Climbing the job ladder – how to get on in fundraising
Howard Lake | 19 September 2011 | Blogs
I recently worked with an international charity to recruit a junior fundraiser. The role received over 400 applications which has got me thinking – what does it take to stand out from the crowd and how do you make sure you even get to the interview stage let alone secure your dream fundraising job?
A word I see again and again in CV’s and cover letters is ‘passionate’. Candidates are frequently passionate about fundraising or passionate about working for a charity or worthwhile cause, but is passion enough? Gethyn Williams, Director of Workforce Development at the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services wrote recently in The Guardian ‘In the voluntary sector, passion is a vital complement to ability but it’s not in itself a skillset.’‘
To my mind passion and commitment need to be backed up with tangible evidence of suitability – facts and figures of fundraising targets met, and income achieved. Just having a degree in International Relations doesn’t cut it as there will be another candidate who has a Masters or a Ph.D. Volunteering in your local charity shop every once in a while or taking part in the charity pub quiz doesn’t do it either as there will be another candidate who has worked as an unpaid intern at a charity for the last 6 months who will also be applying. A strategic, professional approach can get you a long way. That and a CV that is typo free.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.