As the employment market continues to evolve, the skills and personal attributes that employers are looking for when recruiting have also changed drastically. Today, you can tweak your resume and CV, update and polish your LinkedIn profile, and sharpen your interview skills as much as you can, but you will still be missing something big. Something that will make you land your first job a graduate.
Well, you are probably wondering what this magical secrete is, aren’t you? The secret is volunteering. In the current world, volunteering experience is no longer considered as an extra, but as a valuable quality on an application.
How will volunteering help you?
- Networking
One of the best thing about volunteer programs from a recruitment agency is that they attract people from different walks of life. This gives you an opportunity to develop personal and professional relationships with a group of productive individuals with similar interests as you. This gives you a great way to build long lasting relationships that might help your career growth in the future.
- Gain experience
As a graduate, you need a job and employers only want candidates with a certain amount of experience. The trouble is that you are fresh of campus and you don’t have any experience. So how do you get ahead in a market that is stacked against you?
The best approach you can try is volunteering. A volunteer role would allow you to gain relevant experience. You can get a basic day job and use the salary for your daily need while you volunteer at a company that will help you gain the relevant experience in your niche.
In addition, if you are looking to grow your career, volunteering allows you to explore different industries that may be out of your reach. For instance, you could volunteer at a hospital and get exposure to areas that interest you as you grow your career.
- Learning new skills
As an individual, it is crucial to continually work on your own personal development. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to gain new skills in areas outside your remit. For example, volunteering at a hospital could give you first aid and patient care skills. Furthermore, dealing with different kinds of people is also beneficial for interpersonal and relationship building skills.
What do employers actually think about voluntary work?
Today, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a vital consideration for hiring managerial candidates. Similarly, candidates are keen on working with organizations that are promoting ethical and sustainable enterprises.
This means that employers love hiring people who volunteer. This is because voluntary experience is a valuable insight to the traits and motivation of an individual.
Conclusion
For most people, getting a job is hard. Volunteering helps you with your employment prospects and help you make friends and increase your network. A great thing about volunteer jobs is that they are easy to find from your local recruitment agency since most people aren’t interested in non-paying jobs, so the position lie vacant. Volunteering can help you improve your life and that of others as you grow your career as well.
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