Jobs in the Charity/ Non Profit Sector
In the last few weeks while on leave, I was reading through various forums and their advice on how to get jobs in the humanitarian and development sectors. I compared this to route that colleagues and friends have taken. There seemed to be a big gap between reality and the advice given. So I thought it might be interesting to take a more realistic and practical look at the various approaches that don't involve lots of study, learning languages and doing a course in International Development studies. So here are a few tips. This is part 1 in my 2 part series: “Dream Jobs in all the Wrong Places”, or “Instead of working in the field why not work in the Capital or HQ”

Ok so here are some tips:
1. Being married to or in a relationship with someone in the UN or an INGO can lead to that foot in the door. If you are hanging around the office a bit there will always be a job that no one can be bothered to make up a job description or place an ad for. This works equally well for the UN or INGOs and once you have your foot in the door you can easily keep getting that short term contracts until you are eventually indispensable.

2. Go to Charity events. You can make some great contacts and you get to dress up as well. I got my job at Inepd International by auctioning off my Geri Halliwell signed copy of Hello magazine to the Executive Director of Inepd International. I had just be on a great package holiday to Mykonos staying at an absolutely delightful and exclusive resort. It turns out the Executive Director had stayed at exactly the same resort on a recent field visit. It was too much of a coincidence and he just had to have me as the Marketing and Comms Director.

3. Don't have an opinion!! Many interview candidates make the common mistake of having a position on a range of issues. Especially for developmental jobs this is a key indicator that you will be unsuitable for the job. If you give an opinion in a job interview it can really unsettle HR and the generalist manager types. Having an opinion is threatening especially when it is a woman voicing it. Many managers in NGOs and the UN have built careers on not having an opinion so don’t ruin the status quo and your chances for that dream job. Just remember a few simple phrases instead of giving an opinion like; “It is such a complicated issue” and  “There are no simple solutions”.

4. If you are going for jobs interviews in the programmes section don't wear a suit . It is best to wear jeans, sandals if your a woman, old brown leather shoes if your a guy and a t-shirt with some poverty development slogan on it. Women can also wear a traditional clothing accessory like a handbag or shawl from a developing country which seems to go over well with programme types.

So good luck on getting that great poverty development job.