CSR
IntroductionCorporate social responsibility (also called corporate citizenship, social responsibility, sustainable business practice and corporate re-sponsibility) is the extent to which a company makes a positive, ben-eficial impact on the community and environment in which it operates, whether locally or on a global scale.
CSR policy might include encouraging staff to volunteer in the commu-nity, working closely with a specific charity, giving funds to community organisations, funding scholarships or socially responsible investment. A good CSR profile can be used to enhance a company’s image and lead to increased business.
Within CSR there are no traditional graduate schemes and to gain entry-level jobs (and experience) you will need to employ some novel job hunting strategies. As a relatively new area this does provide excit-ing opportunities for development.
Finding out about … Information Folders
• Orange folder Corporate Social Responsibility Reference Books
• The Ethical Careers Guide
• The Sustainable Careers Handbook • Charity and Voluntary Work Uncovered Websites
The Careers Service website links to many useful CSR websites, some of which provide information about graduate jobs and placements. Use the Corporate Social Responsibility section at www.ed.ac.uk/ca-reers/occupations.
Getting experience
• Use MyCareerHub to look for opportunities. You can access it through the Careers Service website www.ed.ac.uk/careers. MyCareerHub is updated daily so it’s a good idea to check it regularly.
• Volunteering is a great way to gain experience and develop skills. Your experience doesn’t have to be specifically within CSR but having a social, environmental or sustainable focus will be helpful. For ideas of where to look for appropriate opportunities use the information in the Volunteering section under Explore your options on the Careers Service website.
• Bright Green Placements (www.brightgreenplacements.org.uk) of-fer environmental internships for students
• Third Sector Internships (www.3rdsectorintern.org.uk) offer a wide range of paid internships in the voluntary sector.
• Get involved in environmental and socially aware groups and so-cieties while you are university. This will help improve your knowl-edge and getting involved can be a good way to develop skills. CSR departments can be small therefore having strong influencing and negotiating skills are valuable
• Speculative applications can be a successful way of gaining ex-perience (and a job). For help with this kind of approach use the information on our website under Finding unadvertised vacancies. • Do not underestimate the value of social media when looking for
relevant experience. As well as hearing about any potential op-portunities there is also the chance to identify potential employers. Use the resources on our website to help you get started www. ed.ac.uk/careers/social-media.
• Large organisations, such as universities, often have social respon-sibility/sustainability departments. They are worth contacting for shadowing opportunities and informational interviews.
• Getting yourself known can be a good way to demonstrate experi-ence. You can do this through writing your own blog, being active in relevant online forums and discussion groups and attending conferences and events.
• Stay informed – keep up to date with developments and key issues in the sector by following relevant people and organisations on Twitter, read the trade press and keep an eye on broader events. • Work shadowing is another way of gaining experience, especially
if you are unable to get paid work experience. With work shadow-ing you spend time with a professional, observshadow-ing their day-to-day activities and finding out first-hand what the job involves. It is also a useful way to test out if that sort of job is for you.
Finding a job
• There is no standard entry route into a CSR career. It depends on the job, the employer and your qualifications and experience. • Many jobs will involve CSR work but this isn’t evident from the job
title. Familiarising yourself with the correct terminology and brows-ing the relevant vacancy websites will help.
• Use MyCareerHub to look for vacancies. Remember, that CSR jobs will not always have CSR in the job title.
• Social media can be a powerful way of job hunting. Some organ-isations will advertise their vacancies on their network on LinkedIn or via Twitter www.ed.ac.uk/careers/social-media
• Specialist recruitment agencies can be a good source of opportu-nities. You can find a list of CSR-related agencies in the CSR sec-tion on our website. Advice on dealing with recruitment agencies can be found in the Looking for work section of our website. • The resources in the CSR section at
www.ed.ac.uk/careers/occu-pations contain vacancy listings as well as information and advice. • CSR Chicks/Blokes are two group e-mail lists that form an informal
network of women and men interested in CSR though both ac-cept contributions from both sexes. Job opportunities are often posted on the list. To subscribe, e-mail [email protected] and/or csr-blokes-subscribe@[email protected]. • Business in the Community (www.bitc.org.uk) has hundreds of
member organisations committed to CSR. Search their member-ship directory to identify companies you might want to approach. • Speculative applications can be a successful approach for finding
jobs. If you need help with putting together a speculative applica-tion use the resources in the Looking for work secapplica-tion of our web-site or speak to a member of staff in the Careers Service.
• Working in another area of the business can allow you to take a ‘sideways step’ into CSR, especially if you have been working on sustainable/environmental projects.
Further study
• Postgraduate study is not always a prerequisite to entry and with some organisations, your skills and experience will count for more. • Having a postgraduate qualification can help if you are interested
in consultancy work.
• MBA courses can be helpful and some have CSR-related elements within the course.
• There are a variety of relevant postgraduate courses. To help you identify appropriate courses use the resources on the Further study section of the Careers Service website.
• Training events and short courses for people working in this area are offered by CR Academy, part of Business in the Community
www.bitc.org.uk/cr_academy.
• If you would like to discuss whether postgraduate study is for you speak to one of our Careers Consultants.
Finding out more
• The Guardian website (www.theguardian.com) has a corporate social responsibility section.
• It is important to demonstrate an understanding of the wider con-text in which the organisation operates. For information on how you can develop commercial awareness use the resources on our website in the CVs, applications and interviews section of our website.
• Keep up to date with developments in the sector by following/join-ing relevant groups and individuals on social media.
• Talk to people working within CSR to get insightful and up to date information and advice.
Considerations
• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to consider. Although they may be less likely to commit whole de-partments – or even a whole staff member to CSR, there are many
economic incentives for SMEs to be actively involved in CSR and there could well be a role for an enthusiastic graduate with the right experience.
• While you may be working with like-minded people, this may not always be so and you may need to be prepared to deal with op-position to your views as other corporate considerations come into play.
• Geographical mobility is important it you want to work in CSR. You may have to move to get your ideal job.
• Working in a mainstream role within an organisation which meets your own ethical code might also be an alternative to pursuing a dedicated CSR career. Companies’ websites often provide infor-mation on their level of commitment to CSR.
September 2014
© The University of Edinburgh Careers Service, 2014
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