I want to work in ..... a different way.
Time out, working for yourself, part-time and voluntary work and ways
to avoid the rat race.
Also see our Working for a Charity page
Ethical Careers and Employers 
Surveys have found that almost 90% of graduates consider high ethical standards in a company to be important when making a decision about whether or not to work for that company.
The following websites help to provide information about careers and employers of interest to graduates who are concerned about the ethical, social and environmental responsibility of graduate recruiters.
- Ethical Careers Service http://peopleandplanet.org/ethicalcareers - listings of jobs, internships and events. e.g. biodiversity, campaigns and recycling jobs.
- Ethical Consumer www.ethicalconsumer.org information on the social and environmental records of companies
- Ethical Jobs www.ethical-jobs.co.uk massive range of opportunity from solar engineering to sustainable development and care work. NOT an agency.
- Governance Jobs GovernanceJobs.com Corporate Governance (CG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) related jobs.
- Ethical Junction www.ethical-junction.org promotes socially responsible organisations, fair trade and ethical issues
- Forum for the Future www.forumforthefuture.org.uk Educational charity promoting sustainable development
- The Ethical Careers Guide www.ethicalcareers.org comprehensive resource for students, graduates, career changers and others who want a career that doesn't harm people or planet. Thousands of pages of advice, information and resources. A print directory is available for reference in the Careers Information Room
- UK Social Investment Forum www.uksif.org lists organisations supporting socially responsible investment
- Centre for Alternative Technology www.cat.org.uk publishes The Sustainable Careers Handbook (available from the Careers Service reception Desk)
- The Corporate Responsibility Group www.crguk.org has a useful links section on their website
- Scientists for Global Responsibility www.sgr.org.uk produce briefings on issues including climate change and sustainable development and a contacts list of ethical employers and training
- OneWorld http://uk.oneworld.net/jobs brings the latest jobs and volunteer positions from organizations working to create a better world.
- Links to corporate social responsibility & ethical careers sites www.TinyURL.com/dwcsred
Books:
- The Ethical Careers Guide
- The Sustainable Development Handbook
- The Guardian Guide to Careers - includes advice on ethical issues in a number of career areas
Alternative Work Styles
The following resources may be helpful for students who, through choice or through force of circumstances, are unwilling or unable to follow a "conventional" working pattern, who are seeking a satisfactory work-life balance or who simply want to avoid the rat-race.
Flexible Working
- Working Families www.workingfamilies.org.uk advice and information on part-time work, job-sharing, flexible working hours, working from home
- Prospects Web Alternative Work Styles www.prospects.ac.uk/links/Flexiblework
- Flexibility www.flexibility.co.uk - online resources including more case studies
- Employers for Work- Life Balance www.employersforwork-lifebalance.org.uk
- The Work-Life Balance Centre www.worklifebalancecentre.org
- Career at Home www.careerathome.co.uk/WhyHomeWorkingCategory.htm home working
Working For Yourself
For advice on self-employment see www.kent.ac.uk/careers/selfemployment.htm
Other Ways to Avoid the Rat-Race
- Diggers and Dreamers - guide to communal living in Britain www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk
- Information on Co-operatives www.icof.co.uk/home.htm
- Self-Sufficiency advice www.go-self-sufficient.com
- Downsizer www.downsizer.net "for a sustainable and ethical future"
Time Out
Many students think of "taking a year out" after they graduate, but this needs to be carefully planned. Otherwise, you run the risk of spending a year stuck in the same sort of unchallenging job that you did during your vacations, gaining little in the way of skills, experience or satisfaction. The resources listed below will help you to avoid this trap, but first a couple of questions to ask yourself:
Think first - why do you want to take time out?
- To earn some money to pay off your debts?
- To travel?
- To decide on a career?
- To gain some relevant work experience?
- A bit of all the above?
What can you do?
Almost anything! but these are some of the most popular options:
- join an organised project
- find your own job or internship
- travel independently. working as you go
- follow a course to improve your skills or develop an interest
- and a question which students often ask careers advisers:
What will future employers think?
"Most recruiters look favourably upon people who have taken gap years, if they are able to draw on their experiences and show an employer how they might make them more effective in the role they are applying for" Carl Gilleard, Association of Graduate Recruiters "When looking for jobs I found it very easy to handle the questions on employers' application forms as I had gained so many skills from my gap year teaching English in China: teamworking, initiative, problem-solving and leadership to name just a few" |
A lot will depend on what you have done during a gap year and how you present it. If you have spent a year backpacking around the world, your applications should show how you planned and organised the trip; how you dealt with any problems you met along the way, how you funded it and what you learned from the experience, rather than just listing all the exotic countries you visited.
If you are using a Gap Year Organisation to organise your placement see our Checklist of Questions to Ask Most placements go well, but there is a significant minority where students feel that the experience was nothing like that promised in the glossy brochure. So before you pay out lots of money make sure you know all about the project.
Further Information
If you are using a Gap Year Organisation to organise your placement see our Checklist of Questions to Ask Most placements go well, but there is a significant minority where students feel that the experience was nothing like that promised in the glossy brochure. So before you pay out lots of money make sure you know all about the project.
Volunteering UK
- Community Service Volunteers www.csv.org.uk over 100,000 volunteers placed every year: no-one is rejected
- Volunteering England www.volunteering.org.uk/IWantToVolunteer
- Youthnet www.youthnet.org.uk Opportunities for young people including careers, adventure challenges, training for business and industry, vocational training, further and higher education, gap year challenges, opportunities abroad, working holidays, volunteering and expeditions.
- TimeBank UK www.timebank.org.uk is a national charity providing volunteers with information on voluntary work and volunteering projects in the UK.
- DO-IT Home www.do-it.org.uk Search through over 1,000,000 opportunities to volunteer by voluntary work type e.g. children, art, heritage, environment, museums, sport and by location in the UK
Volunteering Abroad
- Lattitude Global Volunteering www.lattitude.org.uk
- www.volunteerabroad.com US site which can be searched by country or job type
- www.volunteersouthamerica.net lists free and low-cost volunteer opportunities in South & Central America. Designed for backpackers / independent travellers looking for a real volunteer experience abroad, without paying any middle-man or agency fees
- Oyster Worldwide www.oysterworldwide.com offers paid and voluntary placements of between 3-6 months (shorter placements are available) to a variety of worldwide destinations. Earn a local wage in a Canadian Ski resort or teach English to children in the Himalayas.
- www.workingabroad.com Sussex-based organisation. The site carries information on voluntary work opportunities in the humanitarian, educational, agricultural and environmental fields in over 150 countries world-wide. They can also (for a fee) match your profile with organisations seeking volunteers.
- Ecoteer www.ecoteer.com Volunteer placements in over 40 different countries at ecolodges, conservation and community development projects. The majority of placements offer free food and accommodation.
Gap Year
- Prospects Web Information on Taking Time Out www.prospects.ac.uk/links/TimeOut
- FindaGap.com www.findagap.com Provides information on the various opportunities available to the potential gap year student. This ranges from a directory of gap year organisations and placements, to cheap travel, insurance and accommodation.
- Foreign Office gap year website www.gogapyear.com offers practical advice on staying safe
- Gapyear.com www.gapyear.com advice, opportunities and feedback
- gapadvice.org www.gapadvice.org advice on gap years, for people of all ages as well as for companies. Features: placement search, to find organisations that can arrange your placement; online directories, which help you find organisations & supporting information; gap cost calculator, to compare the prices of various gap placements; advantages and disadvantages of a gap year; preparation.
- Gap Year Tips www.youngscot.org/channels/travel/?ss=1554&s=52&sr=74&ID=21979
- Gap Year Directory www.GapYearDirectory.co.uk. info and ideas for gap years, contains over 300 placement and course ideas for students and young people in all sorts of areas including volunteering and work experience placements.
- Gap Essentials www.gapessentials.com Gap Year health and safety travel workshops. Run by a Kent graduate
- www.igapyear.com gap year information and first hand advice
- Backpacker and Long-Stay Travel Insurance www.travelinsuranceguide.org.uk/backpacking-student.html
- Gap Years for Grown-Ups www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk Mature students (or staff) can take a gap year too!
- Gap Year in Asia www.gapyearinasia.com Gap Year Abroad, Responsible Travel and Eco Tourism in China, Thailand and Vietnam
- PURE Australia www.pure-australia.co.uk resource providing gap year travel advice for backpackers visiting Australia.
- Visas 4 Australia www.visas4australia.com provide online Working Holiday visa applications for travellers visiting Australia.
- Real Gap Experience www.realgap.co.uk gap year projects and programmes in over 30 countries.
- Season Workers www.seasonworkers.com advertises jobs, gap year placements and courses including summer jobs, ski resort jobs, teaching English and gap year projects.
- Year Out Groupwww.yearoutgroup.org - an association of 35 leading UK year-out organisations arranging courses, expeditions, voluntary or structured work placements
See also our web pages on Working Abroad www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sitesint.htm
Books:
- Taking a Year Off
- A Year Off ..... A Year On?
- Work Your Way Around the World
All available for reference from the Careers Service Helpdesk
Last fully updated April 2008
