Job Hunting 101

Part III of a Multipart Series

Hello world! It’s Sarah and Grace here, the BHI Associates. We offered to give Lauren a quick break from career blogging to share some tactical tips on how to go from daydreaming about that cool impact investing job, to actually getting it. People enter impact investing from a variety of backgrounds — from traditional finance and consulting, to startups, to development orgs or non-profits. So, in our next two posts, we’re going to start from scratch and coach you through the basics of the job hunt.

Today’s focus: how to start your search.

Step One: Explore the landscape, pick a destination

After a few Google searches, you’ll quickly realize that “impact investing” as a term is over-used and under-defined. It can mean everything from big banks doing negative screens, to venture capitalists investing in the developing world, to foundations granting capital to social enterprises. Saying you want to get into impact investing is akin to saying you want a glass of white wine — if you want to be taken seriously, you first need to do a bit of tasting, and decide if you’re looking for a sauvignon blanc or a chardonnay.

As Lauren mentioned in her first post, the GIIN is a great place to start understanding the landscape of investors. It can be overwhelming to differentiate between them if you are new to the industry, so we recommend thinking through a few defining dimensions and evaluating where you interest lies. Here are some basic questions to consider when looking at an investor:

· Organization type: Where is the money coming from? Is the organization a fund? A group of donors? A family office? A foundation? The source of capital has significant implications for how the investing plays out. For example, in a single-family office like BHI, we can often be quicker and nimbler in our investment approach than our larger institutional co-investors who must balance requirements of multiple stakeholders.

· Returns: What is the target return on the capital being invested? The returns expectations will dictate the type of work you do and the type of investments you make. Impact capital spans from philanthropic to commercial. Both ends of the spectrum have a role to play– for instance, concessionary capital often de-risks seed stage ventures before commercial capital can come in to fuel growth.

· Impact focus: What kind of impact is the investor targeting? Many funds raise capital on the premise of impacting a certain population (e.g. female founders, people living below the poverty line) or driving towards a specific outcome (e.g. reduced carbon emissions, higher literacy levels). Others adopt a looser definition, or screen out companies unaligned with stated ESG goals.

· Asset classes & Stage: What types of securities does the organization invest in? Some impact investors, like VCs or private equity firms, interface directly with companies, while others invest through fund managers or public markets. Even within direct investing, investors can focus more heavily on debt, equity or something in between. Companies face unique challenges at each stage of growth and therefore require different types of post-investment support — seed stage ventures may be proving out unit economics, whereas growth stage companies may be working through market expansion strategies.

· Geographic focus: Where are most investments located? Impact investing is often associated with emerging markets, but there are plenty of investors focused on developed economies as well. The geographic focus of an organization has implications for the travel schedule of its investment team, so this is important to understand before applying to a position.

· Industry focus: What industries does this organization invest in? Developing an industry focus allows investors to more efficiently source deals and provide deeper post-investment support capabilities. If you already have a background in an industry, this could be a good entry point for a discussion with a relevant investor.

Step Two: Find your fit

As Lauren mentioned in her first post, most impact investors do work beyond the pure financial analysis involved with the job — from post investment support, to impact measurement and field-building, an ecosystem of complementary teams surround the core investment work. Here is a quick overview of the major teams in a typical impact investing organization:

· Investment team — The finance brains. They source, diligence and execute deals. Great fit for people coming out of traditional finance or investing backgrounds who aren’t afraid to dive into spreadsheets and analysis.

· Post investment team — The strategic supporters. They support companies after an investment has been made. They might connect companies with resources, troubleshoot key business challenges, or advise management teams. Strong fit for people with a startup or a consulting background who value direct involvement with companies.

· Impact measurement — The impact accountants. They assess the impact of investments. Since each org adopts a different evaluation methodology, this is more creative than your conventional reporting job. Great fit for data-minded individuals with experience in an impact-driven organization or non-profit.

· Fund back-office — The gatekeepers. They are the finance, legal and operations teams that flag risks, structure deals and ensure money gets transferred smoothly. At BHI, we work with partners for our legal and accounting work, and we have our own in-house ops team. Great role for people with formal training in accounting or law.

· Field-building & leadership — The movement builders. They advance the field of impact investing by sharing learnings, convening stakeholders and educating asset owners about how to deploy capital for impact. Perfect fit for marketing, networking, or communications backgrounds.

Not every investing organization has all of these functions — and in fact, some of these roles exist as standalone organizations that work alongside investors. We work with Rippleworks for instance, to facilitate high-caliber post-investment work, and with RPCK for legal advising.

Step Three: Build your network

Once you have your sights set on a few organizations, it is time to meet people! Don’t fret if you don’t already have a network to call on– there are some easy ways to get in some facetime:

· Donate your time — Volunteer to support the work of impact investing organizations, particularly non-profits. Taking a leadership role in grassroots impact investing groups, like + Acumen, can be a great way to eventually get a career (Acumen has hired quite a few + Acumen alums as employees!). If your current employer will allow you to take an externship, secondment or sabbatical, those temporary positions can eventually lead to full-time ones.

· Attend convenings — Impact investors attend plenty of conferences — SOCAP in the US, and Sankalp in East Africa, to name a few. Show up at these events and introduce yourself. You can even attend for free if you are willing to volunteer.

· Join the conversation — Can’t buy a plane ticket to go to a conference? Look out for local events, like Meet Ups, where you can connect with like-minded people. Or join the conversation on Twitter (#impvinv), or through online newsletters and blogs. Sometimes the most helpful news sources aren’t branded as “impact investing” — we are big fans of Liquid Africa and the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief for our African market news.

· Use your network — LinkedIn is a great way to leverage your professional network. But don’t forget about your friends and family as well! Some of the markets we work in, like East Africa, are often small enough that a friend of a friend of a friend might actually be a relevant connection.

Like Lauren, we’ve had our fair share of coffee chats with job-seekers eager to break into impact investing. Though we enjoy talking about our work, these conversations become radically more interesting when we get to talk with people who’ve actually done their homework about the industry and where they want to fit within it. We’ve both had the experience of peering into the impact investing world from the outside, excited by the work being done, but daunted by how to get involved. So, hopefully these first few baby steps help to orient you to the opportunities available and equip you with the basics to ace that networking conversation with your dream organization.

Next up, stay tuned for a continuation of our series — how to navigate the impact investing interview!