Jon Bird, volunteer campaigns assistant (22)
Finding graduates who want to work in development is the opposite of finding plumbers these days- there are lots of them and they won't charge you anything! This is great for charities but makes it difficult to find a way in if this is a career you are interested in. For this reason most people have to volunteer before they get employed by international NGOs.
I am currently working as a volunteer campaigns assistant for the Make Trade Fair campaign, which aims to persuade governments to change trade rules into a force which will reduce poverty rather than contribute to it. I am really happy to work on this campaign as it has so much potential to bring about positive changes, and 2005 is an important year with both the G8 and meeting of the WTO ministers in Hong Kong coming up.
My role involves project-managing how the Make Trade Fair campaign is presented in universities, Oxfam shops and at REM concerts on their UK tour. This makes for varied and interesting work, which is useful as it helps develop a range of transferable skills, and experience of very different types of work. I’ve also found that Oxfam aren't afraid to give you a lot of responsibility straight away, which is what I was looking for.
In addition to work skills and experience, volunteering gives you a feel for how charities work. In particular you get a clearer picture of what jobs you have read about really mean, and how they fit together. All this is helpful in deciding where you would best fit in.
I have really enjoyed working for Oxfam and would definitely recommend volunteering, though I would also recommend saving some money first!
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