Many communication campaigns promoting volunteering focus on the idea of being helpful to others. Stop. There’s no doubt that this is an excellent reason to choose the Civil Service: but Balzac doesn’t believe it’s the only one, nor even the main one. This is certainly true for the majority of young people aged between 18 and 28, who don’t fully appreciate the benefits for themselves. And Balzac has picked up on this by interviewing them, sifting through comments on social media and participating in online groups.

With this campaign, Balzac sought to appeal to the individualistic and somewhat self-centred side of those young people who would think of anything but giving their time to others. Because there is a tangible, concrete and immediate reward to be had: you can gain a comprehensive, authentic, hands-on experience of what the world of work is really like. You can realise that the career path you wish to pursue in the future is, all things considered, the right one; that it meets your expectations and is a viable option. Just as the opposite may well be true, of course. It’s hands-on guidance, which is perhaps worth more than a thousand pieces of advice from others. And what’s more, you get paid for it. Why not say so?