Aligning your passions with the ability to make a living is the goal of nearly every person that is of working age. What it takes to make a career out of social justice activism requires you to get involved with causes you are passionate about and finding ways to actually make money fighting for what you think is right. Finding opportunities that suit the activism work you’re interested in pursuing requires persistent job searching and what feels like an endless number of letters of inquiry.

The importance of activism in today’s political climate doesn’t brush the amount of activism needed to instill real change in government and business practices. It requires a collective effort, which means there are organizations and companies out there looking for your help. Commonly, it will not primarily be your past experience that sells your future employer on hiring you, but rather the amount of energy you have invested in similar programs or efforts.

What Is Social Justice?

You may feel passionate about an issue affecting people around you and want to make changes to alleviate the issue. Perhaps you have been called a social justice warrior in the past but you weren’t quite sure what it meant. Social justice is defined by the National Association of Social Workers as the “view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities.”

If you want to start a career as an activist, you’ll first need to understand the principles of social justice. There are five guiding principles that dictate the actions of those considered to be social justice warriors: voter rights, criminal and juvenile justice, environmental justice, immigration, and economic justice. You can work in one of these fields or a number of them, depending on the role you find yourself working in.

If you feel intimidated or inadequate of moving forward with a career in advocacy, consider how many people out there you could be serving. According to Rutgers, 43.1 million Americans were living in poverty in 2015 — that is 13.5 percent of the entire country. That is a large number of people who live in poverty who are leaning on others to help them fight for equality while they are focused on merely surviving.

Think Outside the Box

Many assume working in advocacy means being a bleeding-heart liberal and getting stuck in a single position at a nonprofit for the entirety of your career. However, this is not necessarily true. There is a large potential for entrepreneurship, research and development, and innovation, even within large organizations.

Depending on your skillset and educational background, there are a variety of different options and career paths to follow. Conservationists are not always low-paid AmeriCorps positions but can be developed into lifetime careers as conservation biologists or restoration ecologists. If you feel that you have strong grasp of science and a heart rooted in the environmental justice realm, begin looking into an educational pathway that can set you up for success.

Take the time to sit with yourself and explore what your true passion is. Ask yourself: Where do you feel you could best serve those around you? From there, research organizations and companies that align with your personal mission and look for potential openings. If you have the fire to fight, stick it out until you find the position that best suits you.

If you simply take a job that you only feel moderately engaged with, it will be evident to others. If you find that there is not an organization or local chapter of an organization that aligns with your values, there is nothing stopping you from starting one on your own. Take the leap and have faith your community will support you in your endeavors.

How to Land the Job

As with any job, whether in the social justice realm or not, you will need to check off a few boxes to make yourself competitive for a position. Even though you may not have experience in your field of interest, look for other skills that you have that pertain to the position that you are applying for. Most employers offer on-site training and are simply looking for a specific person, not a specific resume. It is all about how well you sell yourself.

When finding a job in social justice that you really want, you’ll need to create a cover letter that demonstrates the skills and experience you’ve gained over the years. You want to ensure the employer you are well suited for the job. Include past volunteering opportunities, internships, pro bono babysitting jobs, the time that you helped save a frog’s life at your aunt’s house — anything that will make them take a second look at your cover letter.

Passion for activism cannot be adequately conveyed in a single cover letter or resume. If you can get your foot in the door, aim to have a conversation rather than an interview with your future employer. Let your compassionate soul shine through, and before you know it, you will be stepping into a role that enables you to advocate for change and to be the voice for those that go unheard — the rewards will be in the form of both financial and personal gains.