Lucy L.
About me
| Lucy L. | |
| Politics | |
| Politics | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Derwent | |
| 1997 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Head of Quality and Innovation | |
| MS Society | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Charity and voluntary sector | |
| Large business (250+ employees) | |
| 2015 |
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A day in the life of a Head of Quality and Innovation in the United Kingdom
My career goals when I graduated
I wanted to work for a charity in a managerial role within 5 years of graduating which I achieved through taking experience/skills gained elsewhere to the sector (this was what my Careers counsellor at York advised!!)
My career history
- Researcher to an MP
- Civil Servant at Charity Commission
- Conference Producer, Capita Learning and and Development
- Head of Central Government Conferences, Capita (promotion)
- Community Legal Services project manager, Resource Information Service (reg charity and now part of Homeless Link)
- Case Mix Programme Manager, ICNARC (reg charity - health research)
- National Audit Programme Manager, ICNARC (promotion)
What has helped my career to progress
- Learning as much as I can at each organisation
- Getting involved in activities outside my role
- Solving problems, showing enthusiasm, building rapport, thinking creatively, not being afraid to challenge the status quo
Courses taken since graduation
-Various management courses through organisations I have worked for.
-PRINCE2
How my studies have helped my career
A degree gets you to the start line, the rest is your 'added value'.
The discipline of my degree has been useful in all my roles and especially :
- research
- summarising information
- planning
- formal, structured writing
- forming and communicating compelling arguments
- working individually and with others
What surprised me about my career so far
The route I have taken - often not by design...but then I have never believed in a job for life!
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I would love to work for a really large charity like Macmillan or the Red Cross. I am not sure whether or not I would want to be an Exec Director or not though. The pressure and bureaucracy at that level are equally huge. I would also want to maintain a work/life balance
My advice to students considering work
Get involved in as much as you can at York. I joined the JCRC and it was very helpful for my CV. Just doing your degree isn't enough.
My advice about working in my industry
Do as much voluntary work as you can . It all counts and shows you are serious about the sector as well as giving you opportunities to make contacts. Think more widely than 'internships'! Use evenings, weekends or holidays to volunteer. Volunteering is far more flexible than it used to be and charities are always desperate for volunteers
Other advice
Don't worry about making mistakes in your career choices, this is part of the learning and development process. I can only think of a tiny number of people from my year who joined a grad scheme and stayed at the same place for any length more than 5 years.
Network!
Next steps...
If you like the look of Lucy’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Lucy a message to find out more about their career journey. If you feel you would benefit from more in-depth conversations, ask Lucy to be your mentor.