Or: Why Jakob Schriefl now knows that he sees his professional future in the NGO sector
One of the most important and also most difficult decisions in life is choosing a career. We hope to find a job in which we can showcase our strengths and have the opportunity to realize ourselves. For me personally, when considering the right job, the opportunity to "make a difference" and change the world for the better plays a big role.
After my internship at Light for the World in the summer of 2017, I realized that my wish was not just a naive youthful fantasy, but simply the daily work of NGOs.
My internship took place in August and September 2017 in the "International Alliances" department. My task there was to find potential partners for funding our projects, identify large humanitarian foundations in the UK and the USA and develop a strategy for applications for calls for donations together with my colleagues.
It was a varied and challenging job that required a very good command of English and the ability to learn quickly, but also a lot of organizational talent. Through targeted research in the NGO sector, I was able to acquire a certain feel for the important issues in this industry. I am quite sure that I will often benefit from this quality in my future career.
Fortunately, I was assigned two mentors in my department who assigned me my tasks and were always open to questions, comments and new ideas. In addition to their high level of expertise and motivation, I was also impressed by their friendly and warm manner. From day one, I was treated like a valuable part of the team. Although I came from Burgenland and had to travel a long way every day, there wasn't a single day when I didn't enjoy going to the Meidling office.
Thanks to this mentoring system, I was able to acquire a variety of new skills during my two months at Light for the World. In addition to improving my English skills and the opportunity to gain many interesting insights into this industry, I benefited above all on a very personal level. The diverse and international team at Light for the World shaped me in many ways.
I was also able to work on a few side projects outside of normal office operations. A very special highlight was the photo shoot for the then newly founded organization "SDG Watch Austria", which brought together over a hundred representatives of Austrian NGOs in front of the Vienna Hofburg. It was these varied moments that made me realize that I had already found the right industry for my future career.
Photo: SDG Watch
After starting my studies in October 2017 and a short period of familiarization with the new environment at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, I have been working as a Research and Administrative Assistant at Light for the World again since January 2018.
As a young person with a disability, I probably appreciate the value of the work of Light for the World even more than some others. I therefore hope to be able to support this organization for a long time to come and change the world for the better - at least for some people in a similar situation to me.
We would like to thank the author of this report - Jakob Schriefl - for the interesting insight and Light for the World for the permission to publish it!
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