Months of job hunting, networking and pimping the #givethisgirlajob campaign have finally paid off. The employment contract was signed this morning and I can now reveal that I will be Christian Education’s newest Marketing and Business Development Manager!

The role suits what I’m looking for career-wise. It comes with a great deal of challenges, but also plenty of scope to grow in to and make it my own. Another plus point is the short commute. Even though I was more than happy to travel to and from London for the right opportunity, I suppose life had other plans and decided a half hour door-to-door work commute will do instead.

Lots of Twitter love and many congratulatory messages came pouring in after the initial job offer tweet. Some tweeps even joked about taking over the #givethisgirlajob campaign or starting something similar for their own third sector job hunt. If it worked for me, it might work for them too.

For those interested in having their own job hunting campaign, it does help you stand out in a crowded job market. By demonstrating the skills and initiative you have instead of just listing them in your CV, prospective employers will know you’re able to walk the talk. This is why some interviewers who knew about the #givethisgirlajob campaign were ready to skip through certain questions and asked me additional ones to glean more details about the campaign’s progress. The leads I have had also connected me with certain individuals of interest.  This would never have happened without the campaign.

While a job hunting campaign does open more doors, it doesn’t make the job hunting process any easier. As much as a campaign gets you noticed, liking a campaign is not a compelling enough reason for most employers to give you a job. Skills and experience aside, a ‘good fit’ within the team and organisation is what they’re looking for. It is a subjective criterion and one that is very difficult for most candidates to prepare for in advance. Therefore, it might still take a while before you land a job in a place where you will be that ‘good fit’. Achieving the result I had was hardly instantaneous. A campaign website reminds people to keep you on their radar, but most of the hard graft still takes place offline, through filling tedious job application forms, preparing for interviews, getting more relevant work experience and networking with people who may be able to help. With or without a campaign, you will still hear a lot of ‘no’s, before you finally get a ‘yes’.

Even though the job hunting process will still be tough, you can count on another upside to a job hunting campaign - rallying support. I am grateful to those who have given me advice and encouragement on Twitter, LinkedIn, email and face-to-face at several offices and at events like the NFPtweetup social. The will of everyone who wanted me to succeed has helped me to keep the momentum going and persist in my job search.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who has helped to #givethisgirlajob. Now #thisgirlgotajob!

Over the past few days, I’ve kept myself busy as Communications Manager at this week’s Third Sector Digital Communication & Social Media Convention (#nfpsm).

(Photo by Stuart Pearson)

I won’t replicate the blogposts already written about the various plenary and seminar sessions that took place. Instead, I’ll offer my perspective on what it’s like being part of the team responsible for the convention experience on Twitter.

Twitter was always going to be the main social media platform for delivering content and engaging with people who follow the #nfpsm hashtag stream before, during and after the event. The Comms Team had to bring as much of the live sessions into the stream and vice versa by including followers’ questions during Q&A. This was achieved through:

Preparation, preparation, preparation

Work began the minute I said yes to the role. With me based in the West Midlands and everyone else in London, Matthew, the Convention Director and I developed the communications plan for the two days and after by telephone and email.  Two days before the event, I introduced myself to Jenny and Chie, the other two members of the Comms Team over the phone and continued our Twitter prep discussion via email. I finally met them the night before for one last get together to familiarise ourselves with the tasks schedule and iron out any outstanding issues related to the live tweeting. No doubt everyone gave up their restful weekend and pockets of time during the week to make sure the event runs smoothly online and offline.

Coordinating everyone’s efforts

Everyone synchronised their movements like a well choreographed dance routine. My earpiece was buzzing with instructions such as, when presentations were suppose to be up on screen and cueing entrances and exits for speakers. Throughout the plenary sessions, I was communicating back and forth on the radio about putting Twitter stream questions onto the big screen, while Jenny and Chie condensed the content into 140 character chunks. Tweet feedback from delegates in the auditorium about the sound volume and temperature control was also communicated to the technical team, although they were already aware of those issues and had begun sorting them out. The Comms Team decided to divide and conquer when it came to our live tweeting coverage for the seminar sessions. It was a shame the WiFi really let us down in certain sections of the building, after all the work the organisers went through over the weekend to minimise the chances of such a thing happening. No doubt the WiFi for the next event will be even more thoroughly tested and the next bunch of live tweeters will be able to cover the various seminar sessions equally.

Keep the conversations going

We wanted the #nfpsm Twitter stream to be more than just a place to house convention content. So when brilliant tweeps banter, we did our best to fan the flames! Highlights for me were:

• @jo_rosie offering her services to be in charge of the #nfpsm playlist.
•  #biscuitdebate carried on long after Justine Roberts from Mumsnet finished her presentation. Was tempted to exclude @Davidc20’s Jaffa Cake suggestion, because it’s not really a biscuit.
• @RobmDyson started a Tupperware party with attendees in his seminar session and on Twitter.

#nfpsm 2011 was a great success and early feedback from delegates suggests that it was the best they’ve experienced from a convention/conference style event for the third sector. The bar has been set and I have no doubt that expectations will be raised and met for #nfpsm in 2012. The Comms Team certainly felt they’ve done their job, especially when those following on the Twitter stream from afar, thanked us for the tweets but also wished they were at the convention.

It’s been an absolute privilege to have been a part of the #nfpsm team and a joy to see the convention unfold right in front of me and on the Twitter stream. I can’t wait to see how the next #nfpsm will evolve from this one.

For those who participated in #nfpsm online and/or offline, please fill in the feedback survey.
For everyone else, you can help #givethisgirlajob.

Thanks to the #givethisgirlajob campaign, my job hunting has gained a great deal of momentum. People have been really helpful signposting opportunities my way and I’ve now accumulated a whole bunch of leads to follow up, some of which haven’t previously appeared on my search radar.

Which also means I have more job application forms to fill in.

There are those among you who already know how I feel about answering some of the questions in these forms. Until I’m officially paired up with the right job role, I will still continue to fill out job application forms that are mostly badly designed Word documents.

To make the application process a lot easier, here are 3 tips for charity HR personnel on how to design a job application form I’ll be happy to complete:

1. Get rid of useless ‘design’ features

There are better ways of differentiating answer fields and making the form less Word document like, such as the example below:

2. Use rows instead of columns for text heavy fields

If you must do columns, at least make sure the width is proportionate to the amount of text you want the applicant to provide. It wouldn’t hurt to also have the answer fields in a table format to align text alongside each column. Otherwise, having answer fields in rows is another option: 3. Make the form relevant to the role

If it’s a graduate role, don’t make it compulsory for the applicant to list GCSE results. If it’s an office job where the work attire is your own wardrobe, don’t include ‘free uniform’ as part of the job benefits. If the roles advertised are varied, a one size fits all application form may not be the best solution.

Here’s a gem that keeps occurring in the job application forms I’ve been filling in:

How many sick days a person takes from work in previous years, is not an accurate indicator of how many sick days he or she is expecting to take in the current year. A better question would be, “Do you have any medical conditions which might affect your ability to do the job?” I can’t imagine many people saying yes to that one, but it is a more relevant question in the Health section and makes it easier for a job offer to be recalled if the applicant has been caught out in a lie.

Update: @medavep pointed out that the suggested health question is now illegal under the Equality Act 2010. I thought so too, until a friend who did law said it only applies if used to discriminate against those with disabilities. Anyone who knows the answer to this for sure, please let me know.

One more thing...

The Equal Opportunities form is usually kept separate from the main application form, but I would like to show two contrasting examples of the Ethnic Origin field. Which one makes someone from an ethnic minority feel less special?

If you have any other tips on how to design a decent application form, please feel free to comment!

P/S: You can still help to #givethisgirlajob.

You know your job hunting campaign has really taken off when you start getting stuff like this in your Inbox:

Touted as the Glastonbury of charities, the 11th NFPtweetup was the perfect event to plug the #givethisgirlajob campaign and to wear this really cool T-shirt!

(photo by @charitychap)

(photo by @jon_bedford)

Love it or hate it, QR codes have stirred up quite a debate among the NFPtweetup crowd. Walking around with one on my back did prompt a few people to whip out their smartphones to test if it takes them straight to givethisgirlajob.org.uk. It's also probably the one occasion I get to ask people if they would like to scan me.

NFPtweetup 11 was a resounding success and a joy to be a part of. What surprised me was just how many people there had already heard about the campaign before the event. Although there was a growing sense that the campaign was going viral, being able to put faces to some of the positive comments I've received made it even more real. I've been overwhelmed by the amazing support from the NFPtweetup crowd I've spoken to for sharing the campaign with people they know, signposting job opportunities and giving me lots of encouragement to continue job hunting in the third sector.

One other thing I did apart from wearing that T-shirt was to ask people if they could tell UK non-profits why they should #givethisgirlajob. Here's what they have to say:

Although I have yet to bag that elusive charity job, on average I have been invited for an interview every week or so. One of the most common questions I’m asked at charity job interviews is:

“What are your strengths and weaknesses?”

It would have been better if they asked, “How do your skills and attributes fit with the job / person specification?”, because really, who would offer a weakness that could jeopardise their chances of bagging the job?  I end up having to:

• · Turn a ‘weakness’ into some kind of strength – “I’m a workaholic,” is a common one.

• · Talk about a shortcoming that no employer gives a hoot about – “I don’t spend nearly enough time massaging my cats, which makes them sad.”

Semantics aside, there are five job-related strengths all prospective employers should know about me. Heck, I’ve even thrown in a job weakness for good measure!

#1. Highly organised

An attribute often touted by those I’ve worked with, being highly organised has made it possible for me to effectively manage multiple projects at a time.  It gives me a great sense of achievement when I can see a project through from start to finish with outstanding results. My biggest project to date is the successful planning of my wedding/graduation/family vacation while sorting out immigration approval within a two month schedule on a very, very tight budget. Such experience of turning a potential logistical nightmare into a smooth running operation will be valuable to any organisation.

#2. Fine attention to detail

I use to proof read annual reports to make sure there’s no ‘good will arsing’ in the copy. Now I proof read medico-legal reports, dot the ‘i’s and cross the‘t’s before the solicitors present them in court. Apart from being a really good spellchecker, I also have a keen awareness of what goes on in my environment. This allows me to intuitively pick up on things that someone else might have missed, which has been proven useful at averting disasters in past and present workplaces.

#3. Being proactive

If something needs to be done, I will take my initiative, roll up the metaphorical sleeves and just do it. I’m not a person who would say, “If it doesn’t fall under my remit, it’s not a problem”.  What I will voice out are my opinions and to flag up any important issues, which are valued by those I work with. It’s not all talk with no action either. I asked a colleague during my internship at Barnardo’s whether we were using Twitter for any fundraising/marketing purposes. Social media wasn’t a term that registered with most charities then, so the best way forward was for me to give it a go and see what came of it. Result: an opportunity to work at Beautiful World, organise an #NFPtweetup and has now led to the current #givethisgirlajob campaign to bag me a third sector job!

#4. Effective communication skills

It all boils down to how good you are connecting with people, which I love doing. I have consistently built and maintained good working relationships with a variety of people from designers  to corporates, volunteers to clinicians and even therapy clients who don’t speak much English. Tailoring my speech and writing for different audiences and scenarios is second nature to me. It would be an absolute dream to work full-time in a client facing or communications based environment, because that is where I will thrive most.

#5. Great attitude

The number one criteria employers seek in candidates, a great working attitude is a must-have that can’t simply be taught in a training workshop or bought more of by bumping up the pay packet. I have that in abundance, along with energy, enthusiasm and lots of positivity! Adept at keeping calm under pressure, I have two stories involving an AWOL designer and a riot van which are great examples of that. Ask me about them in person, preferably after inviting me for a job interview, and I will tell all.

And for my one weakness: Coffee making

Making bad coffee counts as a weakness in a client facing environment. At Beautiful World, someone once told me my coffee tasted horrible. Since then it has improved, but not by much. I suspect that’s why some of the therapy clients I meet at The Medical Foundation offered to make their own coffee themselves.

So, if these five strengths are what you or someone you know will want to #givethisgirlajob, go get in touch and we can chat over a nice cup of tea!

It all started with a tweet from @LondonKirsty...

Thus, the #givethisgirlajob campaign was born!

I thought the idea was a bit of fun for me in between filling in horrendous job application forms. But since the message to get me a job has been tweeted and retweeted to a degree this afternoon by kind folks, I best get serious while having fun with this. This means I will need to come up with a digital marketing plan to sell myself as the ideal candidate for that elusive charity job.

I'll be putting on my thinking cap, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them!

Fingers crossed the #givethisgirlajob campaign works, or I might just regret not taking up that offer to work in a car dealership.

Ever since the then boyfriend (now husband) and I brought Tayla into our lives, she has ruled our world and the entire neighbourhood. Even drivers have to stop and swerve their cars around her when she decides to park herself in the middle of the road.

Although we've done our best to give her all the love and attention we possibly can, there's no way we could keep up with a highly vocal, attention seeking little cat at all times. We're concerned as to how lonely she might be, especially when we both finally have full-time jobs that keep us out of the house for most of the weekday hours.

Tayla needed a friend. But we have always wondered if we could find another cat that matched Tayla's energy and personality, so they could keep up with one another.

Along came Pete!

Pete is about the same age, size and temperament as Tayla. He was part of an abandoned litter and was introduced to my husband during one of his volunteering days at Wythall Animal Sanctuary a few weeks ago. The minute he saw Pete, he thought, "That's Tayla!"

Looking at Tayla now, he's not wrong!

We brought Pete home last Saturday after the trustee who found him was happy with the home visit. Pete's personality is shining through now that he has settled in nicely. He's the biggest fusspot I know and is prone to headbutting you in order to get his cat massage. He loves his food and lying in favourite spots under the kitchen table, on top of the cabinet and on various window sills. He has a tendency to push everything out of his way when he rolls around. Pete isn't very good at gauging distances when relaxed - I was rudely woken up one morning by a very relaxed Pete landing on my face after he rolled off the window sill.

As much as I wanted to blog and tweet about his arrival then, we weren't sure how Tayla would feel about sharing her kingdom and manservants. If they didn't get along, we would have had to take Pete back to the sanctuary. It's been nearly a week since Pete's arrival and I'm happy to say that both cats get along like a house on fire! They eat, play and sometimes even sleep together.

I just know we're all going to be very, very, very happy together.

Ever since I’ve paid through the nose for a speedy spouse visa which gave me the right to work in the UK a few weeks ago, I’ve upped my game hunting for a full-time fundraising marketing position within the third sector.

If you have such a position available for me, you know what to do. ;)

As most charities I came across don’t accept CVs, I ended up completing a great number of job application forms for a shot at the jobs advertised. While the forms were meant for HR personnel to pick the best candidates based on their answers, I struggle to comprehend why some questions were even asked.

Here are the baffling fields I had to fill, in many of the application forms:

“Secondary education – Please list subjects passed with grades”

The person specification asks for candidates with degrees. Why, oh why, do you still need my GCSE results? I know the certificates I have don’t seem to be worth more than fish and chip paper these days, but surely the university who issued my Bachelor’s degree would’ve made sure my GCSE results were good enough in the first place before accepting me as a student?

“What are your hobbies and interests?”

I suppose this is to check if I’m a real person who has a life outside of work, but I really don’t think HR gives a hoot if one of my hobbies is massaging my cat. Nor does my cat massaging hobby have anything to do with my ability to do the job. This is potentially a loaded question, which personnel could use to eliminate candidates if answers conflict with their own personal interests. If I don’t come across as some crazy cat lady with that answer, my form could be tossed in the bin because the HR person reading it hates cats. Conversely, some candidates might have been picked over other more qualified applicants because of common interests with those doing the hiring. I know someone who got a job as a creative, because the hiring team in the agency needed a drummer to complete their band, not because his portfolio was any better than the rest who turned up for the interview. So much for Equal Opportunities.

Speaking of which, this is the typical ‘Ethnicity’ section I encounter in an Equal Opportunities form:

I’m an ethnic Chinese person from Singapore, a South-East Asian country. Doesn’t that make me both Singaporean Chinese and Asian? I always thought if you’re born in and grew up in an Asian country, that makes you Asian, irrespective of your skin colour. Funny how such Equal Opps forms classify an ethnic Indian person born and raised on UK soil as more ‘Asian’ than someone like me.

Others like @RochelleDancel and @straytweets who do not fit in neatly into one of the tick boxes have also been perplexed by this section at some stage.

To be fair, it is difficult to include every single ethnic group possible in a form. But please, at least have an ‘Others: Please state’ field for the groups that aren’t listed. I’m not sure too many Japanese / Koreans / Vietnamese ...etc. would know whether or not to classify themselves under ‘Other Chinese’ or ‘Other Asian’ either.

Getting a job in an increasingly competitive market isn’t easy, but the application process could be made a little nicer if any charity HR personnel reading this could take a good hard look at their application forms to make sure the questions asked are completely relevant to the position advertised.

Fingers crossed charity HR personnel also have a sense of humour and not chuck my job applications in the bin en mass for dissing their forms.

---

Update: @nightingaleliz raised a really good point about the inclusion of sick leave questions in the forms. Makes me feel like a leper when I have to list down all the diseases I've been struck with over the past 2 years.

It's two weeks into 2011 and it appears that the year hasn't had the best of starts. Devastating floods in Australia and Brazil, as well as the tragic Arizona shootings are some of the bad news occupying the headlines.

With so much gloom and doom happening, I would like to share a positive reminder I received from a book and a TED Talk.

In Robin Sharma's Family Wisdom from the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, there's a quote on page 49 that reads:

"Most of us miss out on life’s big prizes. The Pulitzer. The Nobel. Oscars. Tonys. Emmys. But we are all eligible for life’s small pleasures. A pat on the back. A kiss behind the ear. A four pound bass. A full moon. An empty parking space . A crackling fire. A great meal. A glorious sunset. Hot soup. Cold beer. Don’t fret about getting life’s grand awards. Enjoy its tiny delights. There are plenty for all of us."

Neil Pasricha also talks about appreciating life's simple pleasures while revealing the 3 As to leading an awesome life.

I think demonstrating a great attitude, awareness of what goes on around you, as well as being authentic to yourself and what you stand for, also applies very much to charity messages that connects with their supporters. But I digress.

These little things may not seem comparable to life's catastrophes, but Neil's way of getting through his own personal crises was to remember how good life's small pleasures made him feel by blogging about 1000 Awesome Things, joyful experiences that are accessible to all of us. In addition, the Family Wisdom quote also highlights that there's an abundance of them to be savoured whether you're at the highest or lowest points in your life.

Friends who are still on the job hunt, having relationship problems, issues with immigration, or experiencing something else that gets you down, this reminder is for you.

May you all make 2011 your happiest year yet, with all the lovely little pleasures life has in store for you.