Pros
Working my way up through a Light the Night internship, I found myself in a fulltime role as a Campaign Specialist for Student Series following my undergraduate studies. I learned very quickly that LLS is an organization that works very hard to provide part-time, full-time and intern team members with unique experiences that help those individuals grow in their fields of interest. The best aspects of LLS were the people the mission brought together; through survivor stories and connections to staff who wanted more than a typical 9-5, I knew that when I was at the office I was surrounded by people who had their heart in the fight. I was promoted very quickly to lead my own campaign and found that while it was extremely difficult, the organization saw potential in me. This is a great stepping stone for those interested in working full-time in the nonprofit sector.
Cons
The numbers, the numbers, the numbers. I got so tired of hearing "do what drives revenue first," as it started to become this age-old saying that kept staff at the office until late hours, and Student Series staff driving on the roads for ridiculous KPI/quota achievements. It felt like leadership - locally - was not always willing to put up a fight against "national standards" that just didn't work in our region. It was as if when we formulated a recruitment plan/cultivation/stewardship strategy, we'd get a brief moment to entertain the thought until it was shut down completely by conflicting national priorities. Living through the recruitment cycle for schools was daunting enough, but the organization didn't do much in my view to support local chapters that had gone through natural disasters by adjusting KPIS or performance indicators. In some ways, this is good externally because I can say no nonprofit has ever pushed me this hard - which means staff members truly were being burnt out to the brink of leaving, and in essence this translated to getting as much value out of employees possible (positive use of donor dollars). But sometimes this was just overboard. When the organization decided that company-wide layoffs were on the horizon, the CEO's transparency was a nice respite from what had otherwise felt like large gaps in effective/genuine communication between lower level staff and national staff prior to COVID. DCEs (our regional oversight, working for national) were supportive to a degree, but also had their own priorities which made conversations about "how is life" feel largely artificial, and more like a report card check-in. To the point, why check in on your local staff and ask how they are doing when largely it's just a touchpoint for those individuals? I can say honestly I would not want to work in the Student Series department again having seen how heavy handed the numbers are, and with the rise of COVID-19, I worry that recruitment is a near impossibility. Meaning, if you apply for an LLS role related to school and youth initiatives, be extremely concerned for your job security. I was let go with nothing more to really do, as you can't raise money from schools with those schools closed. LLS is connected to its mission and uses the donor dollars well, but has a long way to go before earning 4 or 5 stars; middle management - even executive directors - need to prioritize the health of their local chapter staff before badgering them for monthly quota updates. I was extremely disappointed when I tried to have a heart to heart about career options and departure options with my manager, who shut me down very quickly and essentially asked "why would we invest more time in you if you're just going to leave?" That's no way to incentivize your staff to stay. All in all, if you're considering LLS, be cautious. You'll hear that the "cure to cancer is in our blood" as the mantra, but should consider that the blood, sweat and tears you put in may not (and likely won't) match up to the compensation and work/life balance you're working towards.