Professor Suggests Students Should Consider Interests When Deciding Career
San Francisco business management students can gain valuable advice from a leading expert in the field. Richard Waters, Ph.D. is a passionate and highly respected professor at the University of San Francisco School of Management and also consults with Fortune 500 companies and Philanthropy 400 nonprofit organizations.
What is your background and education?
"My work and training come from public relations education. While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I also worked full-time at a public relations agency in Atlanta. I moved to San Francisco where I worked in the nonprofit sector as a fundraiser and marketer. I went back to get my doctorate to understand the theory behind the work I was doing. After graduating from the University of Florida, I've been teaching in the nonprofit and public administration program at the University of San Francisco and consulting with Philanthropy 400 and Fortune 500 organizations about their community relations issues."
What is your area of expertise?
"Nonprofit communication is where I have focused my work professionally and my research academically. My proudest accomplishments have been centered on the success stemming from work on developing fundraising theory while simultaneously providing real world lessons for nonprofit organizations. In the last 10 years, I've really focused on understanding how nonprofit organizations can use new technologies and the social web to improve relationships with their donors and volunteers. I've used my San Francisco network to study nonprofit organizations and their communication practices to help understand how they can best build stakeholder loyalty and strengthen their own marketing campaigns."
What career advice can you share to students interested in a career in public and nonprofit administration?
"You have to be happy at the end of the day with your work, or life will be miserable. Think about what really interests you; that's what you pursue. Once you've identified that, look around to see how people have incorporated that into a career and ask questions. When you ask questions about someone's work, you not only gain knowledge and insights from them, but you also grow your network. LinkedIn, Twitter, Craigslist, and other online resources are great, but landing interviews requires going out and meeting people live and in person—not behind a screen."
Randy Yagi is a freelance writer covering all things San Francisco. In 2012, he was awarded a Media Fellowship from Stanford University. His work can be found on Examiner.com Examiner.com.