Six ways to relax at work

Unless you're in the 0.001% of people who have unbounded enthusiasm 100% of the time, at some point, you’ll find yourself in a lull.

Every so often you need to find yourself a little bit of ‘me’ time in the office to unwind.

We asked the Bamboo crew to share their top tips for work time relaxation.

Here are six of the best:

1. If your computer faces away from prying eyes, you’ve hit the jackpot. You have the sum total of human knowledge at your fingertips (assuming web traffic isn’t monitored - come on employers, this isn't East Germany c.1950). If you’re not so lucky, you cut and paste long-form articles (damninteresting.com and www.waitbutwhy.com are great examples) into Word, and read about the Fermi paradox at your leisure, whilst appearing to be working on that all-important proposal.

2. You can use Excel to play games. A personal favourite of mine is the ‘Minipops Excel Quiz’, something I used to while away many an hour in a past life. The dastardly genius behind this option is that very few organisations are going to stop you from running an Excel file.

3. Mobile phones are irresistible, but few work tasks require relentless keypad tapping. To avoid detection, use WhatsApp’s web-based portal. to firm up your weekend plans. On a side note, if your IT guy hasn’t blocked Facebook, avoid it like the plague as that distinctive blue bar is visible from 50 yards.

4. Take a walk to the shop. Everyone appreciates the person who sacrifices themselves to get the team some Haribo. It may not be cost-effective but it sure is delicious.

5. If headphones aren’t a problem, listen to a podcast or audiobook. Did someone say, "listen to a whole season of Crime Town while you wait for your computer to 'back up?”- don't mind if I do.
   
   It’s worth not that, if you’re thinking about implementing any of the above, it might be an indication you’re in the wrong job.

   This is where Bamboo comes in. Contact us on 020 3750 3111 to find a fundraising role you love.

How to pitch fundraising ideas at an interview

At Bamboo, we’ve seen more fundraising presentations than we can count.

The factors that lead to success are as myriad as the topics that presentations cover.

In this post, we’ll hone in on presentations that ask candidates to deliver on a fundraising idea e.g., “who do you think would be a good corporate partner?”, “what would make a good idea for a special event?”, “what would be a good fundraising product for engaging with major donors?”.

With that said, here are four-pointers to presentation success.

1. Preparation

This goes for every step of the interview. Preparation is a crucial element, yet time after time we see great candidates lose out as they didn’t take the time to read the annual report or get to grips with the organisations’ programme portfolio.

But we digress.

Before putting pen to paper, look at the charity’s income streams, donor base, fundraising products, fundraising programmes, and ambassadors.

This will ensure you don’t present an idea based on an event they scrapped last year because it hadn’t connected with donors, or from pitching a potential corporate partner they already have.

You need to let the panel know you’ve taken the time to get to know the organisation. You can’t do this if you haven’t taken time to prepare.

2. Lead with a summary and overview

A summary and overview will give the rest of your presentation context.

This will help ensure the panel knows where where you’re going with it and allow them to absorb your ideas and take your insights on board.

Summary

Providing an overview of how your presentation is going to unfold is a great way to keep the panel engaged.

We’ve all been at that dinner party where someone reels off a long anecdote that you can’t grasp the point of, and you find yourself admiring the artwork instead of listening.

Contrast that with the person who sets the scene and hints at what’s to come. You’re gripped.

So, set the scene.

• Relay the approach you’ve taken with the task

• Summarise how you’re going to talk through your ideas

• Summarise how you’re going to wrap it all up

For example – “I was set the task of identifying a suitable charity partner for Charity X in the light of project Y. I started by analysing exactly what the charity is trying to achieve, and the synergies the partnership would need to achieve it. I’ve shortlisted three suitable partnerships and will talk you through my rationale for each, and highlight the advantages & disadvantages. I’ll then explain which partnerships I feel are most appropriate, and outline the reasons why.”

Overview

Before you start going through your ideas, give an overview of how you interpreted the task and the things you took into consideration. Again, this will provide context to your thoughts. For example:

A new event

Identifying the ideal demographic, maximum budget, and potential sponsors/corporate supporters.

A new corporate partner

Identifying the demographics the charity appeals to, the types of organisations that would fit that demographic, and the resources the charity has to invest into individual partnerships

3. Ideas

We recommend you pitch three ideas when suggesting a new fundraising idea or product. Three is a small enough number to remain concise and interesting, but large enough that you can demonstrate a range of ideas and thinking.

The ideas you pitch will depend on the specifics of the topic at hand, but broadly speaking, we would suggest going for two relatively mainstream but very different ideas, and one that’s a little bit ‘left-field’ to demonstrate you can think creatively and ‘outside of the box’.

Be sure to highlight that you know the idea is a little left-field and that there are potential weaknesses.

Bring your ideas to life

Adding creativity and colour to your ideas will give them real-world context and make them more appealing.

There are a few ways you can do this.

Use imaginative titles

One of the most effective is to give your idea a catchy marketing name - a name the panel can see themselves using.

For example, if you’re proposing the charity teams up with a children’s clothing company to raise money to save koalas from forest fires, don’t label the slide “Koala Bear Clothing Range,” call it “Koala Bear Wear.”

Utilise case studies

Case studies are a powerful way to bring ideas to life. If you can find one for a similar, existing project, run through it and demonstrate how it would work at the charity you’re interviewing at..

If you’re so damn creative that no case study exists for the idea you’ve come up with, create a case study for it. Run the panel through the hypothetical supporter journey, show them why people would engage with it, how it would make them feel, and why it would work as a concept.

Quantify your ideas

Read the following two statements;

“This event is aimed at young people as they engage most with this sport.”

“This event will be aimed at young people with a BC demographic who are between the ages of 18 – 21, as they make up 65% of the charity’s regular donor base, and 85% of the sport’s participant base.”

Which of those statements would make you sit up and pay attention as a panel member? Which would make you take the idea more seriously?

Backing up your ideas with figures and stats is also important when highlighting the income potential of an idea.

In many cases, you’ll be able to draw on past experiences to make assumptions about income and expenditure. But be sure to explain your thinking behind the assumptions so the panel knows how you came to reach the figures.

4. Come to a conclusion

You’ve done your preparation, summarised your thoughts, and laid out your plans. Now you need to bring this maelstrom of creative brimstone to heel.

Summarise everything you’ve discussed, the journey you went on while putting the presentation together and your final conclusions.

If you’ve been asked to pick a specific fundraising idea, choose one of your three and explain why it’s superior to the other two ideas.

If you’ve been asked to consider a new fundraising direction for the charity and all three of your ideas are part and parcel of this, discuss what your general thinking was and why this approach is best.

Need some help preparing for an interview? Give us a call on 0203 750 3111.