Impact Tuesdays
The latest from humanitarian and early impact-careers coach, Daniel Higgins
Hey Everyone!
Welcome to your weekly dose of Impact Tuesdays, your go-to roundup for students and recent grads ready to launch a career that matters.
Each edition, I’ll share 4 quick wins, fresh tools, and real-world lessons to help you move from “just thinking about it” to actually building your impact career. Expect practical tips, honest reflections, and a few shortcuts I wish I’d known when I started out.
Something new with me
University season is around the corner
It just hit August, which means a new academic year is just around the corner.
Do you remember how filled with hope and encouragement you were at the start of your studies?
Well, it’s never too early to crush some dreams. That’s why I’ll be spending some of September giving guest workshops at universities to help students get grounded in what it takes to compete in the sector.
If you think your uni studies would be interested in a workshop, please feel free to reach out.
Something cool for you
Maps
Let’s talk about one of the most interesting—and in-demand—hard skills in the impact world: mapping.
Take GIS mapping: imagine layering health data, population information, and risk factors onto a single map to plan out an emergency vaccination campaign. Or smart topographic mapping—which helps NGOs figure out the best spot for a new water pump, avoiding flood zones and making every dollar go further. Dive into water flow mapping, and you’ll find yourself charting groundwater to help villages plan drought-proof wells or managing flood responses that protect entire communities.
And then there’s the cutting edge: organizations are now using drones to map tricky terrain or even detect hidden land mines in post-conflict areas, making places safer and saving lives in the process. Satellite mapping, crowd-sourced mapping (like with OpenStreetMap), and real-time disaster mapping are all game-changers—offering endless room to build niche, future-proof skills and make tangible impact.
Long story short: mapping isn’t just cool, it’s genuinely satisfying work. Whether you’re visualizing the spread of a disease, planning a new school, or making sure a community has safe water, these skills will open doors across humanitarian, environmental, and development careers.
Curious? Check out MapAction’s Field Guide to Humanitarian Mapping (just Google it, it’s free and packed with real-world tips) or dive into beginner-friendly mapping tools online—sites like Esri or free online GIS courses are a great place to start.
Turn your map skills into a career advantage—and show up where it matters most.
Something useful you might not know
Linkedin Cheat Code
Instead of searching for jobs on linkedin type this into the search bar:
“KEYWORD” AND “LOCATION” AND “HIRING”
For example, "Innovation" AND "Copenhagen" AND "HIRING"
Look at the posts section, then go ahead and change the date posted to one week.
Hey presto, you have a list of managers who are actively advertising for positions.
This helps to
- Avoid ghost jobs (fx. jobs that the hiring team already have someone for)
- Find the hiring manager that you can then creep
- Shows jobs that are not officially posted in the “jobs” section
Quote from the sector
"The world is more malleable than you think, and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape.”
— Bono, musician and activist
Interested in hearing more?
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