Hadass Sheffer
President and Co-Founder
The Graduate! Network, Inc.
The Graduate! Network, Inc.
President and Co-Founder
I lead a national organization that builds and supports community programs for adults to go back to and through college.
I talk with people who are interested in finding ways to support adults who had to stop out of college and now want to go back and finish. My days include fundraising, leading and applying strategy, managing the organization & technical tasks, I learn from my field and others, connecting with ideas and people, mentoring and overseeing, lots of reading and listening, figuring out solutions, creating plans and executing them. People and details matter, even when you're at the "top".
Here's the first step for everyone
Learn lots of varied skills: understand budgets and financial constraints, learn to create websites and outreach materials, expand your social and professional connections, prove you can finish what you start, polish your writing skills!!!! Seek organizations that value you and your time (I hate unpaid or low-paid internships). Offer to help: lead with how you can help the organization or society, and respect that non-profits want staff stability and growth, not job-hoppers.
""If you want a real career, get a real degree, not in Linguistics..." "That's never been done..." "You don't have a PhD, who will hire you?""