“I started my career off in the world of events sponsorship and marketing. After six years of thriving off the dizzying pace of agency life in London, my mental health started to take a turn for the worse. I wasn’t feeling fulfilled in my work anymore and started to look inwards at my values and beliefs to help guide my next move. I realised I could utilise my skills and experience towards environmental and sustainability causes – something I deeply cared about. But I wasn’t sure how to make this transition and I didn’t have the specific experience employers were looking for.
Unemployed and feeling stuck I began attending my local Greenpeace group to meet likeminded people and ignite the change I was looking for. I volunteered on campaign days, speaking to local people on market days to raise awareness of and discuss environmental issues. Whilst volunteering with Greenpeace I heard about an environmental charity, Groundwork London who were looking for a Marketing & Comms volunteer. This was the perfect opportunity for me to gain specific experience so that I could then move forwards in my career.
The stars aligned and it just so happened that a full-time Marketing position came up at the charity whilst I was volunteering there. I jumped at the chance and threw myself into the application. With my years long marketing experience under my belt, topped off with direct experience working with Groundwork London as a volunteer, I got the job.
I am so thankful for my volunteering journey that not only enabled me to make a change in my career (and my health), but opened up my world to a vast array of people from all different walks of life – i’ve learnt so much from the people in this sector!”
