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Hi Candice - I can speak from my personal experience as i worked for4 years in the IT sector and decided to make the transition to the non-profit sector, which i've been involved in for the past7 years. A switch to the NGO sector is harder if one comes from an IT background as opposed to someone whose educational background is in social sciences or humanities. In may case, i decided to research and support local NGOs by volunteering for causes that interested me. For example - supporting a local school by teaching on weekends, taking up renovation work in the2004 tsunami affected regions, offering computer classes to school children.
Volunteering is a good start, as you not only contribute your skills towards a meaningful cause, but it also connects you with like minded people and NGOs. In other words, volunteering is an effective way of building your network in the NGO sector and to get a first hand experience of working with an NGO.
Depending on your educational and professional background, i would recommend researching and reading on literature related to the non-profit sector as there are many fields that non-profits are engaged in. This helps you decide what you're passionate about and identfy which sector you'd like to specialise in. I was inspired to work with Youth and hence decided to work for an NGO that specialsed in Youth exchange programs with a focus on Intercultural Learning.
And finally, it comes down to the choice of the NGO - i felt that i'd be able to make a significant change in a start-up NGO as they are short on resources as opposed to a well funded reputed NGO. In hindsight, i felt i made the right decision.
Apart from volunteering which is a very important aspect when switching to this field, it will be very nice to also enroll for some courses related to the desired roles you are intending to apply for.
You can also do research of the NGO's close to you and get to hear from them what kind of services they need.
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