(GivenUs.com) – Volunteering is often seen as a great way to build a resume or strengthen a college application, but it can do even more than that. Volunteer opportunities can also help launch careers. Here’s how.
Get On-The-Job Experience
While volunteering may be unpaid, it provides valuable experience in the field. By giving up a little of our personal time, we exchange it for more knowledge and experience. The skills we gain can be valuable for undergraduate and graduate school applications and even to help strengthen our candidacy for job opportunities.
Networking Opportunities
When we get out into the community to volunteer, we give ourselves opportunities to network with other professionals. Volunteering in our chosen field, or in a related one, builds connections, increases our contacts and could potentially open the doors to opportunities in the future.
A Way to Build Your Personal Brand
Giving back to the community in ways that are meaningful can also be a way of brand-building with our businesses. We let the community know the kind of person we are and what we care about. Being of service to others isn’t something we do to look good and strengthen our brands, but it often has that impact.
Provides Clarity and Purpose
Volunteering doesn’t just open the door to potential opportunities and give us valuable work experience. It also provides us with clarity and purpose. When we volunteer, we get the opportunity to see if a particular role is a good fit for us. We can try on different jobs for size and experiment with what gives us a healthy work-life balance.
Volunteering also gives us purpose. Giving back to our communities and supporting causes we believe in can be empowering and enriching. It allows us to do the most good with the time or resources we have available to serve others, and it gives us a strong purpose.
Volunteering is often seen as a means to an end, but when we make it a regular part of our lives, it may open the doors that launch our careers. Even if it doesn’t give us the big break we’ve been looking for, time spent helping others and giving back is never wasted.
~Here’s to Your Success!
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