com.