Humanitarian Career Advice (Part 2)

Following on from Humanitarian Career Advice (Part 1), here are some further things to consider if you’re starting your career in the UK humanitarian sector (or would like to):

Get Involved

Which organisations could you get involved with now to maximise future opportunities? Could you become a supporter, join in with events, volunteer? What are you good at that could add value to their work? Find out which organisations are in your local area. Research the leading organisations working in the space that you are most passionate about - what are they identifying as the key actions required to make progress?

It’s worth considering the different opportunities presented by smaller organisations and bigger organisations. Smaller (or newer) organisations tend to have more opportunities to get maximally involved in a wide variety of activities (gaining valuable experience) due to lower competition. The downside is that it can be a bit more of a gamble on how things will turn out for these new organisations in the long run. Bigger (more well-established) organisations are more tried and tested, and their reputation may give you more of a steer on the mutual benefits of getting involved. Larger organisations may be able to offer better support / infrastructure but there will generally be fewer opportunities to have a significant organisational impact. Getting involved in organisations ‘at ground level’ can be a great way of developing your experience but it’s important that you choose wisely what and who you want to be associated with.

Connections

Building your professional network is an important way to get involved in your sector of choice and a fantastic way to learn from experts in the field. Aside from LinkedIn, you could join professional bodies and attend events (online & in-person).

As you start to explore the kind of work and organisations you’re interested in, consider the people who seem most credible, insightful and impressive. Those who are actually achieving social change, not just talking about it. What can you learn from them? As you expand your professional network, reach out to people you respect and seek their input and guidance. Maybe they could give you some feedback on your job search / CV / professional development. Remember to actually take their feedback on board (Thanks For The Feedback is the best book on this subject).

Learning & Development

Having recently dipped my toe back into academia nearly 20 years after I started my undergraduate degree, I am convinced that the pursuit of lifelong learning is valuable in and of itself. Aside from formal education, there are myriad learning and development opportunities. You could attend webinars, undertake short courses, invest in reading, seek out relevant work shadowing opportunities and mentoring. The key with all of these things is to be teachable and humble, open to new information and perspectives.

Crucially, you don’t need to wait for a structured programme to present itself before you dive into learning. How many hours do you have each week outside of work and what could you do with that time to progress towards your goals? Reading a few articles / reports might not make you an expert overnight but it will certainly set you in the right direction (and it actually doesn’t take much to know more on niche subjects than most people). You could reflect on the skills that would be most helpful to the organisation or people you’re working with (or hope to work with) then take every opportunity to acquire these skills.

Self-Care

If you want to step into humanitarian work, it’s never too early to strengthen your self-care strategies (including support around vicarious trauma). Self-care is not a ‘nice to have’ or optional extra in what can be an incredibly challenging and draining area of work. By taking proper care of our wellbeing and mental health, we set ourselves up for sustainable success.

Hand-in-hand with this advice is to learn the lesson now on the importance of strong boundaries. Remember, if you want colleagues and clients to respect the boundaries of your time and commitments, you first need to do this yourself. Work when you’re working, and be fully present in your time off.

Get in touch if you'd like to chat more about career development!