It’s the start of Small Charity Week 2020 in the UK, and we thought we’d celebrate by putting the spotlight on the diverse experience of one staff member of our small (but mighty) expert team in London, UK.
In this blog, our Senior Project Lead, Madeleine, shares her thoughts on being part of an alumni panel at University College London, why she believes in unconventional career paths, and how being able to move forward in adversity is crucial to the future world of work …
In late January, on the International Day of Education, I was invited to speak on an alumni panel at the Institute of Education (IOE) at University College London (UCL). The topic was: ‘How to get to where you want to’. In front of 60 students, my fellow panellists and I were briefed to talk about our professional backgrounds and discuss what skills and approaches might be helpful in preparing students for their careers.
Despite IOE being a vastly different context to where inHive usually works with alumni networks, students here come from all over the world, with diverse backgrounds and desires, and are looking to form pathways to their future careers, much like the students and young people we work with at CARE Foundation, Pakistan.
The panel consisted of esteemed professionals with incredible expertise – a Director from Restless Development (their blog on the event is here), an independent education consultant and Senior Leader at Accenture. A newbie in the sector, but not in the working world, and a self-professed generalist, I talked about 2 areas that I feel incredibly passionate about communicating to young people:
(1) There is no single way to get to where you want to;
(2) Resilience is key.
If there is one thing I would encourage you to do after reading this, it is to connect back with your school or university and share your professional experience. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are, or whether you feel you have anything to share, the truth is – young people are looking to talk with someone to gain insight in to how others have shaped careers, for top tips on how to secure work, and assurances that the decisions they make now will not harm their future.
(1) There isn’t a (linear) career path
Like many of my peers in the U.K., in my late teens/ early 20s I experienced pressures to decide what it is I wanted to do (and stick with it) – something students in the room at UCL also felt concerned about, with some asking whether their dissertation focus would limit what jobs they could apply for.
My undergraduate degree was in Physics – and now I’m working as Senior Lead in the not-for-profit sector. In between, I have worked in a clothes shop, the kitchen of a hospital, relationship management across the financial services sector, and as a project manager for not-for-profit organisations in London and Cambodia. And it seems my pattern of moving across sectors and roles is not unique – according to this World Bank Development report about the Changing Nature of Work, the days of staying in one job are waning, with many of us set to have multiple jobs across our working life.
Working across the private and not-for-profit sectors over the past 10 years, as well as extensive volunteering throughout my life, has opened a world of opportunity. And the best bit? I have had the joy of working with and learning about people and projects all over the world and adapted the way I approach my work and life as a result of this.
I really believe that a collection of experiences both in and outside of work have been crucial to help me understand what I enjoy, what I am good at, and how I might most effectively combine both to contribute to lasting, societal change. That’s why I’m here at inHive – not only do I enjoy working with partners and organisations to drive sustainable change, but I’m applying my breadth of professional experience to lead the Mastercard Foundation project, developing and strengthening their ambitious vision of a global network of networks as part of their Young Africa Works strategy by 2030.
(2) Resilience and innovation – important now more than ever
The same 2019 World Bank Development report also observes that for the jobs of the future, people will need to develop a cross section of skills, including problem solving, critical thinking, and resilience.
Resilience can often be a buzzword, but what does it mean and how is it done in practice? Resilience is the ability to adapt to change and shape our responses in the face of adversity. At its core, it’s about understanding our feelings and thoughts during a challenging situation, recognising how we react, and mindfully crafting new responses that allow us to move forward and embrace the challenge. Often, it’s also referred to as the ability to bounce back quickly from something that hasn’t gone as planned.
The World of Work project has some great insights, helping to understand that resilience is not just a mindset but a practice, with both organisations and individuals responsible for acknowledging and developing it.
A measure of resilience in the current COVID-19 context is the ability for organisations and people to adapt to the changes around them, and to see where there are opportunities to pivot their work. The following community (and youth)-led initiatives are some examples –
- BRAC in Bangladesh quickly partnered with the government to continue schooling for children through television and radio. They deployed hundreds of thousands of community staff to share information about prevention measures within communities;
- The National Youth Advocacy Platform (NYAP) in Uganda have united to understand and tackle the impact of COVID-19 on their communities. Here, youth are seen not just as beneficiaries of support, but as experts, leaders and partners to drive initiatives forward;
- Alumni of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) network (in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation) are using their platforms and skills to advocate for vulnerable communities affected by the crisis, using skills learned during training such as empathy. The network is cited as one of the greatest assets to any young African.
Connecting to your network
I never thought I would be part of an alumni careers panel like the one at IOE. But it allowed me to see in person what we at inHive are trying to encourage others to see too: how important (informal) information sharing about the world of work is. As a result of the panel, students went away with names of organisations to research, sector-specific job platforms, and – to some degree – assurances that a decision now doesn’t have to be forever. So, think about which networks from the past you could be a part of, and connect to them – I really recommend it!
It is especially important now, with much uncertainty and turmoil, for young people to hear a reassuring word or two, and to use the events of the past 3 months as an opportunity to think about what their next steps might be.