Award Winning Leader and Trainer in Partnerships and High Value Fundraising, Director of Brightspot Fundraising
Would you interview someone with a small amount of charity experience but loads of sales, relationship building, emotional intelligence and grit? I think you would. If so. What would you encourage them to display at application stage? Or in the interview? What advice would you give them to get a role? I think a few people who follow me would like to know your answers to this. I also think some of you have great ideas and answers. Maybe there is a good blog or resource out there too. Any advice? -—-—-—-UPDATE—-—-—-— What amazing replies. If you want to get into the Charity Sector then read the comments. Such specific examples and advice from a range of people, leaders, recruiters, and others. Many who took the leap themselves. Thank you LinkedIn community. 👏 👊
Tanya White
6mo
Hello Ben. I am a huge advocate for getting people with transferable skills into the sector. I coach all of my candidates before they go to interview to help them think about how to prepare for an interview. The key is finding examples which are relatable and using the S.T.A.R. method to ensure the answers are precise, and results-driven so hiring managers are able to get a sample of what great skills you would be bringing to their team. Why this organisation? What excites you about this role in particular? And why now? Where does this role fit within your future career plan moving forward? These are some key things to get across. Also if the hiring manager has the capacity it is also worth having an initial chat with them to find out detail of the role and whether it is potentially a good fit. Often what they want on the JD can be different to what they are actually looking for so a conversation can be so useful for gaining great insight into what examples to prepare for an interview. I think me and the rest of the fundraising team would have so much to add to this. Kevin Croasdale Katharine Tinker-Switzer
Alix Wooding
6mo
I want to see three things from candidates that are transferring in to the sector (or have a bit, but not tons, of sector experience). 1: Experience- demonstrate your experience and why it’s relevant to me. 2: Understanding- show me you’ve done your research and you understand my world. Even if you don’t have direct experience you can demonstrate understanding. 3: Humility - we’ve all interviewed someone from the corporate sector who thinks they can be the saviour of our charities, or meet our fundraising targets by opening their little black book. Please don’t do this!
As someone who made that exact transition, my advice would be: At application/ interview, be clear about your transferable skills, and how you'll apply them to that specific role. Be clear about why you are applying - you will get asked why you are making a career transition and passion/ wanting to make the world a better place (don't we all) won't cut it - be clear about the value/ experience you bring that the employer will find attractive. You're highly unlikely to get your dream job at the outset and may well need to work towards it. Be realistic about the roles your current skillset is suited to, and tailor both your applications and approach. The more trendy and/or cool a charity looks, the higher level of applications they receive, and more competitive the candidate field! Be smart/ strategic about how you develop towards that dream job. Don't be afraid to take a few steps back along the carrier ladder (exactly what I did), and take the time to learn a new sector, and approach. If you are fortunate enough to step straight into a senior role, then you may well be taking on a highly visible and pressured role, with less space to learn a new sector, as well as adapt and grow your own approach.
Annie Edwards
6mo
This is a good question and I think it's important to be open to candidates from outside the sector! Personally I would be most interested in their reasons for moving from the private sector to the third sector. It is likely that their earnings will be smaller - how well are they taking this into account? Do they understand that performance bonuses are highly unlikely? The candidate may be applying for a more junior role while they gain experience in a new industry - are they prepared for this? How they answer the question of what draws them to the sector and the cause can help you get a clearer picture. When I made my own career change some years ago, I was asked in an interview whether I had a good support network. This was because the charity's subject matter was highly emotive and could at times be emotionally draining. This aspect of working at a non-profit could potentially come as a bit of a shock, depending on where the candidate has worked before. In a word - I'd be looking for their "grit", as you say!
John Thompson
6mo
Absolutely. In fact, I've recruited people with no charity experience for my own team, and on behalf of clients. They've all done exceptionally well. For example, one is now a director of fundraising and three others are brilliant consultants. I look for confident telephone skills, the ability to convey a compelling story in writing and f2f, plus research skills that extend beyond performing a Google search. A survey by Hays and Chartered Institute of Marketing found that 22% of marketers planned to pursue an entirely new career path to find a role with a “greater purpose”. Interesting, when one thinks about how many corporate brands try to promote 'purpose' as part of products' DNA. The charity sector should expect more applications from candidates with transferable skills, and be prepared to invest in their training and development from day one.
Joel Gleicher
6mo
With the amount of vacancies and turnover in fundraising roles, why wouldn't hiring managers at least interview them? Being someone that moved from Fundraising to BD the other way a year ago, I'm grateful that the hiring manager wasn't so short sighted to not see where my skills can be transfered.
Always keen for people from outside the sector, I was that person 7 years ago!! My advice on looking back is to trust your instinct with what you think is the right approach, the charity/not-for-profit sector isn't a mystical world. It has many of the same challenges and opportunities as the commercial/corporate sector, and we are looking for all the same skills and traits, we just apply them to a different purpose sometimes. I would always say don't be embarrassed about sharing your reason for wanting to move into the sector. I was a bit shy about this way back then, but all I really wanted to do was 'change the world', I didn't quite know what that looked like, but it was my purpose for making the jump.
Max Newton
6mo
Yes. And have done at my previous place and here. And recruited brilliant people who have smashed the role. We can teach all the charity details. Looked for 1. Pro- active - goes out there and gets things done. 2. People centred/relationship approach 3. Can speak to people from all sorts of different backgrounds, communities, statuses, - seem comfortable in theor own skin 4. Storyteller I'd advise to look at the JD and call to speak to the hiring manager to get what are the top things they're actually looking for snd to make sure they emphasise how they can transfer their skills and experience. Eg for corporate Fundraiser we were looking for Pro active Getting new business Looking after clients A strong eye on results
Absolutely yes. I’m interested in how the person would perform in the role I’m hiring them for, what transferable skills they have and what passion they have for the cause. I care not about previous industries. The reality is that charities are often only accessible for people who have interned / volunteered to get a foot on the ladder. That excludes a LOT of people. People who have experienced structural racism / discrimination etc will be much less inclined to apply for positions they don’t meet the entire criteria for. Time to start knocking those barriers down and removing many of the ‘essentials’ on person specs.
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6moI’m really proud of my record in hiring for talent and potential, not an ‘obvious’ CV (probably partly because mines pretty ‘eclectic’!). At application stage, I’d encourage any candidate to really focus on the skills required and to describe clearly how they meet them with what they have acquired through paid work, volunteering and their education. Bonus points if they’ve volunteered in a relevant charity. The thing to bear in mind is that the hiring manager is far less interested to know that you admire the charity than why you are a good candidate. I’ve seen a lot of career changer applications which focus only on why they want to work at the charity, not why they are the right person for this specific role. Do both. At interview, I’d encourage candidates to highlight their recognition that this will be a change in direction and articulate why they are well placed to make that work. Candidates I especially remember who were shifting sector were able to explain why they wanted to make the move, why this job, and why we should choose them. They also demonstrated that they were not overly idealistic about working for a charity and understood it was just as complex and demanding as whatever sector they were moving from.