Volunteer Work
Volunteer Work is one of the best opportunities to not only better your community, but also better yourself. Many don’t consider the many advantages of volunteering. Community service is a great opportunity to explore a new career field after a temporary leave from work or loss of job, while building up your resume, networking, and also giving back to the community. This post highlights a few benefits of volunteering:
Volunteer projects allow you to explore a new career field
The beauty of volunteer work, is that it gives you the opportunity to test the waters of a new field of interest without taking on the risk of long-term investment or commitment. Volunteer work gives you the flexibility to sample different fields and different roles while providing you with hands on experience and as much training as you want for free, risk free!
Volunteer work builds your resume
One of the best ways to sharpen your resume credentials is through building up your volunteer work. This shows employers that 1) you care about the community, and 2) you are motivated, committed, and willing to put in extra time and effort into a greater cause. Employers are looking for determined prospects, and your involvement in volunteer projects will make your resume stand out and gleam!
Community service = community networking
Volunteer work is a fantastic way to make new contacts, gain references, get your name out there, and earn yourself a smashing letter of recommendation from someone of charitable merit! Community service allows you to work alongside people who can answer your questions, allow you to grow, and grant you the opportunity to try out different roles and positions. Community service networking will allow you to climb the ladder of success in an exciting and promising new field.
Volunteering simply betters the community
At the end of the day, if the field you’ve chosen isn’t for you, at least you’ve done something to better the community. The world is full of opportunity, so move on to the next!
Volunteer work can give you more than the mere satisfaction of doing something good. Volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to explore a new career field and switch up the humdrum of your everyday routine, build a strong resume that screams “I’m competent, motivated, and a jolly good community citizen”, network with the right people, and also do your part to better the community.
We’d love to here from you!
- Have you ever considered volunteer work as an opportunity to explore new career options?
- How might the experience of volunteer work benefit your resume or your career skills?
- What are some other benefits of volunteering?
Tags: community service
6. April 2009 at 11:43 pm :
When you volunteer, you can meet new people. People who might be able to head you to a new direction. Alot of business people are in to community services. If they see you work well on a volunteer job, they know your a great employee. One who they might want you come work for them. It could be a great opportunity.
Plus, I find it’s a great stress relief to help people. Makes me feel better about myself. I give a postive outlook for my child.
Also, if you decide to run a fundraiser, you can rememeber some of those businesses. You could back to those people to help your fundraiser. They usually do. That’s a neat think about it.
Sometimes, it can be fun. For example, I bartend at Noah’s Ark’s mud volley ball games. It really neat to watch those people play. They have a blast. A little muddy blast for them.
Saying goes, one good deed deserve another. In another words, good things come back to you because God will make sure of that.
7. April 2009 at 1:43 am :
I have volunteered for a zillion things in my lifetime and many times I did consider them as opportunities to explore career options. Often I did go further and try to become educated in areas that I liked. My body changed often and still changes so the problem is each time I get a head full of learning my body is no longer able to participate.
Eventually my volunteering focused around my own life challenges. I am interested in areas of mental and physical disability and tend to try to help those who face things I have faced such as problems getting mobility equipment, housing modifications, automobile equipment, yard or home care if they are unable to do those things on their own etc.
I don’t know why, but so many people think that the disabled have everything they need just handed to them. Many are so surprised to hear that disabled people actually have needs.
I have learned much by volunteering. My family is usually able to handle repairs in our own home and building things thanks to helping others fix their damages or build something that was needed.
As for how it would look on a resume, I don’t know. Amy is another one who volunteers. She is able bodied and gets into more physical areas of volunteering but in our experience it has never paid off as far as looking for a job. I think it looks good on a resume or job applications but honestly don’t know how much of a benefit it really is.
7. April 2009 at 10:59 pm :
“There’s nothing in this world that you can’t be if you want it enough”
S.E.S.
In my experience volunteering here is what I’ve found:
1. I gain friends. Real friends. We all meet people who do things that we also do. It’s how relationships work! But what could be better than having a friend just as giving as you… willing to donate just as you are… having that giving heart characteristic makes for a better friend in my opinion.
2. Passer-by’s take a good look. I have to believe that will impact their life somehow, someway, sometime in the future. All they need do is notice volunteer work and it can be contagious. The degrees of interest include:
Level 1 – A glance
Level 2 – A stare
Level 3 – A smile
Level 4 – Small communication; “What are you doing there?” …”oh, ok, have a good day.”
Level 5 – Extensive communication i.e. more than just; who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Level 6 – A notion of assistance; “Can I help you with that?”
Level 7 – An in depth involvement; “How can I make myself more involved?”
Level 8 – Limited action; a temporary help.
Level 9 – Total action; continuous help.
Level 10 – More action than YOU!
~
9. April 2009 at 12:56 am :
I loved helping to raise money for the local fire dpt and doing blood drives for them. I think the gift of blood is one of the most important gives a person to give to someone. Its the gift of life. These are some really good ideas for helping the community and your neighbors. Great blog.
9. April 2009 at 10:50 am :
The benefit of volunteering is just knowing you helped someone without having to be paid. The chance to make a friend. To show people that this world is not just about money.
Every day we come in contact with people we have the opportunity to volunteer. Just something to help another person’s day go better. It is the most rewarding job you could ever have.
9. April 2009 at 2:07 pm :
Thanks Michelle – great input! Indeed the gift of blood is one the greatest gifts!
9. April 2009 at 9:46 pm :
A friend and I walk our street with our trash bags and pick up trash on walk as we pass people , waving saying hello, three times out of five, those people end up walking and talking and picking litter up right along with us. It is a nice way to meet new nieghbors, and do community work at the same time.
11. April 2009 at 12:22 am :
Michelle wrote: “I think the gift of blood is one of the most important gives a person to give to someone. Its the gift of life.
I am B+. I agree the gift of blood is the gift of life. At such a young age I realized God made me a blood donor. I say that because I am healthy, not afraid of needles and it helps to be an entrepreneur (flexible schedule). What I didn’t realize until I began donating blood, plasma, and platelets were that so many people were afraid of needles! I never thought it to be fearful of, so it was shocking to me. Since leaving the country last year, I have been deferred from donating, but I did enjoy it. I still have the T-shirts and special little awards for reaching donation milestones per year. I have saved them all to give to my children when they reach the age of giving that gift of life~
11. April 2009 at 12:43 am :
Oh how I wish I could give the gift of blood. Every time I have went they cannot find my veins and when they do they roll and then they are gone. They try both arms and just about everything. To everyone who can it truly is a gift. Before my brother died he needed blood and when my mom had surgery she needed blood. Thank you to those who can. God Bless!!!
29. April 2009 at 4:01 am :
I used to work in a nursing home before I started work for gov, believe me , you will be suprise how much it means to the older genderations to have someone to come in and show them some love. Like combing their hair and help them put on their clothes, just sitting there talking them means a lots. A lots of them don’t have any family left and just be among strangers. And it will make their day just to have someone to talk to and walk with . just listerning to what they have to said. I will volunteer my time to a nursing home. Right now i stuffer with knees pains and my husband just had a light heart attack. Maybe one day I will be able to do that .My heart goes out them!! Volunteering your time means a lot!!!!