Charity Leaders’ Exchange |
Reflecting on why some people should never work for a charity

Mid-December, I wrote a piece called '5 Reasons Why You Should NEVER Get A Job In The Charity Sector', on my blog. It's already the most viewed blog I've ever published.
I think it hit a nerve because it challenges some of the assumptions that people make about the sector and their role within it. I hasten to add, as I explain in the piece itself, that I am passionate about more committed people joining the sector and I think it can be a wonderful career. I just think that people should enter the sector with their eyes open.
In my experience, successful charity leaders not only enter and stay in the charity sector for the 'right' reasons but they recruit and build teams of people who are also in the sector for those reasons. Of course, some of my bugbears or concerns about the sector may not be your own, or you may disagree with me entirely.
As we fully enter 2015 I think it is worth asking not just what we want our particular charity to look like but what do we want our sector to look like? Will we bite the bullet and take the hard decisions that will make a difference to our beneficiaries? Will we work with each other if it helps the cause? I hope you find the blog interesting, even if you vehemently disagree with it!
I wish you and your charity a wonderful 2015 and look forward to meeting up with you soon.
Alex
I think it hit a nerve because it challenges some of the assumptions that people make about the sector and their role within it. I hasten to add, as I explain in the piece itself, that I am passionate about more committed people joining the sector and I think it can be a wonderful career. I just think that people should enter the sector with their eyes open.
In my experience, successful charity leaders not only enter and stay in the charity sector for the 'right' reasons but they recruit and build teams of people who are also in the sector for those reasons. Of course, some of my bugbears or concerns about the sector may not be your own, or you may disagree with me entirely.
As we fully enter 2015 I think it is worth asking not just what we want our particular charity to look like but what do we want our sector to look like? Will we bite the bullet and take the hard decisions that will make a difference to our beneficiaries? Will we work with each other if it helps the cause? I hope you find the blog interesting, even if you vehemently disagree with it!
I wish you and your charity a wonderful 2015 and look forward to meeting up with you soon.
Alex