25th March 2025
How can you shape a meaningful and purpose-driven career in the humanitarian sector and beyond?
Tune in to this episode to glean insights from Ana Lucia Villagran, a Learning Solutions Specialist at HLA’s Latin America and Caribbean Regional Centre based in Guatemala, and Selim Uysal, an independent humanitarian consultant and trainer from Türkiye, now based in Germany.
Ana Lucia and Selim share their personal journeys of discovering purpose in their careers that have spanned the commercial world and academia, before transitions into the development and humanitarian sectors.
“Once I was speaking to this very seasoned communicator and he told me, you first need to learn how to communicate. And once you have that mastered, go and find out what is it that you want to say and find your own voice. And I think that really marked my whole career and that’s how I started this search for meaning.” Ana Lucia Villagran
“I think at the core there is purpose. So if you stay connected with your ‘why’ while doing this work, it becomes easier to develop the skills and keep moving forward…even if you have challenges and problems.” – Selim Uysal
Together with host Ka Man Parkinson, Ana Lucia and Selim discuss:
- Navigating career transitions
- Developing essential skills such as communication, creativity, critical thinking and adaptability
- Maintaining resilience and a sense of purpose in turbulent and uncertain times
Whether you’re just beginning your social impact career, managing a transition or simply seeking professional inspiration, this episode offers valuable insights.
Keywords: Humanitarian careers, career transitions, skills pivots, professional development, resilience, creativity, critical thinking, design thinking principles, leadership, communication, adaptability, professional skills, social impact, research, storytelling, active listening, effective writing, AI for humanitarians, digital presence, networking, transferable skills.
Listen to the episode, now streaming on major platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Buzzsprout and more!
About the speakers
Ana Lucia Villagran
Ana Lucia Villagran holds a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising, as well a master’s in international Trade and Economic Development. Academically, Ana Lucia has been involved in substantial economic development research projects, and she has also served as a Professor for a Master’s Degree Program on Public Policy jointly developed by San Carlos National University and the Korean Development Institute; where she has taught Trade Policy, Productivity and Economic Development. In Save the Children she has served as project manager for regional project related to capacity building and she supports the work of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy LAC Regional Center, as a Learning Solution Specialist.
Selim Uysal
Selim Uysal is a humanitarian consultant and trainer with over eight years of experience in the humanitarian sector, specializing in monitoring and evaluation, partnerships, localization, capacity building, and safeguarding in complex crisis settings. He has worked across Turkey, Syria, and Ukraine, including with Save the Children and its partners. Selim holds Bachelor’s Degrees in International Relations and English Language Teaching, along with Master’s Degrees in International Relations, NGO Management & Social Projects, and International Humanitarian Action.
Currently based in Bochum, Germany, Selim collaborates with NGOs in Turkey through the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, focusing on strengthening local leadership, fostering sustainable humanitarian action, and improving organizational effectiveness. He also supports NGOs through training and consultancy in project management, fundraising, grant management, and MEAL. Beyond his humanitarian work, Selim helps experts grow their audience through newsletters and educational email courses, leveraging his writing skills to drive impactful communication and meaningful change.
Ka Man Parkinson
Ka Man Parkinson is a Communications and Marketing Specialist at the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, where she leads the creation and management of digital content, including the Fresh Humanitarian Perspectives podcast and the HLA webinar series. With nearly two decades of leading international marketing and communications campaigns in the international education and nonprofit sectors, Ka Man has worked with organisations such as the British Council and three UK higher education institutions.
Driven by a passion for creating positive impact, Ka Man is dedicated to developing engaging, audience-focused communications that informs, connects and inspires global communities. She holds a BSc in Management and IT, an MA in Business and Chinese, and a Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Diploma in Marketing. Ka Man is based near Manchester, UK.
Chapters
Tune into the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts!
- 00:00 Chapter 1: Introduction
- 01:56 Chapter 2: Finding purpose: Ana Lucia’s and Selim’s journey into social impact careers
- 08:05 Chapter 3: Reflections on vital skills for building an impact driven career
- 17:52 Chapter 4: Utilising research skills to strengthen impact
- 24:17 Chapter 5: The art of communication and the power of deep listening
- 38:47 Chapter 6: Managing career transitions and pivots: personal experiences
- 48:51 Chapter 7: Closing reflections
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Episode transcript
This transcript was generated using automated tools. While efforts have been made to check its accuracy, minor errors or omissions may remain.
Introduction
00:00 Chapter 1: Introduction
[Music]
Welcome to Fresh Humanitarian Perspectives, the podcast brought to you by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy.
[Voiceover]
As the humanitarian sector is experiencing immense challenges and unprecedented levels of change, many of us are finding things extremely tough going and are looking to others for connection and to draw a sense of support and solidarity from the wider community as we collectively navigate and respond to these incredibly challenging times.
I’m Ka Man Parkinson, and in today’s episode, we are hearing reflective and supportive humanitarian careers insights from two highly inspiring guests, Ana Lucia Villagran, a Learning Solutions Specialist from the HLA’s Latin America and Caribbean Regional Centre based in Guatemala, and Selim Uysal, an independent humanitarian consultant and trainer from Türkiye, now based in Germany.
Both Ana Lucia and Selim have navigated career transitions and pivots to shape purpose-driven work. I’ve learned a lot from them as they open up their experiences and advice on navigating these changes while maintaining resilience in the face of uncertainty. In our conversation, we focus on the critical skills that they’ve cultivated and mindset shifts they’ve experienced to help them forge ahead with their careers, which are built on supporting others with purpose and impact. Creativity and expression is central to their journeys and I found it really interesting to delve into this with both Selim and Ana Lucia. So, I hope you gain valuable insights and tips to support your own career transitions and journeys, no matter where you are in the world.
[Music ends]
01:56 Chapter 2: Finding purpose: Ana Lucia’s and Selim’s journey into social impact careers
Ka Man: Hi, Ana Lucia and Selim, welcome to the podcast! Would you like to start by introducing yourself to our listeners? Shall we start with you please, Ana Lucia.
Ana Lucia: Sure. My name is Ana Lucia and I’m from Guatemala. I joined Save the Children and the HLA Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean almost two years ago as a project manager and Learning Solutions Specialist. Actually, communications is definitely one of my core interests, so I’m very, very excited to be here with you today. Thank you for having me.
Ka Man: Oh, that’s brilliant. Thank you so much Ana Lucia for joining us, especially as I know it’s very early in the morning where you are. So thank you again. And welcome Selim, welcome to the podcast.
Selim: Thank you so much, Ka Man, thanks for having us, and it’s great to be here. I’m Selim Uysal, I’m an independent humanitarian consultant and trainer and I’m from Türkiye but I’m based in Germany. So my work focuses on capacity building, safeguarding and localisation. And over the years I have worked with Save the Children and various partners supporting the humanitarian organisations in building stronger and effective programmes.
Ka Man: That’s wonderful, thank you so much Selim. So let’s sort of hear a bit more about your backgrounds. Could I ask what inspired you to join the humanitarian sector? And could you share maybe a few highlights from your journey, and perhaps sharing a moment in your career that has deeply impacted you? So let’s come to you first, Ana Lucia.
Ana Lucia: Sure. As I mentioned earlier, I love communications and as an undergrad, I majored in advertisement. But I think I quickly realised that most related jobs where in the commercial sector. So here I was fresh out of university and excited about my new skills, but a bit let down thinking that I will use them mostly to push products and that didn’t really feel good to me. So I was looking for meaning and purpose in the work I do, and I think every step in that search is what finally brought me to the humanitarian sector.
I remember once I was speaking to this very seasoned communicator and he told me, you know, you first need to learn how to communicate. And once you have that mastered, go and find out what is it that you want to say and find your own voice. And I think that really marked my whole career and that’s how I started this search for meaning. And in retrospect, I think earlier in my career, I lacked a little bit of this coaching to help me map out the many other possibilities available for communication professionals. But I’m really glad that I found this person on my way and I realised that, yeah, maybe I need to find this purpose and how to use my skills.
Ka Man: I love that. Thank you so much for sharing, Ana Lucia. I recognise what you’ve shared in some of my own journey as well. And I really like that quote that you shared about learning to communicate and finding your own voice. Really, really interesting. So thank you so much for sharing that. So how about you Selim, what’s been the highlights from your journey and any sort of pivotal moments along the way?
Selim: Yeah, thank you so much again, I will start from my university years. I studied English language teaching and also international relations as my double major. And my path into humanitarian sector wasn’t a straight one actually. I started in private sector for a short time and then later I worked at the university, more on teaching, lecturing, and research. And during my master’s studies I researching about the migration issues and at that time Türkiye was hosting over 3 million refugees. And I saw many NGOs working in the field while I was doing research. It was variable, but I wanted to take more active role in the humanitarian efforts rather than just analysing data, so I wanted to help people and be in the field.
Then I applied for jobs in the sector and I started with an organisation in monitoring and evaluation job, which was an entry point because it was connected to my research and my experience as well. So this was the career move. And in the sector when I started, I changed jobs and I changed the organisation, but I wasn’t the MEAL, monitoring and evaluation. And then I worked on partnerships for few years and then I moved to specialising in safeguarding. So I worked with different departments and different areas of work.
Ka Man: Well, that’s really interesting, thank you Selim for sharing that. Really interesting to hear that your path has been quite varied. You’ve worn lots of different hats, but obviously that’s meant that you’ve been able to cultivate different skill sets that you can apply in your current role. I guess your career is what some people refer to as a more of a squiggly career, so not in one straight line, but that often reflects the way that people’s careers are now. And obviously also in the current context with lots of shifts within the humanitarian landscape and beyond that, a lot of us will be carving out what we’re calling a squiggly career here. So it’s interesting to hear your journey and look forward to hearing more from you.
08:05 Chapter 3: Reflections on vital skills for building an impact driven career
Ka Man: So you both have rich professional experiences, and as I’ve mentioned, wide range of skills in your toolkit. So reflecting on your current positions in the humanitarian sector, what do you think are the most valuable skills for building an impact driven career like yours? So let’s hear from you first please, Selim.
Selim: I think like being a generalist normally is not very recommended, so you need to specialise in one area, etc. But I think in some situations, it’s better to have different skill set and knowledge, so that’s what I’m trying to do as well.
And I can say 3 important skills, but I will start with communication as Ana Lucia already mentioned. Whether you are working with communities or partners or donors or colleagues, I think the ability to listen, adapt and convey your ideas clearly, is really crucial. And humanitarian works is like most of the time, it’s about navigating complex cultural and organisational landscapes. So I think having strong communication skills is really key to build trust and alignment with the within the organisation.
And the second thing is flexibility. As you mentioned, we are in always constant changing or crisis evolving, funding shifts and priorities change, etc. So being able to adapt, think critically and remaining solution-focused is really the thing that makes the difference. And I have seen that some of the best humanitarians, like my supervisors, colleagues, are the ones who were able to like quickly find solutions and creative thinking, and they were flexible in the unpredictable situation.
And the last thing is I think resilience. Because this work is emotionally and mentally demanding. So you are dealing with the crisis, you are in the like earthquake zone or conflict zone. Or the resource constraints or sometimes bureaucratic challenges. And the ability to stay motivated and manage your stress and keep going despite all the setbacks as what sustains a long-term career in this field.
And last thing, I think at the core there is purpose. So if you stay connected with your ‘why’ while doing this work it becomes easier to develop the skills and keep moving forward, even if it stop and even if you have challenges and problems.
Ka Man: That’s fantastic. Thank you, Selim. I love that. I was scribbling down some notes as you were speaking. So you said: communication, flexibility, resilience, and remember, at core your purpose, and stay connected with your why. Really like that.
I think the good news is that the optimistic message we can draw from this as well, what you’re saying is these are all skills that some people are, it’s quite innate. Some people are born, you know, being strong communicators. Some people have that inner resilience and grit.
But that said, it’s something that we can all cultivate and we can all sort of strengthen, so that’s an optimistic message, particularly as we’re all going through a lot of change and considering, you know, what our professional skill sets are. So yeah, that’s very timely and good advice. So thank you, Selim.
So, coming to you, Ana Lucia, what do you think, what skills do you think are the most valuable for impact driven careers?
Ana Lucia: Well, I definitely agree with Selim. He actually covered most of the transfer transferable skills that we need, no matter the sector. I believe that problem solving, as he said, is definitely critical to wherever you go this critical thinking to be able to, you know, resolve problems that you meet in the way. But also I will add to all of this creativity and as a core skill, because it’s really highly relevant, related, sorry to the way you solve any problem. Time management is really important. Teamwork and leadership as all of these are to me very basic, no matter where you go.
Ka Man: So I found it really interesting that you highlighted creativity. I think creativity is something that is probably innate in all of us. We’re born creative, we’re very curious. And we like to express ourselves in different ways. But as we get older, we, you know, some of us really lean into that. Some of us might not relate to that as part of our identity.
So what do you think, as a follow up question, how do you think, or how do you cultivate your sense of creativity, and bring that into your work or your everyday practices.
Ana Lucia: Sure. I think of myself as a very creative person. And maybe it’s because, as Selim said, I also didn’t follow like a straight line career path. But mostly I was able to change sometimes and being able to adapt to different situations, and I think that gave me also some sort of leeway to think outside the box to try to solve any given problem from an outsider perspective. And sometimes when we are just focusing on one thing that we have been doing for I don’t know, 10 years maybe we have certain way of doing things or thinking about things.
But if you push yourself to think differently, to see from the top rather than to from very, very close, then you start thinking about other ways, other possibilities, to solve the same problem. And maybe more effectively or faster, you know, more efficiently.
Ka Man: That’s great, thank you. Ana Lucia. Selim, would you like to add anything to that, about how to sort of foster creativity and bring that into your work?
Selim: Yeah, I think it’s one of the important skills as well. And we can think of in different departments like if you’re writing a project, for example, being creative would be really important so that you can get the grants while there are 10 different applicants as well.
So I think we also like rather than only focusing on individual creativity, we should be also focusing on the collective creativity and the departments or in the organisations as well. And there are so many tools right now, like before designing a project like we can make a workshop or online meeting. But we work on like either post-its or that kind of online tools so that we brainstorm first and then we go into the writing or the needs assessment type of work.
So I think as you mentioned, Ka Man in the schools like or in our childhood, we are all creative. I have two kids, aged four and seven. So every day they are drawing, they’re designing something, but when they go to the school like primary school, high school or university, I think most of us are losing that kind of creative energy or spirit, let’s say. So we need to invest last time and energy to get it back. And we need to make it as a routine like I am not sure if all organisations are using, but there is a term which is more used than private sector called design thinking, like and there are some organisations who are leading in this area. But I haven’t seen in the humanitarian sector like using this design thinking principles for example. So I think using that kind of approaches would be good for creating innovative solutions or creative solutions to tackle with the problems that we are encountering.
Ka Man: Thank you, Selim. Really insightful, really interesting. I really liked how you presented that as creativity as a core skill, but collective creativity, not just on the individual level – brainstorming, sharing ideas, and embedding that into the process. Talking about design thinking principles and investing time and resources into doing that.
17:52 Chapter 4: Utilising research skills to strengthen impact
So both of you have strong research backgrounds. I know that from talking to you and hearing a bit about your story before we connected on this call. So I’m curious to know if your research skills inform the way that you design and deliver your training in the humanitarian sector. So can we come to you first, Ana Lucia.
Ana Lucia: Sure. Well, actually, in my quest for meaning, I would say I decided to do a master degree in economic development and later on I joined a research programme in international relations. So to me, research gave me structure. It helped me realise the importance of accessing reliable data to inform strategy decisions and later on create projects that may serve entire communities.
So in my case for example, understanding there is a method to capture information and also to present those findings clearly has really helped me understand the humanitarian needs in my region, identify the most pressing needs and prioritise our action based on whatever we found in in the research. Also it helped me manage better, all monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning activities in the projects under my responsibility. So I think all in all, it has given me kind of the core, the skeleton or the structure on how to manage information in how to present it so that it can actually serve us as a as a starting base for everything I do, yeah.
Ka Man: That’s brilliant. Thank you so much, Ana Lucia. And how about you Selim, how do your research skills shape your everyday work?
Selim: As Ana Lucia mentioned, I am also very fond of education and I’m writing my thesis in my third master’s degree and I have done one in international relations. The second one in NGO management and social projects. And now I am doing a NOHA international humanitarian action masters. This is a very good programme for humanitarians, I really recommend for if anyone is thinking.
And research has been a key asset in my work, both in like in MEAL and partnerships and safeguarding, and also in my work as a humanitarian consultant and trainer. And there are different levels. The first one is evidence-based content. When we are writing the report or when we are like preparing the training content, if you have good research skills you can gather, analyse and synthesise information or get more information regarding your audience and you can present the data, case studies and best practises rather than just talking about your experience. So I think in that sense important to bring evidence based type of content. The second thing is adaptability and also critical thinking like research in most problem-solving skills and questioning the assumptions.
And in humanitarian sector, I think there are so many assumptions like there are some needs and there are some structured solutions like, if there is water, we need to take the well, if there is a like food need we need to purchase and distribute this, so but sometimes the solution that we are thinking is not the thing that’s really needed in that place. So we need to think everything critically and when we are designing something, we should be also flexible and adaptable to different challenges or different types of thing. And we need to apply this in the field work situations and scenarios.
And the 3rd element that’s important is evaluation and continuous improvement, I think this is a core part of research as well, like testing the idea, iterating and improving and having the testing. And along this process you need to collect the feedback, measure the impact and redefine or refine your content. So I think this is both applicable to the trainings and also the humanitarian work that you are doing in your daily work. And when you have this research experience, I think this will help people to get more informed decisions and take more meaningful action rather than relying on assumptions and gut feelings.
Ka Man: Thank you so much to both of you for sharing your thoughts on that. I see a lot of cross-over in what you’ve both been saying in that with your research skills and generally that critical thinking is a really crucial skill for humanitarians to develop and to utilise for their everyday work so that we’re not blindly rushing in to apply the same, the solutions that we think. That we’ve got to interrogate everything, take that step back, use robust methods, ensure that we’re using reliable data, that everything is evidence-based to make sure it’s the, it’s the effective and appropriate intervention or, you know, training, or whatever it is that you’re working on, that it’s fit for purpose. So I think that’s a really, that speaks to the quality and ultimately how effective and how much it’s going to help the communities that we’re seeking to support. So thank you very much for sharing that.
24:17 Chapter 5: The art of communication and the power of deep listening
Ka Man: Now you’ve both touched on this already as we’ve been going along, you’re both communication advocates, so to speak. So which communication skills do you think are most valuable for humanitarians today? And could you perhaps share an example of how strong communication has made a difference in your work. So let’s hear from you first, please, Ana Lucia.
Ana Lucia: Yes, I think there are two main ones for me. One is the art of communicating efficiently with others and to really listen to others, understand their perspectives, and from there really start communicating. This is the single most important ability given that we work in a multicultural environment and a diversity of contacts. I would say also, I think that oftentimes we go in with our own agendas and only fixated in delivering our message and this many times prevents us from having a meaningful communication and reaching fruitful results for everybody involved. So realising that is not only what I want to achieve, but accommodating my counterpart needs whether they are colleagues or partners, NGOs or stakeholders of the project, I think this is core – communicating efficiently.
And the second one I would say is storytelling and writing, because being able to draw best practices, lesson learned and the actual story behind a person impacted by our projects is a really powerful way to give visibility to pressing issues and advocate to improve their situations.
Ka Man: That’s fantastic, thank you. It’s really interesting that your headline is listening – listening skills – because obviously sometimes with communication it might, people might associate it with broadcast: what is it that we want to say? What is it that we want to share and impart? But obviously as you. as you really well highlight really well, it’s a two-way process. And listening is often the overlooked aspect of communication. Organisations and individuals can be guilty of this. And one of the, it’s interesting that you highlighted one of the barriers to that effective listening is that we were often going in with our own agenda. And so we’re not always accommodating what the other, our counterparts are saying.
Just as a follow up question because I thought it was very interesting – and listening is a theme that comes up in I think every single podcast discussion that I have, it’s obviously. It is something that is really overlooked. What do you think, Ana Lucia, as well as people having our own agendas and we, we want to serve our own, you know what we want to do. So what do you think is also a barrier to people listening effectively, particularly within our sector? What’s, what’s stopping us from doing that?
Ana Lucia: Well, I think first of all, I think our hearts might be in the right place, but sometimes our own planning is getting on the way of really going towards where people need us to be, you know, they might be telling us. Maybe not straightforward, but by explaining their needs and their content, context, they would say you know, this is what we are lacking. But our programming might not be really focusing on that. And our funding maybe is not allowing us to go there, so I think even when we listen, we are not always automatically capable of responding to where those needs are, I think maybe that could be.
Ka Man: That’s very interesting. Um, so you’re saying it it’s like we might be listening, we might be wanting to respond, but we’re just, our hands may be tied because of the mechanisms or, you know, the constraints of a programme, or funding.
So how about you Selim, what would you like to share about communication skills and what you think’s most valuable for humanitarians in 2025?
Selim: Yeah, I think I agree with you and Ana Lucia – listening is really important and interpersonal relationship skills as well because you are working with people. And you just reminded me one of my favourite books is Seven Habits of Highly Effective People from Stephen Covey. And in this book the Habit 5 is about listening – seek first to understand, then to be understood. And I think the mistake we are doing while communicating is we just first want to be understood and then we don’t want to be understand that the other party. So we need to change our mindset.
And I just finished Core Humanitarian coaching programme supported by HLA as well, and in this one we had one session just on active listening. So I think this is a great skill. Not just as a humanitarian, but as a person, as a partner, as a like family member. So I think this is a core skill that needs to be taught in the like schools as well, like communication and listening skills, maybe as a course.
So my take on this is, I think communication is in the heart of humanitarian work, but the essential skill is, I think, effective writing. I’m a writer myself as well. I’m writing newsletters and other content, but I think I practice in humanitarian sector a lot as well because you are always writing everyday writing too many emails, reports and communication, and the proposals as well.
But I think we are simplifying in the humanitarian sector. Oh, OK, it’s a report or email. Anyone can write it. But I think this is a very critical skill that you need to practise and learn how to do it good, because critical misunderstanding can happen simply because your e-mail is not clear or key detail was missing. Or even you might lose a proposal or project just because there were mistakes in your document.
So I think in humanitarian work, for coordination and clarity is essential, writing concisely and effectively make our work or project or break it. And I can give you one example that I remembered. In one of our projects in with partners, there was an email chain between our colleague and the partner. And one person used red fonts and large capital letters in the email to highlight some information. And the recipient party perceived it aggressive and confront confrontational, and this led to an unnecessary tension between the partners and between the parties, and this is escalated a bit actually. And we have to have a meeting just to see if I can have a clarification call. So it was, explain the cause of formatting to emphasise the urgency, etc. But still this was a unnecessary thing and it was not meant, but you should also know that how to write good emails as well. So I think in humanitarian works, strong communication is really important, but it’s not just about the thing that you are saying, but how we are saying is important. The tone, formatting, clarity and so that it can prevent delays, conflicts or even some missed opportunities.
Ka Man: I think that’s very wise words there, Selim. Thank you for sharing. I thought it was really interesting how you and Ana Lucia sort of reinforced similar points that to be effective listeners, we can’t just go in with our own agendas and think about what we want to share, what’s our message, we have to think about the other party.
I like that quote that you shared from the Seven Habits book, Selim, that we should seek to understand, rather than to be understood and shift our mindset around that. And that links nicely to the example that you gave about the email was, did you say red font, because this person was thinking…
Selim: Yeah, red and capital fonts, yeah.
Ka Man: Right, right. Yeah. Obviously that person was thinking these are really important points. This really must be emphasised and I want to make sure that that person receiving this is really, that’s clearly understood. There’s no, no ambiguity there. But obviously the recipient then thought, goodness me, what’s, this is a bit, you know? So if the writer had maybe thought about, take a step back and thought, how might the person receiving this, how might they interpret that, then they may have shifted and adjusted their message and avoid that very situation that you’ve just described.
So and I think even without that sort of confrontational aspect, I think that is – working in communications myself, I think that is something that often gets overlooked because people are so keen and often there’s a time sensitivity – what is it that we want to share, what do we want to get out there, without sort of thinking, is this the most effective way? Is this the optimised way to share this message that we want to get out there. And often if we take a step back, it’s not that there’s a better, there’s a more effective way. So thank you for reminding us of that that.
And I just wanted to ask you as a follow up question, Selim, because you emphasise writing skills, I’m just curious to know if you use AI tools like ChatGPT and others to enhance your work and if you do, whether there are any sort of things to be mindful of. It could be for anyone, but for humanitarians in particular, because presumably the models are not trained specifically in our sector, so may not understand the context or nuance. I wondered if you had any, any experiences with that and if so, if there’s anything you wanted to share?
Selim: Yeah, I would be glad to share in my writing. I’m using AI a lot actually, but first I need to start with this morning, so don’t put any data of humanitarian work into AI so. Like the personal details and anything, and consult to your organisation first to check their policies on using AI. But I’m mentioning my own personal use, not the humanitarian work.
So I generally used to edit the documents or format them better or even sometimes I used to brainstorm some ideas like I’m going to write about like personal development or productivity, let’s say the topics that I’m really interested in.
Use this as an aid, so don’t use as a main tool or I mean it can be like a thinking partner. But it cannot think instead of you, so you should be the one who is actually thinking and creating that idea, or maybe shaping it. And then you can get some support to think as a partner.
And I think it’s really useful, but for the humanitarian sector, yes, as you mentioned, like we need to be very careful about the sensitive data first and also. The biases that the AI have, like when you’re asking a question, it might not answer in a way that is generally expected from a humanitarian lens, so you should check everything you write and you get as a as an answer. And I think I will give this example, the free versions of all these tools are not that good. So if you want to really use it, you need to consult with the organisation and maybe as an organisation you can get a premium package. This would also help you have your data not to be used in training this AI. Because AI is using all the information that you’re entering. So in order to have all this data comply with all the state of protection laws, maybe it’s better to use an like organisational account or something so that you don’t have a problem with the compliance.
Ka Man: That’s very interesting. I wasn’t aware of that, Selim, about having an organisational licence may offer that additional level of protection for your data. My assumption, misguided assumption, was that it was it just gave you access to more powerful models. But actually that’s a really important issue obviously, like you say in relation to the humanitarian sector, so thank you for highlighting that because I was not aware.
And also just generally what you were sharing sounds like a sensible approach, using AI as a thinking partner, but not as a as a tool to replace what you’re doing. And it goes back to what you and Ana Lucia have been saying about the importance of critical thinking, how that has to run through everything you’re doing, whether that’s quickly drafting something you think, oh, I’ll just use this. Like, no, you’ve got to take that step back and make sure, is this, does this, and sense check it and use your, utilise your own thinking to yeah, really interesting. Thank you very much for sharing.
38:47 Chapter 6: Managing career transitions and pivots: personal experiences
So it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that huge wide-ranging changes in the humanitarian sector currently and the shock waves that that are on seismic shifts that are occurring. So I’m wanting to ask you, because both of you have had experience yourself of transitioning and pivoting and focusing on certain areas to cultivate different skill sets, etc. What advice do you have for anyone listening who may be managing their own career transitions or pivots? Do you have any sort of words of wisdom to share? Let’s hear from you first, please. Ana Lucia.
Ana Lucia: Oh sure, this is most certainly a difficult time for anyone working in social development or in the humanitarian sectors. I think first of all, it is understandable that we might find ourselves in shock, anxious about our jobs, the future of our projects and the communities we have been serving. And of course, how to provide for our own families. Everything is all mixed up in our minds right now.
So to me it is important to acknowledge the difficulty we are in and give ourselves a little bit of grace. There will be tough emotional days when we won’t want to do anything, let alone spend hours looking through job postings and writing lengthy applications. So my advice is before you even start searching for jobs. Just stop. And ask yourselves, what is your deepest desires? What do you want to do in life and what do you want to achieve and can do it from a variety of sectors or positions. What skills do you possess and how can they transfer to other sectors? I think as we start really reflecting on our own interests and our skills, then that’s the time we can start putting it down in paper.
To me, writing different versions of my resume has really helped to focus on specific transferrable skills rather than just a job description. Several times I have been even surprised on how much of my own experience and skills can fit into a role that I didn’t fully held before.
So I think as we grow older we tell ourselves that we need to be really experts on something like 20 plus years on doing the same thing. But maybe that is holding us back in seeing that whatever experience we already have, we can bring different perspectives into the table for other roles and really excel on those.
Ka Man: That’s really good advice, thank you. So writing different versions of your resume to see how your skill set may fit into different roles. I think that’s really good practical advice, and it’s something that people could benefit from no matter what sector you’re in. But it’s good to have that time and space to self-evaluate and to sort of see your experiences and credentials sort of laid out in different formats so that you can almost vision these different paths for yourself.
And what you’re saying reminds me of a podcast discussion I had with Bidjan Nashat who was formerly a senior leader at Save the Children International and he’s moved out of the humanitarian sector. He’s now working in a tech start up. And he said in that conversation that he was tired of hearing people say at that time oh, you know, once a humanitarian, always a humanitarian. Saying that’s not true, there’s lots of transferable skills. A year on, that conversation is more, you know, it’s that’s very relevant. And that’s not to say that if people move out of the sector, that they’re not a humanitarian, they’ll they could be a humanitarian at heart, it’s just that they are pivoting away professionally. But maybe that that door’s not closed to them for returning to the sector when the time is right. So thank you very much for sharing that. How about you, Selim? What do you think about any advice for individuals managing career transitions or pivots? Do you have any pearls of wisdom to share?
Selim: Yeah. Thank you so much again, I think what Ana Lucia shared is really valuable. And I didn’t work last year when I take a break for my studies and I have been in this situation exact same situation like one year ago. So I can empathise. And I think there will be two main things that I will say and the first one is investing in digital communication and online presence. What I say this is my most missed in the humanitarian professionals. Like most of them doesn’t they don’t have active LinkedIn profiles even so, I mean. We work a lot actually, and that’s why we don’t have any time for social media or other things. But look at this as a kind of career investment and you really need a strong profile on LinkedIn or that kind of profiles. An even as an NGO so as well I think NGOs were missing this as well, like for funding, for advocacy for storytelling and impact as we mentioned. We really need to be visible and engaged online and this is more important than ever because maybe they need to reach the people.
And for the professionals, and I’m trying to apply this myself as well, I’m sharing insights and networking in the humanitarian spaces. This can open new doors for our new opportunities. And when career transitions is needed so that you will be already known for your expertise and contributions online. And I think like the second important thing is that I learned in the humanitarian sector is having your Plan B always because this is not very relevant to this session situation. But I have been always in this situation like in Turkiye I worked almost like 9-10 years. And every two years, there was a new challenge. The funding is going or there would be no funding. This donor is going from Turkiye, etc. So we have been in this situations or even the donors are the same, it’s not guaranteed that your organisation will get a new grant. So we are always in this situation as humanitarians. So I think having a plan B. It can be either having a second income stream or at least considering what it could be like maybe at least you should be working on a transferable skills.
I will give an example from my side. Like I’m doing trainings on, I have been doing trainings when I was working in Save the children as well. And I can go and train the other organisations in the NGO sector and I can train the people in the private sector as well on management, on productivity, on personal development, on project management, anything or I can work at a university as well. So I’m not bind by the humanitarian sector.
Or I can write online and I can try to make money from writing online. This can be a kind of side hustle which I make or don’t make any money or very small amount of money. But when I invest more time and energy I can make more money at least to sustain myself for some time. So I think having. Plan B is really important, or at least working on some transferable skills where you can use when needed is important because in the humanitarian sector, as we mentioned, like we need this mix of adaptability, continuous learning and some visibility. So you need to make yourself knowledgeable, engage and open for changes.
Ka Man: That’s brilliant. Thank you. Selim. What I’m really hearing there is the need to be agile and adaptable. And really, yeah, and kind of from what you and Ana Lucia are saying, it’s like don’t just like obviously a lot of us lean into our identity as humanitarian or working in working for social good and obviously we hope that is a common thread in what we’re doing, but we shouldn’t lean into that that excludes us from, say, working in the private sector, using those transferable skills that that we all have. So thank you for highlighting that because I think that’s something that a lot of a lot of people might find difficult, especially work in this sector be in their life’s work, and it’s such an integral part of who they are. So yeah, repositioning yourself and your skills is something, an important exercise for all of us. So thank you so much for sharing your advice there.
48:51 Chapter 7: Closing reflections
So sadly, it’s we’re drawing an end to an end of our conversation. I really love speaking to both of you, and I’d love to have the time to continue. But just before we wrap up, I wondered if you have any final thoughts to share with our listeners. Let’s hear from you first, please, Ana Lucia.
Ana Lucia: Yeah. Thank you for this amazing conversation actually, I have really enjoyed listening to you and Selim, I could stay here longer, really. So if we think back on every new job post we had, even when we have years of experience, it almost always feels completely new whenever we start. Everyday there are new processes, new worlds, new words, sorry, new ways of working in the new organisation. And to navigate all of this, it is actually our toolkit of skills, the one that shines through. It is thanks to our people, skills or organisation skills or planning, time management and so on that we are actually able to go through the learning curve and set into a new role.
So I will say don’t be afraid and have confidence on yourself. It is not easy sometimes, as I am saying this, I am also reminding this to myself. We need to have confidence that we are able to do different things that we thought that maybe we didn’t do before, so I think just have confidence that’s the first step and believe in the skills that you already have.
Ka Man: That’s great. Thank you so much, Ana Lucia. And how about you, Selim? Do you have any clothing reflections to share?
Selim: Yeah. One thing I always remind myself and I would like to share with our listeners as well like impact driven work like ours is a marathon, not a sprint. And as a marathon runner myself, I know pacing is really important. Like you need to run for 42 kilometres or 26 miles for three or four hours long. So you need to find the rhythm and you shouldn’t go too fast to burnout or you shouldn’t go so slow down and at the point of losing momentum. So you need to have a pace between it.
And right now, the humanitarian sector is facing immense challenges and millions of people have lost access to critical aid and thousands of our colleagues lost their jobs, unfortunately. And this is a time that it’s a reminder for us how fragile and how essential this work is. But we need to look at as a marathon. It’s a longer-term work. Like inside Save the Children we have learned survive and protect, the three pillars of impact.
But you cannot achieve this in one year or this is not an easy target that you can go fast and accomplish this. So we need to look at a longer space. And as you mentioned like you sometimes need to take a break or do something else. Which I’m trying to do right now as well. I don’t work full time for a humanitarian organisation, but I am supporting voluntarily for some organisation and I’m making money for from something else, and I’m donating some support for the organisations that I know that they’re doing good work, so I’m always a humanitarian, but I’m seeing this as a like a long-term plan, so there are different ways that I can work this cause or support this cause.
And just last is a last thing, I think staying adaptable and supporting each other is really important, so if you don’t have any like supporting family, friends and support group or find one and keep them and find ways to sustain yourself, both personally and professionally. And embrace this uncertainty, so there will be always change in humanitarian sector. So if you are starting your career in humanitarian sector, welcome. There would be always uncertainty. And the thing that we need to do is keep learning, like use Kaya and Humanitarian Leadership Academy and stay connected and take care of yourself. This is really important.
Ka Man: Thank you so much Ana Lucia and Selim. I’ve really enjoyed listening to you and it, it’s such a tonic to hear your from you, your wise words, learn from your experiences. And I’m sure our listeners will have gleaned some really good insights and actionable tips as well for helping to navigate this challenging time and reflect and regroup really and think about our next steps. So thank you once again, Ana Lucia and Selim for joining me. And thank you to our listeners for joining us for today’s episode of Fresh Humanitarian Perspectives from the Humanitarian Leadership Academy.
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Episode produced by Ka Man Parkinson, March 2025. The views and opinions expressed in our podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their organisations.