As new social and environmental challenges tear apart communities, we need dedicated individuals at the forefront of the healing efforts, making change and designing creative solutions.
The many pathways to purposeful social impact careers can be daunting to consider at the outset. If you’re a student at Kroc School of Peace Studies, and you’re interested in practical ways to develop your career as a peacemaker, our Pursuing Purpose workshop will guide you toward tangible career goals, give you tools for enhancing your effectiveness, and build your confidence in pursuing social impact careers.
Why Social Impact?
Social impact is a term for any effort that creates positive social change in global or local communities. Social impact careers can range across many fields, from making innovations in environmental sustainability to transforming communities through education. These jobs are known as “impact-first” because they place the greatest emphasis on sowing change and meeting societal needs.
Impact-first jobs carry an abundance of practical and personal benefits, including:
- Personal Fulfillment and Satisfaction: Making progress in impact-first fields leads to better job fulfillment immediately and over time.
- Alignment with Personal Values: Pursuing the change you want to see through your career allows you to merge your personal values and professional life.
- Professional Development: Whether you choose to create a career around social impact, working in an impact-first job builds important transferable skills for any profession.
- Community and Network Building: Get a taste of the authentic communities and strong networks formed through impact-first careers in meaningful fields.
- Increased Resilience and Leadership Opportunities: The demands of a job in social impact can be the perfect chance to explore your leadership skills and build strength and resourcefulness.
- Global Perspective: Impact-first careers place you in diverse situations and allow you to experience different perspectives to your own.
Diverse Career Paths: Committing to a career with a positive impact can look like pursuing your passion and using your talents for good. There are many different types of impact-first organizations and social impact jobs to pursue, including human rights, sustainable design, psychology, entrepreneurship, clean energy, medicine, education and many more.
Preparing For a Career in Social Impact: The Pursuing Purpose Workshop
Over 5 modules, the Pursuing Purpose workshop is perfect for any Kroc School student looking for guidance in their career journey. If you’re on the road to a job in social impact, we have the necessary know-how to prepare you mentally and professionally for making a difference where it matters.
The workshop will focus on cultivating clarity, foundational competencies and confidence for your next steps.
Workshop Details
Over five modules, the workshop addresses several areas of preparation and guidance for impact-first careers. The agenda and learning objectives include:
Day 1: Exploring the Landscape of Social Impact Careers
- The importance of understanding social impact career pathways
- Exploring your inner landscape
Day 2: Building Your Pathway Beyond Kroc
- Learn the different types of problems and how to better define a problem to frame/reframe an idea on solutions
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Module 1 Design Thinking to Design Your Life |
Students learn the methodology and framework for solving the wicked problems of the world and 'designing one’s life' |
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Module 2 Mapping the Inner Landscape |
Students better understand their own point of view, become clear on their values and principles and identify what drives them to find impact-first careers. |
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Module 3 Framing Reframing Problems |
Students are able to step back and look at the big picture and ask: am I defining the problem in the right way or do I need to reframe?Students also ideate around their problem and start to build their way to a solution. |
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Module 4 Odyssey Planning & Prototyping |
Students create action plans and map out their experiential learning |
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Module 5 Decision Making |
Students learn how to be comfortable with narrowing down their options, making a decision and letting go of regret. |
Workshop Requirements
Prior to the first workshop session, students should read the first two chapters of The New Reason to Work by Roshan Paul and Ilaina Rabbat. The book uncovers six essential strategies to build your dream career in social impact. Paul and Rabbat use a unique and engaging narrative to “align your life's mission with job opportunities, master the skills in demand for social impact, sustain yourself in growing an impactful career over a lifetime.”
Before the workshop, interested Kroc School Students should register for the workshop and consider the following discussion questions from the reading:
- What do the authors define as an “impact-first” job?
- Were any of the types of impact-first organizations new to you? Why might you have not heard of them before?
- Identify three types of impact-first organizations that most interest you given your background and professional interests. Then do the exercise to answer the 6 critical questions to narrow down your opportunities.
Leading the Pursuing Purpose Initiative: Q&A with Bianca Morales
Meet Bianca Morales, a leading force behind the Pursuing Purpose workshop and Associate Director of Student Success & Career Development at Kroc School of Peace Studies.
Q: What inspired the creation of the Pursuing Purpose workshop?
As Kroc School career counselors, we would often hear, “I am about to graduate with a Master’s degree in Peace and Justice, what’s next?” Students were finding themselves stuck in one-track plans, not considering the breadth of opportunities in social impact careers, never mind how to pursue them. They were waiting until the last few months of their studies before thinking about their next professional pathway.
As a result of this ambiguity and uncertainty, we created Pursuing Purpose, a comprehensive curriculum designed to empower students with clarity, competence, and confidence as they navigate their post-graduate journey.
Q: How do you believe the Pursuing Purpose workshop uniquely prepares students for social impact careers, compared to other programs?
Pursuing Purpose provides students the space, time, and framework to design their life and professional pathways following graduate school. This curriculum is uniquely designed to bring graduate students through a process of self-discovery, problem-solving, life planning, prototyping, and decision-making. It does not simply focus on the basics of job searching, resume building, and interviewing skills. Instead, it delves deeper into exploring one's identity, actions, and values, fostering greater alignment among these essential facets of life. Our ultimate aim isn't merely securing a job; it's cultivating a fulfilling life marked by happiness and well-being.
Q: What’s one takeaway from the workshop that you hope students leave with?
“I understand that life is a journey, with many different pathways and I have gained a greater sense of clarity into which pathways I want to pursue, that will bring a sense of purpose and well-being in my life.”
Q: Looking to the future, how do you see the Pursuing Purpose workshop evolving to meet the changing demands of social impact careers?
Grounded in design thinking principles, it extends beyond addressing global social issues to tackling the intricate task of shaping one's own life journey. Whether navigating personal growth or addressing broader societal challenges, Pursuing Purpose empowers individuals to approach life's complexities with creativity and purpose. So, while the problems of the world are constantly evolving, Pursuing Purpose will evolve along with it.
The Pursuing Purpose Workshop: A Step Towards Your Social Impact Career
The Pursuing Purpose workshop is a small piece of the larger vision of the Kroc School of Peace Studies, to empower students from all walks of life to shape more peaceful and just societies.
Register now for the workshop to take the next step toward your social impact career. Sign Up
Interested in a one-on-one guidance session with a social impact professional? Schedule your meeting with Bianca today.
Learn more about the Kroc School and our mission to advance peace on a global scale.
