3 tips for breaking through a challenging US development jobs market

While the global development job market in the United States has taken a significant hit since the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid sent the sector reeling, options remain for purpose-driven job seekers. It may require self-reflection and new mindsets, but social impact professionals are far from helpless, as a panel of sector and career experts made clear during a recent Devex digital event. “The place where I find a lot of hope right now is really seeing a lot of people really take ownership of their skills,” which includes finding a range of opportunities in the consulting space, said Radhika Bhatt, a climate and social impact career coach. Amid a challenging recruitment landscape in the development sector, Bhatt was joined by Dan Perez, director for North America at SRI Executive, and social impact job-hunting coach Stephanie Mansueto to help development professionals make sense of the current U.S. job market and potential paths worth considering. Here are a few key takeaways from our discussion. Beyond the big names There are job opportunities that are not on many professionals’ radar because they come from lesser-known organizations, both within and outside the traditional development sector. “For every well-known organization, there’s going to be nine to 10 organizations that people don’t know about,” Perez said. Uncovering these organizations and job openings requires research and effective networking, as many of them do not post on mainstream job boards as often as household names such as the Gates Foundation and United Nations entities, Perez added. The panel offered several techniques for identifying relevant organizations during the research process. Bhatt explained what she called a “market map” exercise, which she uses with her coaching clients. This includes starting with well-known agencies and finding out which organizations they work with by simply browsing their websites and blog posts. Mansueto also recommended using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to discover new potential employers. The more specific you are in your chat prompt, the better. “Specify the staff number, or the revenue amount — a small organization might have $5 million in revenue — and then you could say, ‘provide a list of 30 organizations or companies that are funded by the Gates Foundation through 2028,’” Mansueto said. ’ Connect your work to business development The panel discussed recent job market trends, including the rise in demand for U.S.-based roles in funding and business development. A recent Devex job board analysis found that funding roles posted over the first nine months of the year have risen by about 149%, which is in stark contrast to the declines seen in most other development spaces. “I think it makes a lot of sense, with so many funding structures that have changed, nonprofits that have lost funding, and organizations that are changing their funding structures as well,” Bhatt said. “If your work is connected to that, or you’ve done anything in that space, I would say, play that up in your applications and see if you can explore that further in terms of job opportunities.” Even if your previous experience isn’t directly connected to business development work, there still may be ways to convey your strongest skills from a funding perspective in your application materials. Whether you’re a communications professional or have strong data analysis experience, remember that it “actually requires quite a few skills to be able to communicate and access new funders or donors and build new pipelines,” Bhatt said. Rethink your approach to networking Many job seekers find networking stressful, in part because of the pressure to walk away from a conversation with a solid job lead. But this is not how effective networking actually works, Perez said, so removing that expectation from the start may put you in a better headspace. “You never have to go into networking to ask for a job. If you’re talking with folks about career options, they will let you know if they have jobs available,” Perez said, adding that the main thing you are trying to gain from a networking conversation is information. This information could still be valuable to your short-term job search, even if the information you come away with is that a job opportunity you thought was still open actually isn’t, Mansueto said. But much of the value that comes from networking takes time to emerge, Mansueto added, which is why “you want to maintain those contacts even after your conversation.” This is where platforms such as LinkedIn can be invaluable, as simple yet purposeful messages and comments can keep you on the radar for when a position eventually does open up.