If you asked for a show of hands in a classroom of 30 students, maybe a handful would indicate that they want to be a doctor, nurse or teacher.
Probably none would have considered becoming a housing officer or working in community regeneration. I wasn’t any different.
While I had always wanted to work in public or not-for-profit sectors, I got my first job in housing almost by accident. Two-weeks as a temporary housing adviser on the UK’s largest council estate in Dagenham introduced me to the role of social housing in providing life chances for millions of people.
Since then I’ve worked in various frontline and strategic roles across London, and I’m passionate about the sector doing more to develop the talent we already have, and attracting those outside of it to consider joining. So how does someone go about pursuing a career in the sector?
The application process
For a sector worth over £300bn, finding social housing vacancies can be surprisingly difficult.
The largest housing players will often advertise roles through trade, online and national press, but there are hundreds of organisations – including well-known local authorities, arm’s-length management organisations and housing associations – that expect you to be scouring their website regularly, as advertising budgets are squeezed.
Cast the net wide when looking for potential roles. If you are already in the sector, this includes checking your company intranet, as many roles will be advertised to internal candidates first.
Public and non-profit application processes are notoriously formulaic and time-consuming, so I would suggest building up a portfolio of polished answers as you go. This means you should just need to freshen up your personal statement to be specific to each role that comes up, rather than start from scratch.
Beating the competition
Rising competition for jobs means that in most cases you might not even hear back unless you’ve been shortlisted. Being interviewed may not guarantee feedback, but always ask for it. Focusing on just one perfect job at a time is giving all the power to time-poor recruiting managers.
Interviews are an opportunity to establish if a role you are ambivalent about might actually be the right one. You might be surprised once you meet a potential manager who is bursting with passion and charisma, or hear more about a role that doesn’t jump out to you on paper, so keep an open mind.
In applications and interviews, the real question behind every competency based question is, “so what?”. What outcomes have you delivered for residents, customers, or the people you have worked with? How have you generated income or saved an organisation money? How do we know you can do the same for us?
Don’t fall into the trap of reciting your current day-to-day activities or job description, but shape your previous achievements around the role you are pitching for and lead your answers with that headline.
If you’re at the start of your career, you can apply the same approach to what you’ve achieved through voluntary experience, or even in different sectors. The diverse nature of the housing sector means that jobseekers from a range of disciplines can build a career.
Developing skills, experience and personal brand
The housing sector is awash with opportunities as it seeks to develop and attract talent. Having benefited from coaching and mentoring – and as a coach myself – I can’t recommend them enough, whether inside or outside of your organisation. There are a range of schemes offered by the Chartered Institute of Housing, and Housing Diversity Network, which your current employer may be willing to sponsor.
Even once the training budget has dried up, many non-profit organisations offer free training on a range of topics to develop your skills for current and future roles. Eventbrite is a good place to look first.
First impressions count, but a splash of good quality eau de toilette or a solid double Windsor for a job interview isn’t enough in the modern world. Seize every opportunity to use social media and the web to promote your professional profile. Promote your achievements, passions and ambitions to potential employers you don’t even know exist yet and in the long run it will pay dividends.
There is a lot of social housing discussion on Twitter, giving anyone the opportunity to engage with thought leaders and key influencers in the sector.
For fans of The Apprentice, Chartered Institute of Housing and Inside Housing’s Rising Stars competition, and 24housing’s Young Leaders competition provide annual opportunities to compete among the similarly ambitious who want to test and develop their skills beyond their comfort zone.
Tunde Hinton, head of the responsible social landlords network for consultancy Winmark, has 15 years’ experience of working in the sector. “I’m impressed with candidates who are able to demonstrate continuous learning and development,” she says.
“The sector is experiencing significant change. Anybody wishing to consider a career in housing will need to have the ability to adapt to change in what is becoming an increasingly commercial environment.”
The sector is full of opportunity for people with energy and ideas who want to improve people’s lives. Such challenges mean that forging a job in housing is never dull.
James Caspell is head of business improvement and performance at Sutton Housing Partnership, and a board member for the Chartered Institute of Housing in London.
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