Careers in the Charity Sector

Charities aren't just about fundraising

The UK’s voluntary sector is huge (employing around 500,000 people) and growing faster than many industries. ‘Charities’ range from tiny self-help groups through to multi-million pound organisations employing hundreds of staff and seeking all the graduate skills needed in any large company. Charities might be concerned with children, animals, cultural heritage, medical research, politics, social deprivation, and many, many other areas.  The sector is also known as the “Third Sector”.

International students may need to emphasise that the Post Study Work visa allows them to work in the UK without the charity having to apply for a permit.

There are many different career paths in the sector: campaigning, fundraising, policy-making and lobbying, research, marketing and PR, administration and project management.  For more information about these different roles click here

If you are interested in working in the sector you may have to work unpaid for a while.  Charities rely on volunteers and often you can volunteer in specific departments to benefit you and the charity.  The Guardian newspaper has an excellent article about breaking into jobs in the Third Sector here.

Charity jobs are advertised in The Guardian, the JobOnline website and on various  such as Third Sector jobs , NCVO and charityjob – even on Facebook! There are also specialist recruitment agencies that recruit into the charity sector.

The Careers Group organises a one-day event for those wanting to find out more about careers in the third sector. The next Careers in Charity is scheduled for 2nd March 2009 and details will be posted on this blog closer to the time. To see details of last year’s event click here.

Shanghai Recruitment Fair – London

The Shanghai Municipal Government is holding a Recruitment Fair on 6^th December 2008 in London. It is open to Chinese and other nationality students and professionals who are interested. Human Resource Managers from about twenty leading companies in Shanghai will offer over 160 job vacancies in Banking and Financial Services, Information Technology, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Accounting, Training, Consultancy, Management, Research, Teaching and so on. Information on Shanghai’s Welcome Policies, Government Initiative “Attracting Young Eagles to Shanghai” will be available. Potential candidates will be interviewed on the day.

Please email your CV to recruitment@uec.org.uk with any questions. For those who cannot come, we will pass your CV to relevant companies. Registration and admission are free.

Recruitment Fair details are as follows:

Date:               6^th December 2008

Time:               9:30AM to 4:00PM

Venue:            London Marriott West India Quay

Scientist? Finance student? Need a work placement?

Royal Holloway has teamed up with the South-East Health Technology Alliance to connect students to local companies in the Health Technology sector. The health technologies sector is composed of those businesses from the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, diagnostic and medical device industries which address human or animal health needs. The UK has one of the most successful health technology industries in the world and the south-east is arguably the most important region within it. It has the highest concentration of health technologies companies in the UK with a quarter of the company base (approximately 600 companies) and a third of the employment.

Students currently studying Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Physics, Marketing, Accounting and Finance are welcome to apply. You can specify how long you would be available to work (e.g. summer 2009) and in what field. We will then try to match students with suitable companies. These positions are all paid.

To apply click here and to see the poster click here. For more information email here.

The deadline for applications is 12 December 2008.

An explanatory workshop for students interested in this scheme is arranged for 1.00pm – 2.00pm on 28 November in the careers centre. No need to book in advance, just turn up.

Events tomorrow: Make me employable!

Careers Centre, Friday 14 November, 2.30pm – 3.30pm  Just turn up!

The days when your academic degree was enough to land you a job are over.  Nowadays employers look for a whole range of skills, from teamwork to commercial awareness, in addition to your degree. Your time at University can help you with that. There are many easy to access opportunities for you. Come along to the careers centre at 2.30pm to find out more!

Event Today: UK Style CVs and Resumes – the last one!

This is the last UK Style CVs and Resumes workshop taking place in the Autumn term. You must book using the instructions here . One to one CV advice is available by booking a quick query through the careers centre directly.

Are you a finalist? A first year? Most people need CVs at different stages in their life.  Come to this workshop to explore the principles behind effective CVs in the UK.

Location: HLT2   5.00pm – 6.00pm

To receive a copy of this presentation and a sample graduate level CV email here with “Presentation 03″ in the subject box. College email accounts only.

Interested in Advertising or Marketing?

Limited places are available

In addition to the extensive programme of events organised on campus, the careers service also gives you access to many specialist courses in central London.  Students from RHUL benefit from reduced prices for these events. A full calender of events can be found here

Marketing and advertising are sectors that are of great interest to many international students. This event is designed to give a comprehensive introduction to Marketing, Advertising and PR.

You will have the opportunity to meet professionals, be advised on how to break into this competitive field of work and take part in case studies.

Speakers so far confirmed include:

• Luther Pendragon – strategic communications consultancy across the media, industry, the City and politics.
• Saatchi & Saatchi –advertising agency.
• JWT – fourth largest advertising agency in the world.
• Major Players – recruitment agency specialising in careers in advertising, marketing, PR, creative design and digital media.
• BBH – advertising agency
• Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry - PR company
• Ketchum – PR agency
• InitialsMarketing – Promotional, digital, advertising, direct marketing, shopper marketing & face to face marketing
• Geoff Howe – Digital Marketing

Join us on Facebook, where you’ll receive updates, can take part in discussions, ask us your questions and share the event with your friends and anyone who you think will be interested in applying to this course: www.careers.lon.ac.uk/facebook/map

You can find out more about this event and book your place here.

If you are attending this event and are interested in writing what you’ve learnt on this blog, please let me know.