One year after On Purpose: where are they now? With Rachel Bronstein

One year after completing the On Purpose Associate Programme, we catch up with our October 2021 Fellows to find out what they are up to now. Today, we're delighted to be speaking with Rachel Bronstein.

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

Before joining the Associate Programme I worked in Consulting, on a number of public and private sector projects. I quite enjoyed consulting because there was lots of breadth to my role. From early on in my career I was collaborating with fairly senior members of different organisations and sectors. I also got to experience and develop different skill sets, from research to strategy and design. It was definitely a good baptism of fire and introduction to the workforce for me.

Why did you join the On Purpose Associate Programme?

I knew from the moment I started my career that I wanted to do something socially impactful and beneficial with my time. Before joining the Associate Programme, I encouraged myself to do that outside of work through side projects and volunteering. However, it just got to the point where I wanted to be doing more. We spend the majority of our lives working and I really wanted to move into the social impact sector. I also didn’t feel like I could  justify spending the majority of my time on something that was solely profit driven. 

I had come across On Purpose a year prior to applying to the Associate Programme. During that year I let the idea of joining the programme settle and I also applied to a few purpose-driven organisations. I had some success in getting interviews with organisations, however the candidates who ended up getting the job primarily had work experience within the sector. Even though I could showcase my involvement in a number of side projects as well as volunteering, in a competitive market, someone who had already done a similar job in a similar organisation would naturally pip me to the post. I therefore felt that joining the Associate Programme would signal a real proof of commitment to potential employers in the impact sector. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 I, like many others, reflected on the state of the world and how I wanted to spend my life, and decided to take the leap and apply to the programme. 

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

I am a Programme Manager at the Design Council, an independent charity that acts as the UK’s national strategic advisor on design. Here I have been working on programmes that showcase the value of design in improving outcomes for people and planet. One such programme is called ‘Shaping Places for Healthier Lives’, which involves supporting local authorities to improve health outcomes in their local areas through a systems change approach.

The Design Council has recently pivoted its mission to ‘Design for Planet’, which means focusing on how we can design the world around us in a way that is ‘for planet’, not just for people. This refers to the design of places, buildings, communities, organisations and more.

What I really appreciate about my role and the Design Council as an organisation is that the organisation takes a systems change (design) approach to its work. For example, the Design Council created the ‘Systemic Design Framework’ which is a design-led approach to changing systems. Systems thinking is central to many of the Friday training sessions you receive as an Associate, so I knew that I was going to be able to apply my systems knowledge to the role with the Design Council. I feel very lucky to be working somewhere that not only has a framework for systems design but is also starting to apply it to real life projects. 

Can you tell us more about your placements?

My first placement was at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) where I worked on a project called ‘Vision for Volunteering’ to help articulate a vision and plan for volunteering in England. At DCMS I acted as a liaison between the civil service and the charities who were working on this vision. So my role was less focused on policy and more about bridging relationships and exploring the role that volunteering can have, for instance through running workshops with different organisations.

What I really enjoyed about my time with DCMS was that I could clearly see the impact I was making. There was a set brief at the start of my placement and by the end of my six months with DCMS I could clearly see the role I had played in delivering a Vision for Volunteering. 

My second placement was at Imperial College Health Partners (ICHP) in healthcare innovation. I supported a number of different projects and really got a crash course in the workings of the NHS and healthcare in the UK. It was really insightful to learn how many people it actually takes for the NHS to operate and also how an organisation like ICHP, very different from my first placement, is run. 

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

The power of being my authentic self. On a leadership programme, you start with a particular conception of what or who a leader is - what they look like, how they talk. On day one of the Associate Programme, you arrive in your cohort and immediately start scanning the room, thinking: “Oh they're an actual leader”; because they may be more extroverted or more articulate, matching the general conception of what it means to be a leader. 

However, over the course of the programme you realise that there is no one way of being a leader. Over time, the quieter voices, the people with more ‘out of the box’ ideas, or the ones who build slower, more intentional relationships, actually hold more sway in the cohort. Because there’s not only one way of being a leader. 

By the end of the programme, you learn that you can't put yourself into the mould of a leader you think you should be. Instead, you discover more about yourself and your own authentic way of moving through the world. Once you know that, that’s where your strength of being a leader lies. It’s powerful because it allows you to go out into the world and apply for jobs in a way that focuses more on what you want and what you bring rather than trying to come across a certain way. It gives you personal power and opens you up to seeing people and the world in a different way. 

What support did you get along the way? 

My cohort was amazing and absolutely a place I turned to for support (or support was coming to me!), whether that was via our cohort whatsapp group or meeting with fellow Associates who lived in north London like myself.

I also felt very lucky that the On Purpose core team created such a nurturing environment for us Associates, which felt so approachable. I always felt comfortable being open and turning to the team for support.

Finally, I made sure to take the space that I needed to support myself, so taking the time to journal and reflect on my journey. As an Associate you go through quite a busy year with lots to think about and possibly a little bit of anxiety about what happens after the programme. So supporting myself in what I needed was key. 

How did you approach finding a job after the programme?

One of the things I learnt on the programme was that I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about being ‘a generalist’. I found it quite hard to explain my experience to potential employers, for instance, as some of the softer skills that come with being a generalist can be difficult to outline on a CV. So before joining the Associate Programme, I had a crisis of confidence and wasn’t sure on what I could bring to a role.

As an Associate, my placements taught me that my ‘generalist’ skill set actually enabled me to have a number of transferable skills I could apply to different contexts. During the programme I also learnt how to talk about being a generalist in a more nuanced and confident way, which meant that, when applying for jobs, I felt comfortable to look for a role with breadth and was empowered to do so. 

When it came to applying for jobs, I was quite selective and only applied to four positions. I spent a lot of time cultivating quite personal cover letters that gave more insight into my time on the Associate Programme and what I was looking for and why. I also very much manifested a break after On Purpose, so when interviewing with organisations, I used a confidence I hadn’t had before the programme and told them that I would be free from November onwards (rather than late September when the programme ended). I then found out I got my current job at the end of August and started my role in November.

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

Working in my old career, the private sector, I really took for granted that systems and processes just worked. Things are set up and structured in a way that enables people to do their job well, which is key. I realised that in order to have an impact on society, the environment and people, an organisation needs to be set up well internally to allow people to do their job efficiently and ultimately have that impact. 

I don't miss the constant feeling that I should be working on something more socially impactful. Some of the projects I worked on were impactful in their own right, however when the only goal of a project or organisation was to generate more profit, it just didn’t feel right for me personally. 

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

Remember that your career isn't the only place where you can have a positive impact on the world. For instance, you can have an impact through volunteering or conversations with family and friends where you may be able to change that one person’s mindset. However, I’d say if you are looking for a career that aligns with your values, then definitely trust your gut and explore your options, including the Associate Programme of course! There's not one linear path and it's ok to squiggle and to see (and present) every experience and job you have as part of your story.