Working in the charity or not-for-profit sector can be extremely rewarding. Employees get to feel good about their impact on positive change and get to work with other like-minded, passionate people. Once you’ve decided to work for a value-led organisation there are a number of ways to facilitate your job search. The below tips give you an overview of the kind of activity you need to be doing to find your perfect, feel-good job.
At People Unlimited we’ve been helping candidates find the right job since 1990, register your CV with us to see how we can assist you.
Research
If you are considering a career move into the charity or NFP sector, ask yourself: - Why do you want to work in the sector?
- What can you offer?
- What can it offer you?
- Are you ready?
- Who are you targeting?
- Where do you want to be in 2/5 years?
If you want to work within a particular sector, such as health or animals, research your subject comprehensively and identify which charities you would like to approach.
forum3
forum3 is Europe’s largest careers and volunteering event, created by People Unlimited, we’ve been running it since 2001. To find out more about forum3 visit: http://www.forum3.co.uk/
Voluntary work
Volunteering is probably the most effective way to learn about the sector and about fundraising. Volunteering allows you to learn first hand about the different roles that exist, how they interrelate and what the responsibilities are on a day-to-day basis. Identify the charities you would most like to work with and the causes you support. Contact these charities and ask about their volunteering programmes. V Temps
People Unlimited have teamed up with vinspired, the national charity promoting volunteering amongst 16-24 year olds, on a brand new social enterprise, V Temps. V Temps matches young people with temporary opportunities in the NFP sector in London that are part-paid and part-volunteering. To find out about joining the V Temps scheme please contact LJ (Laura Jane) Loftus by email or on 020 7939 7432. Relevant Skills and Experience
Are your skills relevant for the charity you want to work with? Have you any skills or previous experience in a useful area such as: - Administration
- Office management
- PA/ Executive Assistant
- Human Resources
- Marketing
- Finance
- IT
- Press Office
- Public Relations
- Communications
- Sales
Ensure your relevant experience is emphasised on your CV. The skills you will have learnt in these roles are easily transferable to the charity sector. Fundraising Jobs
Fundraising is about showing donors why the work that a charity does is important and persuading them to give on a regular basis. Fundraising is similar to marketing and sales, so individuals with this background should have relevant transferable skills. There are different types of fundraisers: - Corporate Fundraisers – a fast growing and high profile area of fundraising. Giving by companies is varied and ranges from a one-off donation by the company Chairman to major marketing initiatives.
- Trust Fundraisers – Grant Making trusts are independent grant-making bodies that get their income from investment or their own fundraising. They are set up specifically to give money away for charitable purposes and for community benefit
- Community & Events Fundraisers – consists largely fundraising by the general public. Volunteers will implement many of the fundraising initiatives, such as sponsored walks, bike rides, etc
- Individual Fundraising – individuals are by far the biggest givers to charities. An Individual Fundraiser needs to capture potential donors and persuade them to give, ideally on a regular basis
- Legacy Fundraising – legacies are an enormously important source of charitable funds. Legacy fundraising generates money by getting supporters to leave a gift as part of their Will.
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