Changing career is not easy, especially after a decade spent consolidating a role in internal communication and employee engagement, topics I always felt very passionate about.

When I left a corporate organisation and started my sabbatical in August 2017, I soon developed the feeling that it was going to last until retirement; but after six months of mornings in bed (after returning from the school run, of course), reading, cooking, watching Netflix and painting, I was taken by surprise by my own self when I felt the urge to go back to work.

During my corporate years, I developed a strong passion for charity work, having taken part in various Corporate Social Responsibility projects leading to successful fundraising. So, I decided to make a complete change of career and go into charity fundraising.  

In June 2018, I joined a small local charity where I learnt the ropes, thanks to experienced and generous colleagues. In my fundraising and engagement lead role, I approached Trusts and Foundations, Corporates, Local Authorities and High Net Worth individuals, and organised fundraising events and more. I only worked 10 hours a week on a low wage, but I was very successful, had a great time and learnt a lot.

I’d had to accept that a complete change of career required starting from scratch, and that included a massive salary drop!

After one year, I decided to move on and aim to join a bigger organisation.  So, in September 2019, I started looking for a new role. This is where my odyssey began…

Prior to starting the search, I had to ask myself a few questions:

1)      What role do I look for? With only one-year’s fundraising experience (plus a few years from the corporate side), I knew I could not aim at a managerial role yet, as those typically require a minimum of three years’ experience. But I soon discovered that some organisations required two or three-years’ experience for any fundraising role… My search would be difficult.

2)      Full-time or part-time? The majority of interesting roles are full-time, but I still wanted to be able to spend time with my family, volunteer, and cultivate my hobbies. So, I decided to search for a part-time role, requiring 2 or 3 days a week, ideally in a geographic location that was not too far for me (I did not want to commute for more than one hour each way, nor wanted to spend all day, every day, at home).

3)      What cause do I want to support? I felt that the causes I cared the most about, and where I had experience, were women and children, so I decided to focus my research on those.

Having defined my criteria (yes, I set my goals on a tiny niche, I know), I set up a spreadsheet, updated my LinkedIn profile and CV, and joined all the specialised charity jobs websites I could find and a few agencies for good measure.

I spent every morning job searching, talking to agents, applying for jobs, keeping track, and chasing, chasing, chasing!

After three months, I had applied for 30 jobs: 8 never came back to me, 8 invited me for an interview, of which 3 invited me for a second interview, 14 rejected my application (the majority of which without any explanation). In the middle of all that, I had to deal with agents who were keen to push me into the wrong roles (for me at least!), and with some agents who put me forward for roles I wanted and then disappeared. A couple of agents were kind enough to take the time to speak to me[ about my career goals and how to achieve them, I really appreciated that.

Interviews were great practice! After 10 years since my last interview, I realised interviewers had upped their game! Some were very good, some extremely bad. Some interviewers were friendly and engaged, some where too formal and asked me unfeasible questions (Q: who did you hate the most in your last job? A: ehm, I did not hate anyone … Q: Oh, come on, there is always one you hate… A: ehm, no, not really…). At one second interview, I was asked to carry out two written tasks, and provide a high level of information and detail on real case scenarios that I did wonder whether they really wanted to hire me or just get free consultancy… I guess I will never know.

At another second interview, the interviewers said they were running late, kept looking at their watches, did not ask me any relevant questions and took only 23 minutes. When I sent them my feedback, they said I’d made a fair point and offered to refund my train tickets!

But it was not all bad of course… I rejected a couple of job offers as I did not feel they were the right roles for me, although I felt a good connection with the staff. I reluctantly rejected a couple of second interviews as the location was really too far, though I’d met lovely people whose work and ideas were really inspiring.

I must admit, throughout the process I sometimes struggled to feel motivated and nearly lost my confidence… but I knew the right role was out there for me, if I kept looking!

And one day in mid-December, it happened! I had an interview at a charity that supports women who have been emotionally abused. The interviewers were friendly, and put me at ease straight away. I felt good vibes and they must have felt them too as they offered me the role as fundraiser the following day. I already started and I am loving it!

If you are thinking of changing career and everyone is telling you won’t succeed as it is too late in life, there is a jungle out there and you won’t make it, or you don’t have the right skills, do not believe them.

You can do it, and this is my advice:

-        be brave, set your own criteria and realistic objectives;  it’s a journey of self-respect and you need to focus on your own aspirations and work hard to achieve them.

-        be willing to take a pay cut, at least for the first couple of years while you build your experience;

-        stay motivated throughout the whole journey: while I was job searching, I did on-line courses, volunteered at a local job club, joined a forum for charity professionals, joined a professional body for fundraises, and started learning a new language (which I am still learning). It is always good to keep your mind exercised as you will perform better at interviews;

-        keep your social interactions going:  meet up with your friends and family, job search can be a very daunting, lonely process.  Their feedback can be encouraging;

-        engage in volunteering: you will meet new people and help others;

-        remember, interviews are a two-way street… You are there to be scrutinized, but you can use the opportunity to suss the people out and determine whether you’d like to work with them or not. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and speak your own mind.  

So, if your actual job does not quite fit anymore, and you can afford it financially, perhaps it is time for a change and give a new sparkle to your professional life!