When I was a young singleton working for a large PR agency in New York, I was always jealous of my married colleagues who would leave the office “early” (that’s 6pm in the PR agency world) to pick up children from daycare or relieve nannies. The rest of us worker bees would work until about 8 or 9 at night. We’d often slag on the offending managing director behind her back. What made her so special that she could leave early while those of us who “really” did the work toiled in the trenches for mere bread, water and the occasional faint praise for an awesome media placement in the New York Times that she could never get? Screw her!

Now as a working mother looking back, I have a whole new perspective on these “slacker” mothers. What I now know in retrospect, is they had mastered the art of ruthlessly managing their time at work so they could leave to get their kids on time (and avoid nanny overtime or those outrageous day care late pick-up charges.) I now recall all of the emails I’d receive after 10pm from these colleagues/supermoms, who fired up their laptops after the kids were in bed and the house was quiet.

How did they do it? How did they manage to leave on time nearly every day and still stay on top of their busy careers? I have a hunch:

Get in early. I noticed many of these women got into the office as early as 7:30am to catch up on reading and get organized for the day.

Minimize the number of meetings you attend in any one day. Honestly, I die a little bit each time I attend a meeting. I hate meetings and avoid having to attend one unless it’s absolutely necessary. Turns out this is not a bad strategy. Too many meetings are scheduled without a clear purpose or desired outcome. I noticed that the PR executives I worked with carefully questioned the agenda and whether their presence was truly necessary to advance the issue. Alternatively, they did stand up meetings where issues were discussed and decided in the moment.

Discourage drive-bys from Chatty Cathys. They also firmly discouraged the social butterflies of the office from dropping in and sucking precious work time. Yes, it’s sooo exciting that the final installment of Twilight is coming out in November and Jacob is looking pretty hot these days but do you have to dish on the last three movies blow by blow? For sure a little bit of chit chat greases the social wheels in an office but too much mauls your schedule and will leave you playing catch up.

Pick up the damn phone, already. Ever notice how something that should be relatively easy to solve turns into an email thread the length of a Russian novel?  Think about it. You send an email. You receive a reply with questions of clarification. You reply. More questions are asked in the reply to your reply. Rinse and repeat for infinity.  Always do an office drive-by or pick up the phone and call for something that can be easily resolved with human contact. Bonus, your colleagues will be shocked to actually hear their phone ring. Now, if you are trying to create documentation to CYA, well that’s a different story.

Get out of e-mail hell. I’m in it. You’re in it. We’re all in it. I’ve got 350 unopened messages in my in box right now. I noticed the PR executives I worked with never answered all of their email right away unless it was from a client. Back in my agency days, I could always count on an email from Gina around 4pm. Turns out, this is when she scheduled to review and respond to non-urgent emails. Responding to every ping and ding all day long will ensure you get nothing done. Think of it this way, if someone needs you bad enough, they’ll track you down.

Stop competing to be Hoarder of the Year. A cluttered office is a sign of a cluttered mind. I noticed the working moms at the agency had unbelievably clean desks. Files were in place. In-boxes were clear.  There were no random rat-piles of papers stacked high hoarder-style. Nothing is a bigger waste of time than re-printing the same document 50 times because you keep losing it (I’m guilty!), it’s also not environmentally friendly. While we’re at it, you don’t need to keep every trinket you ever got from a trade show or conference. Besides,  inhaling the fumes from all that BPA-filled plastic can’t be good for you.

If I could go back in time, I’d apologize to all the women that I made nasty comments about (or thought anyway) when I was young and foolish. Being a working mother at the top of an organization is hard work and it takes phenomenal energy and focus to get as much out of an eight to ten hour day as possible only to then go home and take on the responsibilities of a full-time parent and spouse. I’m eating some humble-pie as I, now a mother to a toddler, strive to keep myself organized and on my game during the day.   What do you think? How do you manage work-day time sucks?

Whenever I tell people I work for a non-profit organization, I always get a wistful look followed by a statement like, “Gee, I’d love to quit my job and work for a non-profit.” I don’t know why but somewhere along the way, working for a non-profit became synonymous with fulfillment. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and am incredibly fulfilled by it – much more so than the big PR agency jobs I held prior. But I love my job because it’s well-matched with my values and my personal vision for my life. The fact that the company I work for is a non-profit with a mission I strongly believe in is an added bonus but not the reason I work there.

I do a lot of informational interviews with job seekers who are either switching careers, have been laid off from their previous jobs or both. Many of these people spent their entire careers in the private sector and are disillusioned by Corporate America. They often believe that working for a organization that is mission-focused rather than profit- motivated will give them a deeper sense of contribution and fulfillment.

Working for a non-profit organization can indeed be a wonderful career move… if you are doing it for the right reasons. But you are setting yourself up  for disappointment if you believe any of the following:

You think you’ll have more work/life balance than in your corporate job. Not necessarily. Many non-profits are staffed very lean and their executives and senior managers work their butts off. They also have the pressure of  worrying about the operations of their organization and constantly fundraising for their budgets.  Added to that, many staff at non-profits wear multiple hats.   I coach many non-profit executives who struggle with workaholism and work/life balance issues.

Reality Check: Volunteering will give you a first hand feel for how a non-profit runs, particularly if you get involved in a way that allows you to observe the day-to-day operations of the organization. See what challenges the staff are experiencing on a daily basis. Observe how they manage resources (or a lack thereof). You’ll get an important window into what keeps non-profit executives up at night.

You think you won’t have to work with assholes anymore. Sorry, just because you are working for a non-profit doesn’t mean your colleagues will be saints. Non-profits are as prone to politics,  crappy managers and dysfunction as any other organization.

Reality Check: Spend some time talking to both executives and front line staff of the organizations you are interested in so you get a real feel for the people and the organizational culture.

You think all non-profits are charities. When people think of non-profits they often think of charities such as food banks or homeless shelters. But foundations, hospital systems, think tanks, industry associations just to name a few are all non-profits and many operate and have organizational cultures that are similar to those found in the private sector. The meta-message here is that without doing your homework, you could end up working in a culture similar to what you were trying to leave behind.

Reality Check: Get clear about what kind of organization you are really interested in. Pursue internships and volunteer opportunities that will give you broad exposure to different non-profits. Many communities now run volunteer centers that match volunteers with non-profit organizations in need of help. Network with friends and colleagues who serve on non-profit boards to get you connected.

You think it will be easier to get a job in the non-profit sector. Not true. Non-profits can be just as competitive and choosy about talent as their private sector counterparts. In fact, because the job market is so flooded with jobseekers, they too are overwhelmed with applicants.  They are looking for leaders with relevant experience, standout leadership skills and most importantly the ability to bring in money and  leverage relationships and specific operational expertise.

Reality Check: Interview staff  and find out what kind of people they are looking for while taking hard look at  your own interests and skill sets.

You want to “give back”. I hear this one  a lot. It usually goes something like, “I’ve been doing XYZ long enough and I just think it’s time for me to give back.” Really? Unless you are independently wealthy, no it’s not time. Too often people engage in magical thinking when it comes to working for a non-profit. They idealize the mission and the staff. Many (not all) non-profit jobs pay far below the private sector.  This is often the biggest shock for corporate refugees.  Now, there’s nothing wrong in working for a lower salary for something you truly believe in. But go into the job with eyes wide open. Really understand the day in and day out realities of your prospective non-profit employer and don’t romanticize the work it does.

Reality Check: Think carefully about your motivations for working for a non-profit. Are you running away from your old career or running to an opportunity you’ve created through careful introspection, research and relationship building? You can always ”give back” by volunteering.

Lest you think I am a complete cynic, I am not. At the heart of the issue for most job seekers is a need to find work that connects deeply with their values and the core of their being. And you should want those things. We spend far too much of our lives at work to do a job that leaves us feeling hollowed out. We all deserve to fulfill our true calling whatever that may be. At the end of the day though”non-profit” is just a tax status. The career you seek will only be satisfying if you do the deep hard work of uncovering your passions, thinking about your values and understanding yourself enough to know what makes you happy in a profound and meaningful way. If after you’ve done that work you still want to work for a non-profit, I say go for it and I’ll be happy to share my insights with you – just drop me a line.  What do you think? If you are thinking of  making a career change to work for a non-profit, what is motivating you? If you already work for a non-profit, am I off base? What insights would you add?