Career change to charity sector

[Calmvibes33]

Hi ,

I have a job interview this week for a new role in the charity sector for a focused animal.
I currently and have always worked in the private sector in retail corporate offices.
I really want this job and want to sell myself well and show that I am a good fit to move into a charity position.

I am looking for advice maybe from others who have made this transition - how did you show you had the skills to move into the charity sector?

I really want to show that I have the transferable skills and I am a serious candidate.

Thanks

a new role in the charity sector for a focused animal

Is this a typo?

Yes 🙈 I don’t know how I ended up typing this.
I meant to say “a new role in the charity sector for a charity focused on animal protection.” 😊

Ah! That makes a lot more sense.

I don't think it's so much about skills for the charity sector as the skills for the role you're applying for.

Along with some awareness of the context of the charity and sector (same as you'd want to show you understood a company in private sector), eg familiarity with Animal Welfare Act and similar things.

Have you mapped your skills against the job spec?

Why do you want a charity sector job?

Going from private sector to charity will be a massive culture shock (and not in a good way).

Can I ask in what ways , do you have any examples?

I specifically want this job rather than seeking a move to the charity sector in general. I am also relocating and this is a job that has come up in the area I am moving too and it sounds really interesting and is a job my skills match too.

I believe in this specific charities work and I think that I have the skills to do the job advertised. I think I could be a good fit and can use my skills to support the charity to grow.

If it’s a specific job you’d like, then good luck. My experience of the third sector is of things taking ages to get done, working with few resources, spending a lot of time on funding applications and the reports for finders. If you’ll be dealing with volunteers, you’ll need good people management/counselling skills. Trustees are often hard to get/keep (for smaller charities) and every month you’ll be waiting to hear if there are enough reserves to continue for the next month. Depending on the size of charity, you’ll have no internal IT/HR support which can also be very frustrating. Charities often employ people who want to to a good job and whose beliefs align with that of the charity - however, coming from the private sector, you may struggle to work on a shoestring budget with ill-defined job roles.

Everything @AgentProvocateur said! Lack of job security, poor tech, blurred lines as to who's "in charge", founders syndrome... it can be challenging!!

Thanks @hopeishere and @AgentProvocateur for the honest feedback, good to get your insight!

The job is for a relatively big (I think large -major sized charity ) in terms of revenue so I’m not sure if that makes any difference to some of the points you’ve mentioned. All are good thinking points though that I will consider during the interview process and if it comes to offer stage. However, saying that my position is that for personal reasons I need to relocate and this job is one of the best options I have found so far so despite the negatives I think I will likely accept if offered :)

I have worked for several mid size founder run & privately owned companies in the past , although they are private sector and probably offer some luxuries the third sector cannot offer I think I am actually used to some of the down sides you have mentioned and have faced these in my past jobs, as smaller privately owned founder lead companies are operated quite differently (in my experience) to bigger multinational corporate companies and perhaps this will have prepared me slightly to work in a charity!

I think every sector is dysfunctional in its own special way tbh.

I would say just do your research about the charity. DD made the transition from private sector to charity sector last July, working directly with service users - a dream of hers so she was incredibly happy. Three months later she was made redundant and was devastated. She's now moving back to private sector, desk job which is such a shame but with more job security.

@Calmvibes33 the key thing to ask at the interview is how the post is funded and when does the funding end. Good luck

Have a look at their accounts on companies house.