Recruiters in the charity sector are taking measures to ensure that candidates from industries hard hit by the recession are truly committed and won’t return to their old sectors when jobs prospects there improve.

Charity organisations say they are inundated with applications from people who have been made redundant from other sectors, particularly finance, with junior roles receiving up to 300 applications.

Ian Hammond, human resources director at the Salvation Army, told Recruiter: “The concern is that we bring people in and that they go back to the finance sector.” To reduce this happening, the Salvation Army’s selection process focused on the candidate’s underlying motivation.

Jonathan Glover, charity division manager at Morgan Hunt, said it paid attention to a candidate’s ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factor. He said this was not only at the initial interview stage with candidates, but throughout candidate’s job search.

Rebecca Birs, recruitment manager at the British Heart Foundation, told Recruiter that the selection process ensured candidates shared the charity’s values. This was assessed both on the application forms and at the interview stage, said Birs. There was a 50:50 split between those who joined the organisation from other sectors and stayed and those who returned to their old sectors.