2024: A Year of Challenges for Job Applicants and Hiring Teams

This year has been anything but smooth for those navigating the job market or recruitment processes.

The sheer volume of applications—especially for sought-after roles offering flexibility or remote work—has overwhelmed hiring teams. Review times have stretched out, and candidates often face prolonged silences or, in some cases, complete ghosting after interviews. This not only leaves applicants feeling undervalued but also reflects poorly on the organisation’s professionalism.

Tighter budgets have added another layer of complexity. Many organisations, hoping to save money, have avoided engaging with trusted, fairly priced recruitment partners. Instead, they’ve spent months unsuccessfully attempting to recruit internally, often at a greater long-term cost.

The Human Cost of Mismanaged Hiring

Candidates have borne the brunt of these inefficiencies. Many have been disheartened by delays and rejections—or worse, biased dismissals based on misguided assumptions like equating career gaps with incompetence or underestimating disabled candidates. When faced with mountains of applications, inexperienced hiring teams have often resorted to harsh filtering methods, unintentionally sidelining talented individuals and narrowing the pool of exceptional hires.

On the flip side, candidates haven’t always helped themselves. The scattergun approach of sending out countless generic applications—often riddled with typos or AI-generated content—has become alarmingly common. These applications, lacking personalisation or effort, rarely stand out. A quality-over-quantity mindset is essential: your CV and cover letter are your chance to demonstrate your communication skills and show how you meet the role’s needs. A well-crafted application will open doors far more effectively than a rushed one.

Refocusing on People

To tackle these challenges, it’s time to shift the focus back to people.

For candidates, the key is aligning with organisations whose values match your own. The best career move I ever made was to Bamboo, where the team created a role specifically for me because we shared a mutual vision. While I had offers from other teams with attractive packages, their values didn’t quite align. For me, inclusion and honesty are non-negotiable.

When preparing for interviews, go beyond the surface. Ask questions that probe a company’s culture, values, and ethics. Pay attention to how people respond—do they answer clearly, or do they evade the topic? Staying true to your own principles will always pay off in the long run.

For hiring managers, creating an inclusive and supportive environment is paramount. Focus on finding people who align with your values and nurture your workplace culture. Skills can be taught, and experience can be gained—but a strong values match is invaluable. Whenever possible, consider upskilling candidates who show the potential to thrive within your team.

The Power of Positive Collaboration

There’s nothing more rewarding than working with great people. This year, I’ve had the privilege of partnering with teams that have mastered the art of attracting and retaining talent—teams that understand the importance of fostering a thriving workplace culture. By prioritising values and creating an environment where everyone can excel, they’ve built a foundation for long-term success.

If you’re setting resolutions for a brighter 2025, one of the best steps you can take is surrounding yourself with positive, inspiring people. Working alongside colleagues who share your vision and values will help you be at your best—and ensure you’re part of a team that lifts each other up.

After all, as Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the workplace.”

Need help building a better recruitment strategy?

Give us a call on 020 3880 6655 or email contactus@ferntalent.com to get the ball rolling.

contactus@ferntalent.com

2024 has been a rough year for job applicants and hiring teams.

Hundreds of applications for any good roles going, especially if flexible or remote.

Overwhelmed hiring teams have had to take longer to review applications and have often not delivered the ideal candidate experience.

Squeezed budgets have led to some organisations spend months failing to hire, believing this will work out cheaper than working with a trusted, fairly priced recruitment partner.

Applicants have been left without response for weeks, sometimes never even hearing back after an interview. This leaves applicants feeling bruised and gives a poor image of the organisation.

Many great candidates have been overlooked, discounted by bias or presumptions such as career gap = not a good candidate or disabled = less competent. There's temptation among inexperienced hiring teams to be brutal when faced with mounting piles of applications but you're actually just discriminating and limiting your options for great hires.

Too many candidates have been making poor quality applications, believing the scattergun approach might be the way to get an interview. Typos on CVs, generic cover letters, often AI generated and with little or no reference to the person or job in question are prevalent and will get you nowhere. 

Your application is your chance to show your communication skills (required in just about any role) and present how you have what's necessary for the job. Sloppy applications don't show this and quality over quantity will save you time and get you opportunities much faster!

My advice to help with all of these trends is to focus on the people you want to work with.

Candidates - 

The best move I ever made was to Bamboo. I took time to find a team I really wanted to join. The feeling was mutual and Graham and Tim created a new role for me. It's worked out 😊

Other teams I spoke with had excellent offers but the values didn't quite align. For me, inclusion and honesty are non negotiable.

Stay true to your values, anything else can be adjusted. 

Have questions prepared for your interview panel and probe the values/ethics/culture side.

Notice how people evade answering questions by talking 'around' the topic instead of just answering.

Hiring Managers - 

Focus on creating an inclusive and welcoming environment and hire the people who will help nurture that. Skills can be taught, experience can be gained. Wherever possible and practical, allow for some upskilling for the best person who shares your values and has enough background to work with.

I genuinely see the benefits of working with great people and ensuring everyone enjoys the journey. There's nothing quite as exciting and rewarding than working with people at their best, finding hidden potential and matching up minds that will complement each other and fuel team development.

This year, I've had the pleasure of working with some absolutely delightful, successful and happy teams that have high standards but also know how to attract and retain excellent people with the values and work ethic needed for a thriving workplace culture and to bring out the best from everyone.

If you asked Santa for a great 2025 and plan resolutions to be more positive, I cannot recommend enough that you surround yourself with positive and inspiring people! Be at your best and know that your colleagues are there with you!

Be the change you want to see in the workplace (inspired by Ghandi! ;))

Grant funding opportunities

Grants are a vital source of income for charities large and small, here are some opportunities:

The Prudence Trust and Stone Family Foundation

Amount:  £30,000 – 100,000 per year
Term: 3 years
Deadline: September 2, 2024

This opportunity is open to charities that deliver evidence-based, specialist eating disorder services to young people aged 11-25, and their families.

What they will fund

You can apply for support of existing services, or new services if you have a track record in eating disorder support. Either way, you must be able to demonstrate the positive impact of your support.

The service you’re applying for should reach at least 50 young people each year. And the Trust is particularly interested in services that complement – rather than duplicate – either end of statutory provision, such as early intervention services or step-down support after a young person has been discharged from an NHS service.

Funding can be used for the following:

• Salaries for staff who deliver therapy sessions to young people and their families

• The costs associated with delivering support groups

• Specialist training for staff, including refresher courses, training to develop new skills or enable them to work with young people

• Room hire for therapy sessions/support groups

• Creation or printing of resources to complement the services you are delivering

Find out more and apply here.

Transport for London and The London Marathon Foundation

Amount: £8,000
Term: over two years
Deadline: September 9, 2024

In partnership with The London Marathon Foundation, Transport for London is looking to fund charitable projects and activities that enable Londoners to enjoy the benefits of walking and cycling.

The Walking and Cycling Grants London Programme will support projects that:

• Increase walking and cycling in London (including new, lapsed or occasional cyclists).

• Increase confidence in walking and cycling.

• Increase walking and cycling frequency.

• Make bike ownership more accessible.

• Introduce exercise via walking and cycling to people who are particularly inactive.

• Reduce social isolation and get people involved in their local community.

Funding can be used to cover set-up and running costs, equipment, and training for people who are less confident in cycling and walking.

Find out more and apply here.

Hammersmith United Charities

Amount: up to £15,000
Deadline: September 19, 2024

Under its Community Grants programme, the charity supports organisations that make a difference to people living in its area of benefit.

Priority Areas:

• Meeting basic needs (food, shelter, advice etc)  

• Work with families and children (supporting parents, education, play, transition points, vulnerable children) 

• Countering isolation (in any group and for any reason) 

• Building confident individuals and communities 

They’re keen to fund smaller, local organisations with a strong connection to their beneficiaries and a good knowledge of the local area. 

The funding can be used for one-off/ongoing projects, or core costs.

Find out more and apply here
Note: You’ll need to complete the eligibility checklist to access the application form.

Hospital Saturday Fund

Amount: up to £10,000
Deadline: December 2, 2024

The Hospital Saturday Fund supports registered charities, hospices, and medical organisations that require funding for medical projects, care, research, or medical training within the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Republic of Ireland, and Malta.

What they will fund

• Medical projects

• Capital projects

• Medical care or research

• Hospice/respite care

• Medical training

The charity will also consider grants for running costs.

Find out more and apply here.

Sea-Changers

Amount: £500 - £2,500
Deadline: September 30, 2024

Sea-Changers awards one-off grants to UK-based charities that carry out marine conservation-related activities.

The projects they fund should achieve one or more of the following objectives:

• To address the root causes of marine conservation threats and challenges in the UK.

• To prevent or reduce negative impacts on UK coastal and marine environments and/or species.

• To add to the body of knowledge about marine conservation threats and challenges in the UK. ​

The charity will only fund projects (not core costs) and is particularly interested in grassroots projects that galvanise community action and/or increase the number of people taking action for marine conservation.

Find out more and apply here.

Give us a call on 020 3880 6655 or email contactus@ferntalent.com

Imposter syndrome: How to tame your inner critic

Do you doubt your ability to do your job, despite glowing feedback from your boss? Do you feel uncomfortable when people praise your work? Do you hold yourself to impossibly high standards?

You could be suffering from imposter syndrome.

What is imposter syndrome?

People with imposter syndrome experience chronic feelings of inadequacy and incompetence, despite evidence to the contrary. Often seen in high-achieving individuals, the phenomenon is thought to be fuelled by perfectionism and a fear of failure.

Although imposter syndrome can come into play in all areas of life, it's especially common in the workplace. In fact, it affects 3 in 5 workers in the UK.

Here are 4 signs you might have it:

1. You perceive yourself as unworthy of your position: You fear being “found out” by your boss or co-workers or have the sense that you’re fooling people by only ‘seeming’ to do a good job.

2. You're unable to accept praise or compliments: You never think your work is good enough, even when everyone else says it’s great. Every time you receive praise, your inner critic is speaking so loudly, that the compliments fail to register.

3. You’re riddled with self-doubt: You turn down opportunities to lead on projects/take on more responsibility as you doubt your capabilities.

4. You hold yourself to impossibly high standards: You find the fear of failure paralysing.

Although imposter syndrome is not a diagnosable mental illness, the negative thoughts and feelings associated with it can fuel a vicious cycle of anxiety, depression, and guilt.

Cognitive Distortion

Imposter feelings are often fuelled by cognitive distortions (exaggerated or irrational thought patterns that cause us to perceive reality inaccurately).

Here are four common cognitive distortions. Do any of them resonate with you?

• All-or-nothing: Also known as polarised thinking, this distortion occurs when people think in extremes. If a situation falls short of perfect, you see it as a total failure.

If your boss says you didn’t meet expectations in one area of your performance review, you label yourself as a failure at your job. There’s no room for nuance – there can’t be parts of your job you’re great at and areas that need improvement. In your eyes, you’re a failure.

• Mental filtering: You magnify the negative details of a situation while filtering out the positives.

This bias for dwelling on your shortcomings leads you to focus on the one piece of negative feedback you got on your job interview while disregarding the ten positive comments. 

• Overgeneralisation: You view one negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.

You once got nervous and stumbled your way through a speech at a fundraising event. As a result, your belief is "I always screw up speeches. I will never be able to speak publicly without messing up."

• Discounting the positive: You don’t take credit for things you’ve earned or achieved.

Your boss raves about a grant application you’ve spent ages on. You downplay the praise by telling yourself it was ‘nothing special’, or ‘anyone else could have done it just as well’.

Cognitive Restructuring

The key to overcoming cognitive distortion is learning how to identify, challenge, and reframe your thoughts. You can do this using cognitive restructuring (a series of therapeutic techniques that help people notice and change their negative thinking patterns.)

Step one: Identify your thoughts

The first step toward fixing imposter syndrome is to identify your cognitive distortions.

When a thought pops into your head that’s destructive or irrational, make a note of the situation that led to you having the thought and how it made you feel.

Step two: Question your assumptions

The next step is to challenge the thought and your assumptions about it.

Socratic Questioning can help you do this. The technique involves posing philosophical questions to challenge your beliefs and thoughts. For example, by asking yourself, “What evidence supports my belief?” or “How might another person view this situation differently?” you can analyse your thought patterns and make necessary adjustments.

Tip: This Cognitive Restructuring Worksheet is a handy tool you can use to analyse, evaluate and diffuse your distorted thoughts.

Step 3: Generate alternatives 

Come up with rational and positive alternatives to replace the distorted thought.

For example, if a group of colleagues stop talking when you walk into a room, instead of assuming they were talking about how bad you are at your job, consider other explanations i.e., maybe their conversation came to a natural end as you walked in …

Positive affirmations can also help i.e., remind yourself that you make valuable, positive contributions at work, and your colleagues always include you in what’s going on. 

Final Word

If left unaddressed, imposter syndrome can limit your career potential and damage your mental health and career. Instead of beating yourself up and getting lost in negative thoughts, use these strategies to nip your imposter thoughts in the bud and realise how awesome you are.

Looking for a fundraising role? Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to chat through options.

Philanthropy with Balance: The Rise of Participatory Grant-Making

Philanthropy has the power to transform lives and communities, but at its heart lies a persistent challenge: a power imbalance between funders and those they aim to support.

As Kirsty Gannon points out in a Fluxx blog post, “one of the biggest challenges of the traditional grant-making model is the power imbalance between funders and grantees. Funders hold the purse strings, and grantees have to cater to funders’ priorities and preferences rather than pursue their mission and vision.”

This top-down approach often stifles the autonomy and creativity of grantees, limiting their ability to address the real needs of the communities they serve. In response, a growing number of funders are adopting a participatory approach to grant-making, shifting the balance of power to the people closest to the issues.

What Is Participatory Grant-Making?

At its core, participatory grant-making involves ceding decision-making power about funding to the communities the funders aim to serve. As Learning for Funders defines it, it’s “the practice of ceding decision-making power about funding – including the strategy and criteria behind those decisions – to the very communities that funders aim to serve.”

This collaborative approach allows community members with lived experience to shape funding programmes. They help define criteria, decide how resources are allocated, and evaluate the success of initiatives. Proponents argue this leads to more effective grant-making, as funding priorities are aligned with the specific needs of local communities.

Participatory Grant-Making in Action: The Camden Giving Model

One organisation demonstrating the power of participatory grant-making is Camden Giving, an independent charity dedicated to tackling poverty and inequality in Camden.

Since its launch in 2017, Camden Giving has operated as a participatory funder because, in their words, “the people who are surviving inequality are the people who can, and should, fund the solutions to the challenges facing communities in Camden.”

Each year, 50 people with first-hand experience of inequality are recruited to form grant-making panels. These teams of 8-12 individuals take charge of setting funding priorities, reviewing applications, visiting applicants, and deciding who receives grants.

To date, the charity has distributed over £6 million with the help of 200 people who have lived through the issues the grants aim to address. Camden Giving’s experience confirms the value of this model:

"We know that participatory grant-making leads to better outcomes for individuals, communities, and civil society than traditional grant-making. It ensures funding goes where it is most helpful and builds power, connectivity, and networks for individuals and communities.”

A Radical Shift for Philanthropy

Participatory grant-making is a significant departure from the traditional ways institutional philanthropy operates. But given the scale and complexity of today’s challenges—climate change, poverty, inequality—it may be exactly what’s needed.

Moving beyond the status quo requires funders to rethink their role. As Dennis van Wanrooij explains in a Grantcraft report, “Participation is not just about making funding decisions. It’s about rethinking your role as a funder and seeking community participation in all layers of your work. True participation is about supporting, learning from, and partnering with grantees.”

Looking for an expert in trust fundraising?

Give us a call on 020 3880 6655 or email contactus@ferntalent.com to get the ball rolling.

Reputation is earned in drops and lost in buckets.

This saying has never been truer than in today’s hyper-connected world, where a single post, comment, or tweet can turn public sentiment against you in a heartbeat.

For charities and nonprofits, whose very existence depends on trust and goodwill, a social media misstep can have devastating consequences. It’s not just a matter of embarrassment—it can lead to lost donors, tarnished reputations, and long-term damage to your mission.

Let’s explore how to safeguard your organisation’s reputation and avoid being the next headline for all the wrong reasons.

When Good Intentions Go Wrong

Even the most well-meaning organisations aren’t immune to digital backlash. Sometimes, a poorly phrased tweet, an ill-judged campaign, or even an employee’s personal social media activity can spark outrage.

Take the hypothetical example of a small animal welfare charity posting a cheeky meme intended to engage younger audiences. While the intent may have been harmless, the tone comes across as flippant about animal cruelty, igniting a storm of criticism online.

The result? Donors pull their support, the media catches wind of the controversy, and the organisation is left scrambling to repair the damage.

Why Prevention Is Better Than Damage Control

Once your organisation is in crisis mode, it’s much harder to regain the trust of your supporters. That’s why it’s crucial to lay the groundwork for avoiding these situations altogether. Here’s how:

1. Establish Clear Social Media Guidelines

Every organisation needs a social media policy that provides clear guidelines for both official accounts and employees' personal activity when representing the organisation.

Your policy should cover:

• Who can post from official accounts and under what circumstances.

• Rules for tone, language, and acceptable content.

• How to respond to negative feedback or complaints.

• A crisis management plan for addressing serious incidents.

This document doesn’t have to stifle creativity, but it should ensure everyone understands the stakes and their responsibilities.

2. Train Your Team

Even seasoned professionals can misjudge tone or context online. Regular training sessions on social media best practices, cultural sensitivity, and audience expectations can help your team stay on track.

Make sure your training includes examples of how posts can be misinterpreted, even with the best of intentions. Understanding the potential pitfalls is the first step toward avoiding them.

3. Monitor Your Digital Presence

Social media monitoring tools can be your best friend. By tracking mentions of your organisation and key issues, you can spot potential problems early and address them before they spiral out of control.

Some tools worth considering:

• Brand Mentions: Aggregates online mentions across platforms for real-time tracking.

• Mentionlytics: Helps you monitor sentiment and group similar mentions for easy analysis.

• Hootsuite Insights: Combines monitoring with scheduling tools for efficient management.

4. Craft a Thoughtful Crisis Response Plan

Despite your best efforts, mistakes can happen. When they do, having a crisis communications plan in place can make all the difference.

At a minimum, your plan should outline:

• Who is authorised to respond on behalf of the organisation.

• The approval process for public statements.

• Pre-approved messaging templates to speed up response time.

• How to escalate serious incidents internally.

A Trust-Building Opportunity

Handled correctly, a crisis doesn’t have to be the end of the world. In fact, it can be an opportunity to demonstrate your organisation’s integrity, transparency, and commitment to learning from mistakes.

By responding quickly, owning up to errors, and taking steps to make things right, you can often turn a negative situation into a trust-building moment.

Need Help Protecting Your Organisation’s Reputation?

If you’re feeling unsure about how to manage your digital presence or prepare for potential crises, we’re here to help.

Give us a call on 020 3880 6655 or email contactus@ferntalent.com to get the ball rolling.