Why impact-oriented professionals like me can be so picky about choosing and committing for a "permanent full-time role"

I noticed that my personal motivation and approach is new and different to most people that I talk to. So I decided to share this gross explanation:

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗜’𝗺 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆, with my current focus on mitigating climate change and accelerating the food transition to a more sustainable nutrition. There is simply so much we need to do in a short time to enable a happy future for anyone on a livable planet.


📊 𝗠𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀, which I learned a lot about from the effective altruism community and other impact- and sustainability-oriented organizations:
- Total scale
- Neglectedness / Additionality
- Tractability / Feasibility
- Personal fit
- Success chances
- Cost-Effectiveness

When most of these aspects have a good result, there is a good indication for a large impact potential. But when just one of them is very bad, the overall impact potential is marginal and thus diminishing interest in the opportunity.

For more difficult decisions, I’m also using my “effective impact framework” to calculate my personal realistic impact potential in terms of the CO2e-emissions I can reduce. It enables a quantitative comparison of several options based on the best available data or reasoned assumptions.


📄 𝗜 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀:
- Qualitatively guiding questions to evaluate the impact of a new work opportunity
- Questions for a short risk evaluation to avoid negative impacts
- Examples of incredibly impactful actions for inspiration
- A list of rather „unusual“ approaches that should also be considered when looking for effective ways to work on a purpose
- Examples of harmful actions with good intentions to raise awareness for risk evaluation
- And some examples of impactful actions that did a lot of good and bad at the same time


❓𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀? How do you evaluate different options?

💬 Comment or message me when you’re more interested in creating a positive impact, evaluating impact potential or comparing project opportunities. I’m always very happy to connect and discuss with like-minded people 😊