One year after On Purpose: where are they now? With Madelaine Wilson

Can you tell us about your background and your career prior to On Purpose?

I’m originally from Canada, so before moving to London for On Purpose, I worked in Toronto in partnerships and account management at a tech company in the energy industry. I spent a few years in that space, learned from some amazing people, and gained lots of valuable skills which helped me greatly in the roles and projects I’ve been a part of since.

At university, I studied business and economics with sustainability and, throughout my studies, was quite involved in different social entrepreneurship projects, something I then started to miss in my roles after university.

Why did you join the On Purpose Associate Programme?

Even though I enjoyed my work at the time, I felt like I wanted to delve deeper into the purpose and social impact space. Since university, I had also been very energised by social entrepreneurship and wanted to get closer to it again.

At the same time, I also really wanted to work abroad. So when I started looking for opportunities in the UK, I came across the Associate Programme and it just felt like such a good fit! It would allow me to get experience in different areas of the purpose-driven space and be part of a community while making this big change of quitting my job, changing careers, and also moving countries. Having a cohort of people you go through the programme with really excited me, as much as the placements, training and coaching did.

It's been one year since you completed the Associate Programme. What are you doing now?

I now work at Youth First, a youth charity based in south east London. As Project Manager, I’m supporting the rebuilding and re-opening of one of the charity’s youth centres. Here I manage the organisation’s partnerships, community engagement, and am responsible for the youth centre’s operational plan for its reopening. It’s a really hands-on, community focused role which I love!

Can you tell us more about your placements?

My placements and respective projects were both quite different from each other.

My first placement was at Better Society Capital (BSC), an impact investor, where I was part of the venture team. I worked on an impact venture capital (VC) project helping to build up a community platform for VCs in the impact space across Europe and beyond, which was fascinating. I got exposed to how impact VC works, how BSC makes investment decisions and deals and got an insight into the players and networks involved.

My second placement was with the Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Youth Policy Team. My role was quite focused on project management, however still quite varied and a huge learning opportunity. The main project I was working on was a piece of guidance for policy makers to help more effectively engage young people in the policy making process. But I also wrote a speech for a Minister, got involved with events for young people and more.

What’s the most important thing you learnt during your year as an Associate?

I learnt so much in that year! But my biggest learning and a bit of a recurring theme for me, was something my coach said. Which is: pay attention to what gives you energy. And particularly, pay attention to what gives you energy vs what drains you, both from a work and from a personal wellbeing perspective.

Paying attention to my energy reinforced how important social entrepreneurship and community are to me. It reinforced, particularly through my work in the social impact space, when it comes to being part of the change, how much I value practical solutions for people. And it helped me realise what I wanted to do as a next step, after On Purpose.

What support did you get along the way?

I got massive amounts of support, especially as a newcomer to the country.

The programme is designed in a way that allows for a lot of space to receive support. For instance, I got support from my cohort who I met with every Friday and who are incredibly thoughtful and caring.

There was furthermore space to get to know the "cohort above" (those in the programme at the same time, on their second placement), for instance at get-togethers or at the pub after Friday training. There was also lots of support from the core team who always welcomed you with thoughtful, open arms.

Finally, my coach was amazing! My sessions were always really energising.

How did you approach finding a job after the programme?

The end of the programme somehow came around very quickly!

Once I had crossed the 4-months mark with my second placement, I started my job search. This included speaking to different people in the space, for instance interesting speakers from our Friday training or people from organisations I was interested in. I also used job boards and LinkedIn - where I found my current job!

What do you miss about your old career, and what don’t you miss?

I am really grateful for everything I learnt in the jobs I had before as I feel like they set the stage for where I am today. Some of the things I loved in these sectors is how efficient everything could be with the right tools and space to be inventive in problem solving, which I’ve been able to learn from and apply to other workplaces.

What advice would you give to others in a similar situation?

Making a career change can be quite daunting. I try to just see it as a learning opportunity, as the next step on your journey, rather than the next big thing - which I would encourage for others too.

And definitely talk to people about making a change if you need to. If it’s the Associate Programme you're interested in, reach out to On Purpose Fellows (I’m also always happy to chat!) who will be able to answer any questions you may have. This experience was personally the right fit for me at the right time. I am so grateful for that time and for the community it has opened to me since.