KEY POINTS:
When it comes to going to work, many people actively choose a vocation instead of following the money. Deciding to put their energies into helping or working with people less fortunate than themselves can have less material rewards.
And there are plenty of opportunities in the not-for-profit sector, as James Widgery knows. He gave up a well-paid corporate sales and marketing job at Fletcher Building to join Christian-based charity World Vision.
He says that one day in 2004 he woke up and thought; "Hey, what is it that's going to really count?".
To help him find out he took off for a few weeks to free himself from the daily routine and give his career and future some thought.
"I just went off overseas with the blessing of my wife and had a look at some of the poverty that was going on around the world," says Widgery.
"I came back and through a series of circumstances happened to come across World Vision." He says he was "surprised" by how professional the organisation is.
"I didn't realise that from the outside. But the skills inside are top class in terms of the business environment. So anyone who thinks they're coming into a sandal-wearing kind of backwater needs to think again because the skills at World Vision are incredibly professional," he says.
"And that's partly because we're accountable for donor funds - you have to be better than good.
"When we spend a cent on anything we have to know that it's getting a great payback. So I think for someone coming in here one of the keys is that they can actually develop their career, and its a good notch to have in their belt of doing time in a not-for-profit."
New Zealand's World Vision operation plays a part in more than 100 countries. Its work covers relief and disaster mitigation as well as development work. "Relief work can come into play after a tsunami or an earthquake or something like that, where there's an immediate need," he says.
"Development covers long-term work of 15 to 18 years in a community. We help people get on their feet so we can one day shake their hands and leave them to carry on with the work."
World Vision is on a recruitment drive. But being a Christian-based organisation, does that mean it looks at people's faith before their skills and experience?
"World Vision will take people regardless of race, religion or gender," says Widgery. "When we recruit we're looking for a values alignment. But there are people in this organisation who have different faiths or would say that they didn't have a faith.
"But there would be a lot of people [here] who would align very closely on a faith basis.
"But then, even inside faith, you can go from a Catholic to a raving Pentecostal - there's huge differences in how they live out that faith."
He says the charity, which this year brought in $56 million in donations, is looking for sales and marketing people.
"We need a lot of people out there at the frontline talking to people, telling them about how they can make a difference, how they can impact their world," says Widgery.
"We need fundraisers and managers, as well as people who will work with corporates and executives as well.
"So right across the spectrum from frontline street-stoppers right up to dealing with large companies and people who donate large sums of money."
Widgery also says the charity is looking for people to work in its communications and marketing departments as well as back office staff.
"We have about 105 full-time staff, and of course there's always comings and goings in there."
One of the issues the charity faces, like most not-for-profit organisations, is that their salaries can often be below the going commercial rate. Widgery admits it is a problem when it comes to recruitment.
But he says getting involved in organisations such as World Vision is often done on a personal values base, rather than salary based.
"We're paying good money, but people can probably - if they wanted to - find better money out there in the commercial sector," he says.
"So they've really got to want to come here because they want to make a difference with their lives."
Widgery says the charity is expanding, having grown 20 per cent in the past five years. "It's really been a time of massive growth for us and now we need great people."
* Contact Steve Hart via his website at: www.stevehart.co.nz
