We can all agree that job hunting sucks. I remember that daunting feeling in fourth year: What on earth will I do with my life? So, I started looking for jobs: updating my LinkedIn profile, searching through endless listings, writing and re-writing my CV to make it sound like I’m the perfect match for every role I came across. My wide range of experience and formal education make me the ideal candidate to become an assistant psychologist, tourist guide, after-school play tutor, medical equipment customer representative, and retail sales assistant. I look forward to hearing from you.

I shared my frustration with a good friend, who, like me, has a background in social sciences and cares deeply about making the world a better place. She was also job-hunting, and recommended Goodmoves to me. I had never heard about it before, so she explained that it’s a job search site for charities, non-profits, or what is called the ‘Third Sector’. Basically, organisations who aren’t trying to make a load of money but are focused on making a load of impact.

That sounded pretty good, so I had a look. Right away I was impressed by the design of the website:  a pleasing colour scheme, and a simple layout with intuitive navigation. Each job listing clearly states job title, salary, location, closing date… everything I need to decide if applying for the job might be worth the effort (if you think that this is the standard for every job search engine, you are mistaken). More importantly, these were jobs I could actually see myself doing! I didn’t have to bend and break myself to fit the role, these organisations were asking for people with my skillset! In less than a month I found exactly the right part-time job to go along my part-time Masters: I could work with people, gain experience in my field, work flexible hours, and make a difference.

A couple of years passed, Covid happened, and I moved to a new city, so the job search started again. This time I skipped Indeed and ignored the LinkedIn messages from random recruiters and went right to Goodmoves. Within a week I found a brilliant volunteering opportunity with my local botanical gardens, where I still help out once a week to get some fresh air and sunlight. I also applied for paid jobs of course, and I can tell you that Zoom interviews are as scary as they sound, but I promise, you will get used to it. At first, I got a couple of replies saying that I would be great for the role, but unfortunately someone with more experience… you know how it goes. But eventually, someone called about my favourite job listing and they gave me the job! 

If you want to give Goodmoves a try, here’s what I recommend: set up an account so that you can shortlist the jobs that interest you, save your searches, keep notes, and get email alerts. If you’re still studying, make it a habit to scroll through Goodmoves once a month, just to see what’s out there. Check out the advice section, it has really great tips on writing applications and making a career in the Third Sector. Also, very handy during Covid times: there is an option to look for Home-based jobs.

Best of luck with your job search. The world needs you!

Written by student Dorothea