I want to preface this by saying that I’m writing not as an expert, but as someone who manages to make a living working for an NGO. In this role and others, for the past couple of years, I field calls and emails about once every two weeks- asking how a friend, relative, friend of friends cat can break into the sector. So here is my two cents, written hopefully in a way more articulate than my usual rushed reply.
My first response when fielding these queries is: “Why?” Why do you want to do it? You will work more and get paid less. All charities and NGO’s are different. What organisations do you support already and why? What are you interested in? I would urge you to think about what you can contribute- what do you actually want to do within the organisation? For example, there are more roles in fundraising than in the supposedly “sexier” roles. What do you want to achieve for yourself and what difference do you want to make in the world? I would suggeast putting time into answering these questions for yourself first.
Still keen?
Breaking in
Once you have broken in, if you’re good, usually, you’re in. As I see it, there are basically two pathways to getting your foot in the door. They are volunteering and skilling up.
Volunteering is great for several reasons: seeing what an organisation is like from the inside, building relationships with people within an organisation, finding out specifically you might want to do within a relevant organisation and gaining a (hopefully) glowing reference for your resume.
Make yourself indispensable! It can still be a “who you know” game, so never underestimate the value of professional relationships and impressing people that may one day help you out.
Gaining specific skills in a specific, relevant area is a longer-term view of getting a job in an NGO. Already being qualified and experienced probably means that you could enter an organisation at a higher level initially and progress further up the ladder. Here are a couple of examples from my work; where a colleague was working as a journalist before working in communications, or gaining experience as a social worker before being an aid worker overseas.
Checking websites such as ethicaljobs.com.au and http://www.acfid.asn.au/get-involved/job-vacancies (for the aid sector), staying on employment lists and keeping up to date with job ads at key organisations will keep you in tune with opportunities and also give you an idea of what roles are out there. Also, do your research, don’t just look at organisations that you’ve already heard of, there are plenty more out there.
And I could continue, but I guess the main thing is turning up.
