Connecting for a Cause: Katie Barberis’ Job Search Success Story
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Job seeking is difficult for most folks, but for someone who has been out of the workforce for years, it can prove even more challenging. Where do you start, when you don’t have a resume filled with experience and skills? On this bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job, Katie Barberis talks about how they used volunteering to lead to a new career after years as a stay-at-home mom. Katie also shares how networking within those volunteer opportunities led to a permanent position that supports their personal values. Learn more about Katie’s career history below in this installment of our Success Stories series.
Transcript
Find Your Dream Job, Bonus Episode 80:
Connecting for a Cause: Katie Barberis’ Job Search Success Story
Airdate: April 7, 2025
Mac Prichard:
This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.
I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.
One of the best ways to get good at job hunting is to talk to people who do it well.
That’s why once a month, I interview a Mac’s List reader who found a job they love.
Our guest today is Katie Barberis. They are the fundraising associate at Our Just Future.
It’s a social services nonprofit in Portland, Oregon.
Katie Barberis has seen firsthand the difference networking can make in a job search.
In a story you can find on the Mac’s List website, Katie says they learned about the job they now have at Our Just Future from a former supervisor who worked there.
Katie, why do you love your job?
Katie Barberis:
I love my job because I can see the everyday differences that we’re making in our community. The job that I do directly supports the funding possibilities at Our Just Future and I love supporting people and our community.
Mac Prichard:
And tell us about Our Just Future and the work your organization does.
Katie Barberis:
Our Just Future builds and operates affordable housing. We also provide shelter services for women, women-identifying folks, and families. We provide wrap-around services into queer coaching, case management, and rent support.
Mac Prichard:
And your career has been in nonprofit fundraising, Katie. What led you to do this work?
Katie Barberis:
It was actually my mom. I was raised in a church, we did a lot of fundraisers and community events within our organization, and that call to service drew me into the career that I am in now and everything that I’ve done has been in service of the community. That’s why I love what I do.
Mac Prichard:
Let’s talk about your job search. What was the biggest challenge you faced when you were looking for the position you have now?
Katie Barberis:
My biggest challenge was experience. I was a stay-at-home mom for a really long time before coming back into the workforce, and it wasn’t until I started volunteering with different agencies that I was able to make connections.
Mac Prichard:
And did the volunteering help you overcome that challenge or did you take other steps as well?
Katie Barberis:
Volunteering definitely helped me overcome some of the challenges. It definitely provided an opportunity to meet people who worked in the community, and I was able to showcase my talents, talk about my history in fundraising and events and community support work, and then continue moving up from there.
Mac Prichard:
When you were doing your volunteer work, Katie, how did you select the places where you did volunteer and how did you leverage those opportunities to help you in your job search?
Katie Barberis:
I wanted to do direct service and work directly with folks. My first volunteering back in Portland was with Blanchet House and I just happened to be volunteering the same day that Emily Coleman was volunteering and she’s previously the Volunteer Coordinator at Transition Projects.
After volunteering with her at Blanchet a couple of times and just chatting about what I do and where I’m at in life, I ended up volunteering with Transition Projects and then she remembered who I was. They knew they needed help in the Development Team and I came in from there and started volunteering with them and eventually took on a part-time position with the Development Team. That’s how I met my supervisor who brought me into Our Just Future.
Mac Prichard:
What advice do you have for listeners who are volunteering for an organization and might want to work there? That can be a tricky transition sometimes; what worked in your experience?
Katie Barberis:
In my experience, it was just building those relationships, showcasing that I was capable of doing the work, but also eager to learn more and take on a reasonable amount of work that calls for a volunteer.
Mac Prichard:
At some point, did you learn about the job that the volunteering led you to get and did the employer approach you? How did that happen exactly?
Katie Barberis:
Yes, the employer approached me. They were looking to fill a role pretty immediately and so, I was happy to jump in at Transition Projects, and I worked on contract for them for a while. And then Our Just Future just happened to be hiring for a fundraising associate and my previous supervisor sent me a message and said, “Hey, you gotta check this out on Mac’s List and apply for the job, you’d be perfect.”
Mac Prichard:
And it was that connection with your supervisor that came about through networking that led to you learning about that job, wasn’t it?
Katie Barberis:
Exactly.
Mac Prichard:
What advice do you have for listeners who want to build those kinds of networks that can lead to you learning about opportunities, whether advertised or unadvertised?
Katie Barberis:
It’s really about the relationship-building, putting yourself out there, and being able to communicate with folks and just say what you’re interested in. And hope they remember your name in the room.
Mac Prichard:
Do you have some favorite networking techniques that you found to be effective in your career that you’d like to share with our listeners?
Katie Barberis:
I’m a big fan of sending out thank you emails and cards and just following up with folks. They remember who you are and you can continue to build that relationship with them.
Mac Prichard:
What is about those thank you notes and your efforts to stay in touch with people in your network that make them effective? Why do you think they lead to people telling you about opportunities?
Katie Barberis:
People appreciate effort. They appreciate that you’ve taken the time out of your day to acknowledge the opportunities that they maybe have provided for you or that you had a wonderful experience with them. So, writing those thank you notes just shows them your level of commitment and effort and I think that that goes a really long way.
Mac Prichard:
When you heard about the opportunity at Our Just Future, how did you know that it was the right fit for you?
Katie Barberis:
I knew it was the right fit for me because I had really been building my career to permanent employment. So, this job was a permanent position, that was important to me, but also the values of our agency align with my values and I was really excited to work with an agency that walks their talk.
Mac Prichard:
Many job-seekers can get discouraged when you don’t see immediate results. How did you stay motivated during your job search, Katie?
Katie Barberis:
By reminding myself that every effort towards a new job will lead me to permanent employment. Just because I’m not hearing back right away doesn’t mean that there isn’t a job out there that isn’t meant for me.
Mac Prichard:
In your article for us, you talked about the importance of being open to opportunities. What does this look like in practice? How did you act on that idea in your own job search?
Katie Barberis:
If I hadn’t volunteered at Blanchet House, had my communication with Emily Coleman, and didn’t communicate back with her when she reached out to ask if I wanted to volunteer at Transition Projects, I would not be where I’m at today. But because I stayed on top of emails and saw that they needed that support, because I could make myself available to volunteer with them, it jump-started me to where I am now in my career.
Mac Prichard:
If a listener might be struggling to make those kinds of connections that you created, or is interested in breaking into a field that they haven’t worked in in the past, do you have a first step that you would recommend they take?
Katie Barberis:
Don’t be afraid of cold-calling and doing informational interviews. We are all here to support one another and I haven’t met someone who wasn’t interested in sitting down and having a conversation with me.
Mac Prichard:
Sometimes I hear from job-seekers that they struggle to get calls back or to get others to agree to informational interviews. What worked for you, Katie?
How did you make those conversations happen and get those people to return your calls or respond to your emails when you were networking during your job search?
Katie Barberis:
I liked to put out specific asks. So saying, “Can I meet you at this place at this time? Could you provide three available times that you might be available to meet with me?”
Making it very specific, so that they can see how interested you are in that informational interview and that this isn’t just something I want to do.
Mac Prichard:
Finally, Katie, what’s your number one job-hunting tip?
Katie Barberis:
Don’t stop trying. You never know what’s available.
Mac Prichard:
Thank you for sharing your story, Katie. To learn more about Katie Barberis’s job search, visit macslist.org/stories.
And check out the Mac’s List website for dozens of other success stories.
On the second Friday of every month, we add a new interview with a Mac’s List reader who has found a dream job. Go to macslist.org/stories.
In the meantime, thank you for listening to today’s bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job.
This show is produced by Mac’s List.
Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media.
Our sound engineer and editor is Matt Fiorillo. Dawn Mole creates our transcripts. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.
This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.