Role

One lens through which to view your career.

A role is a job category or function that relies on a specific set of skills within an organization.

People who enter public service careers through the lens of role focus initially on what professional part they want to play, based on their areas of expertise.

For example volunteer resources administrators look for opportunities to recruit and manage volunteers within a range of organizations. Grant writers seek out ways to develop an organization's resources through grants.

The next steps for a person entering public service work through the lens of "role" are to identify:

• Organizations that are looking for people to execute duties associated with their role
• System(s) they prefer to work within
• Issue(s) about which to develop specialized expertise

Professional associations often focus on specific roles, such as the Public Relations Society of America, American Marketing Association, and Association of Fundraising Professionals. Professional associations offer local and national meetings for networking, training, and sometimes even certification.

Examples of "role":

• Capacity Building
• Organizing
• Teaching in a K-12 classroom
• Volunteer Resources Administration
• Many professional masters degrees in public service fields focus on roles that people can play. Check out the Idealist.org graduate degree overviews to learn more.
• Check out Career Opportunities in the Nonprofit Sector by Jennifer Bobrow Burns for 70 examples of nonprofit job titles, position descriptions, salary ranges, and resources to learn more.

• BACK to the five lenses.