Hannah W.
About me
| Hannah W. | |
| English and Related Literature | |
| English | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Halifax | |
| 2005 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Volunteering Development Manager | |
| Macmillan Cancer Support | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Charity and voluntary sector |
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A day in the life of a Volunteering Development Manager in the United Kingdom
By the time I graduated, I'd spent enough time working alongside the university's volunteering scheme and various projects to sense I wanted somehow to get involved in community development, or at least a role that served others.
Briefly describe the organisation you work for
I work for Macmillan Cancer Support, one of the most recognised and respected charities in the UK. It helps people who are affected by cancer by providing emotional, financial and clinical support. For example, it funds healthcare professionals, such as nurses, in the NHS, we also have a support line, online community and grants team.
What do you do?
I work with our in-house services teams (such as our support line) to develop our volunteering offer. That means, the ways in which we involve volunteers and the things we ask people to help us with.
For example, I've designed and recruited to volunteer roles that have included taking support line calls, applying to other organisations for financial support, offering expert support on the online community, and providing coaching to people with cancer.
The kind of things I'll often be thinking about include; what are we trying to achieve for people with cancer? How can volunteers help us to do that? Would somebody want to give their time to do this activity? How can we make sure they enjoy it? Or feel the value of the work? What do we need to do so it's safe for them to do this role? What do they need to do the role well? How do we find people who can do this work, and how do we make sure we have enough people?
I tend to be involved mostly at the start, trying things out to see what works, and then try to embed as much of work works into our usual day-to-day activity as possible.
It's a role that primarily involves volunteering expertise and project management skills. Communication skills are essential, and having a can-do attitude and perseverance also help!
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
When I was studying English, I knew experience would be key to entering into the job market, so I put a lot of time and effort into volunteering and supporting the community as best I could. This led to my considering the charity sector as an actual career choice! Straight after graduation I spent time applying for jobs; I think I may have looked at Guardian Jobs and possibly CharityJobs (I have since in any case) and I went for some interviews with charities and volunteer centres before securing my first job.
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
Yes, I don't think I'd ever really considered the 'third sector' as it's known; I spent some time applying for graduate roles with companies such as Tesco and the like, although these were always very oversubscribed and somehow my heart wasn't really in it. By the time I graduated, I'd spent enough time working alongside the university's volunteering scheme and various projects to sense I wanted somehow to get involved in community development, or at least a role that served others.
Describe your most memorable day at work
It's hard to think of 'the most' memorable, but I'll use a recent example. A lot of my time is spent convincing others to try something different, or wading through red tape, or setting up processes and it's easy to lose sight of what's important. Recently though, I was on a call with someone who had received coaching from one of our volunteer Wellbeing Coaches, a service we've recently been developing and testing out. The person on the call clearly found the coaching so supportive and helpful and was so appreciative that they'd been able to access this. And that's what all the work is for.
Generally, any day where I hear from people who've benefitted from the great work our volunteers have done, is a good day.
Are there any challenges associated with your job?
Yes, but then I think any job, any career, is going to have it's challenges and you'll never find something where some days, things are hard. I've worked in smaller charities, Macmillan is the largest I've worked for, and there's always people politics and decisions made that you don't always agree with. I think in the charity sector generally, people put their hearts and souls into their work, and when that work is challenged, people can take it really to heart (myself included, I'll admit!) I once read something about not 'putting all your self esteem eggs in one basket' and I think that's good advice for your career; a job is something you do, not necessarily what you are!
What’s your work environment and culture like?
At the time of writing this, we're all in Covid19 lockdown, so it's not normal times! Usually I'd be in an office at least 3 days a week, but home working is supported, and with a young family I find that really beneficial. Macmillan actually has a very positive approach to employee mental health and wellbeing and they invest quite a lot in helpful employee benefits so I feel quite lucky. There are a lot of passionate and hardworking people in the organisation and similarly in other charities; it's not true to assume charities are all run by well-meaning amateurs. For many people I know the working hours can get a bit crazy, and inevitably when you work in some area of services or development you can work out of hours, personally that has been less the case for me in the recent couple of years.
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
I threw myself into volunteering, I worked in the Theatre Royal for a while, and with York CVS. I volunteered as a student mentor with a local school and became an ambassador with the university's volunteering programme. I took part in summer projects that supported the community (renovating the hospital garden!) I did some part-time paid work at a hotel too. I was a member of the Outdoor Society but that's just because I loved getting outside to the Dales!
Doing all of these things absolutely helped me with developing the CV and getting through job applications; I realise though that I was fortunate to study a subject with comparatively little contact-time and so much of my time I could choose what to do with it. I was able to talk about problem-solving, about working directly with customers, administrative tasks, teamwork, project management and being proactive.
I'd also say that I had financial support from my parents whilst at university, which is a really privileged position. Whilst I did earn money from the hotel, I was also able to devote time to volunteering, which in itself was my way of trying out different things - it just happens that it became something of a career path in itself.
I do think that the paid work I did do was hugely helpful for customer service experience and problem-solving - there are always skills that can be transferred. If there's any way you can investigate what interests you, even if it's just from speaking to people working in that field, it's all positive steps that can help.
What would you like to do next with your career?
I'd like to develop a bit more breadth; I've been volunteering-focussed whilst at Macmillan for the past 10 years and I'd like to branch out into other areas in health and social care and service development. I'm pondering whether to embark on further study and am really starting to delve into 'where next' - familiar feelings that I remember having after graduating! What I would say is there aren't that many people who have a definite 'career plan' as such and being open-minded to opportunities goes a long way.
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
What I would say about the charity sector is - you don't absolutely have to volunteer to get into it. There are tons of skills that charities need - money handling, people skills, social media, web design, sales, customer service - and whilst these are things that can be offered pro bono, if you have the chance to develop these in whatever field you're in, then they'd be really valuable. So if you haven't got the time or financial security to do months of unpaid internships - there are other ways! (And hopefully, months of unpaid work is going away...)
I think the main thing is don't feel the pressure to bag a really well paid graduate role, or your 'perfect' job straight away. In fact, I don't think the 'perfect' job exists for anyone at any stage of their career! Get whatever experience you can and build from there, and don't be afraid to start at the bottom. My first charity job was very admin-focussed but quickly developed into much more than that.
What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?
The charity sector as a whole, volunteering, jobs that help people, trying to find what you enjoy, being productive, balancing work and family life.
Next steps...
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