I began working as a fundraiser for Wesser in January 2020. Like most people, I had never done anything like it before so the experience was new to me. I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a fundraiser and got the opportunity to represent three amazing charities: St Andrew’s First Aid, St John Ambulance and Dogs Trust. There are several transferrable skills that I have learned and improved through my time as a fundraiser. For example, I have hugely improved my communication skills; I would never have considered myself a natural extrovert or a confident speaker, however my time as a fundraiser allowed me to gain lots of experience in speaking to many people of different backgrounds and I would consider myself a far more comfortable communicator as a result. This is certainly my most important takeaway from my time as a fundraiser and has helped me in many aspects of my life. Moreover, door-to-door fundraising also improved my time management skills – knowing how to split up your time is essential to being a successful fundraiser and I have seen improvements in my ability to manage time in other areas of life, specifically regarding my studies at university.

Fundraising – and the walking that comes along with it – has also improved my fitness and allowed me to see lots of different parts of the UK that I likely wouldn’t have visited otherwise. Of course, I have also become far more confident all-round thanks to my time fundraising. The task of speaking to strangers at their doorstep is something that many find understandably daunting, so the fact I was able to succeed as a fundraiser has given me lots of confidence in myself and my abilities. I am currently working as a Student Ambassador for Wesser; while this is a much different role to being a fundraiser, I enjoy it all the same and it has given me the opportunity to develop other skills, most importantly an in-depth understanding of recruitment and the interview process. Sitting on the other side of the table – albeit virtually – in an interview has given me a new perspective on interviewing as a whole and will certainly improve my confidence in any future interviews.

Overall, my time at Wesser as both a fundraiser and Student Ambassador has been fantastic and I look forward to continuing my journey and developing even further with the skills I have gained so far.

Article written by: Tom Crawford-Lynch.