With more than 190,000 registered charities and a large number of other not-for-profit organisations, associations, self help and community groups, you would think securing work in the voluntary sector would be easy. Especially with the big players in the corporate world offering massive salaries to graduates, creaming off the competition.

But you'd be very lucky to find charities beating a path to your door. A lack of resources means that each charity can't employ huge teams of people. It's a highly competitive job market, and you have to go looking.

"You need an edge"

“You have to take it really seriously,” said Elaine Smethurst, executive director of Working For A Charity, a training organisation for people who want to enter the sector. “People see the positives of making the world a better place and think their skills will be grabbed by a charity but it is highly competitive. You need an edge and that's all about getting real experience.”

In the private sector, a clear route in is the structured graduate recruitment scheme. Similar schemes in charities are few and far between, offered only by the larger players like Barnardos, the NSPCC, Oxfam and Cancer Research UK. Nor are they an easy route. NSPCC offered just two 12-month long fundraising traineeships last year, but received more than 2,500 requests for information. Nearly 1,000 applied.

Volunteering experience

“Those applying need to have demonstrated a commitment to the voluntary sector,” said NSPCC appeals administrator Alison Burton. “You need to have a track record in volunteering otherwise you're not going to get past the first post.”

Volunteering is the most often stated route into the charity sector. It provides the candidate with experience, and offers an idea of what is involved.

John Toplis, head of assessment at charity recruitment agency Charity People, emphasises the importance of volunteering. “It's not enough just to be talented academically or professionally. You need to prove your commitment to the sector.”

By taking a volunteer position you show dedication to the cause, gain an insight into how a charity works and have access to internal vacancies.

Transferable skills

But if you are keen to work for a charity, the corporate sector should not be dismissed as another route in. Entering the commercial world isn't a life commitment and, with transferable skills behind you, a move to a charity career is often easier.

“There is still a need for people with transferable skills to move across the sectors,” says Smethurst. “People who've worked in sales and marketing, for example, often go into fundraising positions having learnt a lot of useful skills and tools while working in the private sector.”

Money matters

Another factor to consider when making your choice is the lower pay that a charity career might entail. It's something that Amella Wickenden, youth communications campaigner for ActionAid, has experienced first hand.

“Money is a downside," she says. "In the private sector, it's possible to earn shedloads. I'm not living on the breadline, but here I'm never going to earn the sort of money involved in the private sector. It's up to you to decide what's more important.”

Policy officer
YWCA England and Wales
Lucy Russell, 27

“You do have to spend a long time volunteering. Don't be afraid of stuffing envelopes, I've done thousands in my time. I know of very few people who've walked into paid charity work.

“I got involved in human rights and gender issues at university. I joined People & Planet and then applied for their one-year internship. I took that as my first job.

“I applied to YWCA England and Wales and got a job as policy and campaigns assistant. I took a secondment to organise a conference in young women's participation in democratic processes and then applied for my current job as policy development officer.”


Marketing officer
British Heart Foundation (BHF)
Nick Radmore, 31

“I started by doing a marketing degree in Huddersfield. I went to the Co-operative Group in a marketing role before moving to financial branding and marketing for Halifax Bank of Scotland

“I'd spent six years at a very ethically-based organisation, and to go to HBOS was a really different culture. It was one that I didn't like and made me realise that I wanted to work for something more in line with my personal values.

“I moved from the corporate sector to the charity sector and took a role at the BHF. Don't think that charity work is an easier life. The hours we do when we've got campaigns on are comparable to those worked in the corporate sector.”

Working for a Charity
www.workingforacharity.co.uk

Charity People
www.charitypeople.co.uk