Applicants will be expected to have work experience, and this will often take the form of some volunteering experience or an internship.
Volunteering
Voluntary work during term-time, in vacations or in a year out provides invaluable experience.
- Oxford Hub is the focal point for students interested in volunteering in Oxford. You can get involved from as little as one hour a week, term-time only, in programmes which include tutoring primary school pupils or helping a local resident learn English. Sign up for "The Week" to get a regular email advertising new opportunities, or fill in a volunteering form online to find out more.
- Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action is the main umbrella organisation for the voluntary and community sector in Oxfordshire. The Volunteer Centre (Oxford) is accredited by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) as a volunteer bureau, and you can drop in to talk about opportunities.
- Volunteering Matters offers a range of voluntary opportunities.
- Do-it is a searchable database of volunteering opportunities.
- Vinspired connects 14-30 year-olds with volunteering opportunities.
Other ways of getting insight into the sector and experience is to become a trustee on a charity’s Executive Board. There is quite a lot to consider when becoming a trustee including issues such as time commitment, trustee liability etc and there is useful information on Getting on Board’s website at How to Become a Charity Trustee . We are aware that Getting on Board has recently announced they are closing but their website is still worth referring to. There is further guidance about personal liability and trustee indemnity insurance in the Charity Commission’s guidance CC49: Charities and Insurance (England and Wales), the Scottish Charity Regulator (Scotland), and The Charity Commission for Norther Ireland (Northern Ireland).
Internships
Some charities offer structured internships, including the Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust Christian Aid. The majority are on an expenses-only basis. Many charities are sensitive to the fact that unpaid internships may exclude some from participating. They may be willing to reduce the duration of an internship to allow the intern to take other paid work, changing the role to ‘working from home’, and may be able to help with accommodation. The Careers Service Internship Office also has a variety of Micro internships and Summer Internships based in the charity sector. Sign up for our Internship Email alerts.
Change 100 is an internship and development programme for students and graduates who have a disability or long term health condition run by the charity Leonard Cheshire.
Internships and summer jobs are governed in the UK by National Minimum Wage law which means that if you are carrying out activities that class you as a 'worker' by the employer, then you should be paid. Full details of Employment Rights and Pay for Interns are published by the Government.
If you are undertaking a learning and development opportunity such as a micro-internship, or volunteering with a charity or statutory body, or shadowing or observing, then you may not be eligible for the National Minimum wage. The organisation may reimburse you for travel and/or lunch expenses, but they are not obliged to do so.
Internship schemes at Oxford:
Our Summer Internship Programme opens for applications from Hilary term. Internships are sourced from organisations in the UK and around the world, including many charities. Most charity places are funded through grants, and applicants choose which specific internships to apply to. We also offer Micro-Internships which are 2-5-day placements every vacation.
Finding individual internship opportunities
Use the same strategies for ‘getting a job’ to find internships, simply filtering for this as a category on job boards, and focusing on this in speculative approaches.
You might also want to consider offering your services for a specific project that you feel might benefit a charity you’re passionate about. There are good examples of Oxford students who have approached organisations to offer a self-initiated project, on the premise that the charity will give you feedback, and perhaps a reference based on your work (which they can use or not use, based on the outcome). Examples include:
- Offering to create videos for use on the charity’s website
- Offering to analyse the potential use of a social media platform
- Offering to create a student-engagement or fundraising campaign