I recently made the change to the third sector and I wanted to share my experience of the process with the CC community.

After 15 years working in hospitality, the 60 hour weeks and the lack of development pathways wore me down, and I found myself hungry for a career path that I found more rewarding.

I took recommendations from friends and met with a career coach. Everyone should have the opportunity to do this! Seeing a career advisor at school or university, I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted out of life, but aged 35, with a career under my belt and room for another, perhaps two, I was ready to make an informed decision. Meanwhile, I explored volunteering roles. Volunteering helped me learn more about myself and my motivations, about organisations and how they look after their staff, clients and service users, it enabled me to gain essential experience and contacts, and finally – it made my life more rewarding and meaningful.

Different organisations take very different approaches to volunteer recruitment and training. The best treat volunteers with the same level of respect as they do their staff. Don’t accept anything less! As a volunteer, you’re giving the most valuable thing you have, your time, and that should be given due respect. I submitted applications and enquiries to some organisations that simply never responded, others took an inordinate amount of time and never clearly articulated the volunteer journey, making it impossible for me to tell when I would start in a role, or indeed what that role might be. On a more serious note, in a sector where we often work with people who are extremely vulnerable, there is a massive differential in the standards of safeguarding and boundaries across charities. Again, if an organisation doesn’t pass muster, think twice about whether it is a place you would want to work or volunteer.

Volunteering was so beneficial, but I needed to learn more about the sector and about specific organisations, and so I committed myself to some networking. Once I started asking around so many people so generously offered me their time, whether it was a quick coffee and an overview of their role, or a more in depth career discussion with ongoing mentoring and support. Some of these people didn’t know me at all, none of them owed me anything or expected anything in return, but this was what I was rapidly learning about the third sector: it’s replete with really wonderful people who want to fill the sector with other likeminded individuals. Ultimately, everyone is working to the same objective, to make the world a better place, in however small or local a way, and they’re delighted, not threatened, by newcomers.

If you’re in the position of trying to break into the third sector, don’t be shy – start asking your friends, family and colleagues; ask your volunteer supervisor; ask your university tutor and your yoga teacher, the barista at your local café and the lifeguard at the pool. Talking to close friends and absolute strangers about the path you’re on will help you better understand your motivations, will prepare you for interviews and will furnish you with contacts in the sector. Don’t feel like you’re imposing – know that one day, in your turn, you’ll be in the position to support someone else in their journey.

The best volunteer journey I had was marked out by clear communication and timeframes, excellent training and support, a welcoming team, and flexibility around my needs. I felt part of a team with a clear objective, but also part of a larger team working toward the organisation’s overarching goal of ending homelessness. As a volunteer, there was so much training offered, both role-specific and generic. Having worked in a sector where training was not readily available, I was amazed at what was available to me and threw myself into all the courses I could.

Not long after completing the training for the role, the monthly volunteer newsletter advertised a permanent role in my team. I spoke to my career coach and mentor, and it was clear to all of us that I should apply for the role. This would mean a significant drop in pay and responsibility from my previous career, but looking back at my career history, at the times I had been most satisfied and happy at work and the factors that had emerged as important to me, I knew that this organisation and this role were what I was looking for.

On applying, I quickly realised that the interview skills I had would stand me in little stead for this role. I’d never completed a competency-based interview before. This style of interviewing enables you to convert the experience and knowledge that you have into great applications and interviews, rather than needing to have experience in the sector in order to break into the sector – the classic Catch-22 that so often holds us back.

Having now been on both sides of the interview process, I can’t stress enough the importance of preparation. There are so many resources online to help with this and friends in the sector can definitely help, so take advantage of them all. Create a list of potential questions according to the job description provided, then put together a robust example for each, back it up with detail and then learn them – this is your chance to set yourself apart from the competition, so don’t waste the opportunity.

The work I put in paid off, and in the interview I felt confident and well-prepared – albeit still with sweaty palms. I was so delighted to be offered the role and to become a permanent part of the organisation. Once in post, the development and support didn’t stop. I would stress this again – as a paid employee, you’re still giving of your time, and that should be respected. Do your research and apply to organisations that have well-defined values, support structures in place for staff and a culture of diversity and inclusion, and that can evidence all of these. To the hopeful applicant, I say – be persistent, your efforts will pay off and you will end up doing meaningful work for a great organisation working with other altruistic individuals.