We’ll help you find a new fundraising role in an efficient, supportive and professional way, saving you time and stress by helping you be at your best and doing things that give you an edge in your job search.

What we do for you

Ensure you hear about jobs relevant to your interests and experience. Our knowledge of your interests and career goals is what shapes the way we work with you. When you register with us we’ll take the time to discuss what you want, and ensure we run jobs past you that fit your brief.

Make you aware of opportunities not publicly advertised. Charities talk to us about their plans to expand teams, replace departing staff, or restructure. We’re their direct link to the people they need, and your source of information about what charities are doing. We will let you know first when exciting opportunities are coming up.

Give you a proper brief that tells you what employers are really looking for. We talk to our clients about their vacancies and translate this information into clear explanations of what you need to demonstrate in order to get the job. We tell you about the context and challenges of a role, and the skills and personal approach it demands.

Help you write the best CV or application form possible. A CV or application that clearly shows the skills and qualities required for a job is essential. We’ll help you write a CV that highlights key experience and draws out what hiring managers are looking for. We’ve seen thousands in our time, and know what works well.

Make sure you go into an interview knowing exactly what to do. Interviews are tough, but we love them. We can prepare you for difficult questions, ensure you know what an employer is really looking for, and help you present your strengths and weaknesses in the most effective way possible.

CV advice

Writing a CV or application that focuses on your relevant achievements and leaves out extraneous information is essential to securing an interview, but many people find this difficult.

It’s natural to want to describe all the processes, team changes, cross-departmental working and other activity that contributed to your success, but these won’t necessarily be of interest to a hiring manager.

These guidelines outline what, in our experience, makes a CV or application stand out from the crowd. Remember, you can describe the specific facets of your job that relate to a particular vacancy at interview or in a cover letter (see below).

Two sides is almost always sufficient if you keep it focused. The best CVs are easy to read, succinct and specific.

Information should all be in bullet point format, not prose, which can be dense and disincline people to read the whole CV.

A clear, uncluttered, easy-to-read format is best. No text boxes, photos or logos.

Don’t be vague. Don’t use statements such as:

• Developed relationships with a range of groups and external partners
• Achieved KPIs
• Raised money towards capital appeal
• Managed team towards achieving targets

Be specific. Use statements such as:

• Manage relationships with 100 high value donors giving min. £10,000 per year each
• Generated £2m from new major donors in 2017
• Directly manage two corporate fundraising managers and a wider team of nine people generating £10m per year
• Personally increased corporate income from £1m in 2016 to £1.8m in 2017
• Increased income from x to y during tenure
• Generate income from (x types) of community groups using (y types of community fundraising mechanisms)

Go straight into describing results. Information beneath each job should generally highlight specific achievements rather than responsibilities. For example:

• Don’t say: “Responsible for raising money from large trusts towards a target of £10m”
• Do say: “Secured income of £1.5m in 2016 and £1.7m in 2017 from major trusts”

State what you have personally raised in each financial year – it’s what you’ve brought in that counts.

Where possible, break down your fundraised income. For example:

• New business vs account management
• Donor acquisition vs donor development
• New major donors vs development of existing donors
• New vs existing trust relationships
• If you are a Head or Director of Fundraising, state your total annual income responsibility, mentioning each of the income streams you oversee and what each generates

Describe teams

• If you manage a team, state what they have raised under your guidance separately from your personal fundraising successes
• State size of team and job titles of direct reports

State income and expenditure budgets

• Describe your income and expenditure budgets for the current year, and state overall increase in income during your tenure, eg: “increased income from £1.2m in 2016 to £3.4m in 2017”
• Include specifics about ROI, if applicable

Cover letters

A good cover letter should serve as a concise, punchy and informative accompaniment to a well-written CV (which should specify major achievements in each role). It should not reproduce information already covered in the CV.

It must express your specific interest in a particular job and not be a generic statement that has been hastily topped and tailed to appear tailored.

Crucially, it should:

• Say why you are applying for this particular role
• Express a clear interest in the organisation and their specific circumstances
• Describe your directly relevant experience (using brief examples) and ensure you relate this to the specific requirements of the post (person specification)
• Conclude with a clear, concise summary of why you are right for the vacancy
• Not exceed one side of A4. Many people feel that it is not possible to express themselves fully on one side, but brevity does not equal a lack of information. Rather, it is an opportunity to use good writing skills to succinctly make a case to attend interview, where you can expand on what is in your CV and cover letter

Diversity policy

QuarterFive is committed to equal treatment of all people we come into contact with. We treat all candidates fairly, and in line with best practice diversity and equal opportunities policies throughout the assessment and selection process.

We wholeheartedly support the principle of equal opportunities in employment and oppose all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination on the grounds of gender, age, ethnic or national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

Our recruitment service proactively targets candidates who meet our client’s brief, irrespective of gender, age, ethnic or national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability.