Philanthropy as you earn

If the Eighties were all about fat pay cheques in the private sector, it seems millennial graduates have rediscovered a social conscience. Career opportunities in the voluntary sector have risen year on year for the last decade, and charities now account for 2.2 per cent of the UK workforce. According to the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), the voluntary sector employs over 500,000 people - a figure which has grown by 60 per cent since the Nineties. The sector has also fought hard to attract bright young talent from the graduate market.

Lucy Yates graduated last year from the London School of Economics, and landed a job as Campaigns and Information Assistant for the National Asthma Campaign. "I'd done some work experience assisting an MP, and I really liked feeling that my job actually mattered and was making a difference," she says. "When I graduated, I had the opportunity to work part-time on an unpaid basis for the National Asthma Campaign. I took another part-time job, and worked a few days a week unpaid. It wasn't long before they took me on in a paid role, and I'd got to find out what I always suspected about this sector: that I really liked my job and the people I work with."

With many charities now operating on a nationwide scale, there are plenty of opportunities for graduates in various roles, from press and advertising to managerial positions and, of course, fund-raising. A spokesperson for the Association of Chief Executives Voluntary Organisation explains the key benefits of voluntary organisations. "The voluntary sector can give you a sense of achievement in that you're making a difference to the world. Plus you get to develop certain skills, which you won't find anywhere else. You get to be very, very creative in terms of using money because you'll have to try to stretch a penny into a pound. Another interesting aspect is that you get to work with multiple stakeholders, which is something the private sector is only just waking up to."

Perhaps a key advantage of the sector is that there are so many ways to get a trial run of the work available. Most large charities depend heavily on volunteer work, and will always welcome students who want to gain some skills and try out different roles. Apart from applying to individual charities which you feel passionate about, there are also nationwide services to fit volunteers with local placements. One of the most well known is TimeBank, who run a number of campaigns which recruit volunteers. They also host an online service where individuals can "bank" hours of their time, alongside placement preferences and the skills which they have to offer. Affiliated with TimeBank is Do-it.org, which holds a vast database of volunteer positions.

Laura Ison joined Do-It.org after a stint volunteering in Brazil convinced her she'd rather work in the voluntary sector than for MTV. She is keen to emphasise the two-way nature of student volunteering: "In terms of work experience it's great for graduates, and they get the opportunity to pick out placements that would be of benefit to them. So if a graduate was interested in Web design, they could ring up their local charity and offer to help out on their website. If you look at most charities, they're always looking to fill creative positions - such as producing magazines. Even things like going out and doing tree planting involve teamwork, and look really good on your CV, and if you haven't had much office experience, volunteering can be a good way to get this."

A job in the voluntary sector will also usually overlap with gaining an ethical employer. Helen Wallis is ethical careers service manager for People and Planet. She helps run the Ethical Careers Service - a facility which places graduates in ethically sound vocations. "The Ethical Careers Service was set up because there was such an increase in demand for people looking for these types of career," she says. "A lot of large organisations are now offering employees the chance to do volunteer work in the community because they're appreciating the need to offer a work-life balance."

In terms of careers in general, Wallis also feels strongly about the voluntary sector. "On average, we spend 70,000 hours of our lives at work, and I think people are starting to realise that if you don't use those hours to do something you believe in, then they can go pretty slowly. Personally, I'd take a lower salary any day to do something I felt was socially responsible."

www.timebank.org.uk
www.do-it.org.uk
www.peopleandplanet.org.uk