What does a career in international development actually mean?

On Tuesday 26th July 2Way Development ran its quarterly International Development Careers Event at the London School of Economics. The event was a great success with around 400 delegates consisting of graduates, postgraduates, potential career breakers and career changers – all interested in a career in international development.

So what does a career in international development actually mean? International Development is a broad term and described by the beloved wikipedia as “a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans”. Given such a broad definition of International Development, this event was a way of setting out some of the types of organisations working within the sector and what experiences, qualifications and skills are sought after in their employees.

The three hour event included 11 great speakers from development related organisations. Various organisations had stands before and during the event, and a networking break gave delegates the opportunity to talk face to face with the experts. Kevin Cusack from World Service Enquiry and Identity Careers had a long queue of job hunters waiting for a free 3 minute CV makeover!

Highlights of the event include:

Val from African Initiatives gave us insight into the role of global education in international development – specifically  in schools and communities in the UK. Looking at how important it is to provide information about development to create an understanding about how we could contribute to poverty reduction overseas.

Catriona from Ashoka kicked off the second half by explaining how you don’t have to just work for an NGO or development agency to get into international development, you could start your own social enterprise. For example Frontline SMS the first text messaging system was created exclusively to help grassroots NGOs communicate better, http://www.frontlinesms.com/

Sarah from Oxfam focused on the skills involved in campaigning and how real determination, great communications skills and a passion for the work, proved through volunteering or individual campaigning, is absolutely essential – so get down to speakers corner today!

Following on from the event there was 3 hour Q & A session on the Guardian careers website with speakers, delegates and other interest parties discussing careers in international development.

Here are some of our favourite posts:

“Volunteering is a real plus – it gives you both experience and contacts. A friend has recently got a job with Tearfund (http://www.tearfund.org/) in exactly this way – going from volunteer to staff.” BenPaine – Medair

“ What makes this sector competitive? Reliefweb has 1,000 open jobs. Devex.com states 331,221 development, health, and aid workers have joined and currently the site has 2,303 job postings. DevelopmentAid.org has 983 live jobs and has 10,918 experts registered. Do the maths; more people than jobs, yes it’s very competitive.” KevinCusack – World Service Enquiry

“Do I stand a better chance of having a more productive experience abroad if I wait until I have more recognisable skills and more experience? I want to actually contribute something- and I’m wary of volunteering opportunities that don’t seem to ask all that much in terms of experience from the volunteer”… istheremoretosay

…“you are right to be wary…the market is swamped with commercial volunteering agencies who run generic, off the shelf programmes that are not really helpful to communities or volunteers in a meaningful way. What you need is to find an agency who recognizes the skills you have, and places you according to those skills, as well as your future goals. That way you, and the charity you volunteer with, will get a lot out of it. Check out www.volunteeringoptions.org for advice about finding the right agency.” Katherine Tubb – 2WayDevelopment

“I know it’s so easy to say but it’s a long, hard slog for 95% of people who carve a career in ID. It may be wise to assume it will take 7 years of hard work, sideways jobs seeking transferable skills, and perseverance…. It’s a cliche cited by others; but the walls are not there to stop us; but to show we’re committed. I have been working in ID for 15 years – committed people make careers of it. It’s not at all insurmountable.” moonie73

Let us know what you think of these comments from our live Q & A. What are your experiences of careers, studying and volunteering in International Development?

Top 5 Tips for getting a career in International Development

1 Work experience, work experience, work experience

2 Know your speciality or interest – is it income generation or sexual health for instance.

3 Think outside the box – International Development isn’t just aid and relief work in the field it is generally office based. How do your specific strengths and skills fit best with different roles in the sector?

4 Look for small organisations to gain work experience as you will be given more responsibility and learn more.

5 Never have a CV longer than two pages – clear, concise and relevant with nice white spaces!

Our next careers in International Development conference is on Thursday 27th October keep following our blog and twitter page @2waydevelopment for details and announcements.

Good luck!