The Benefits of Volunteer Work
Donating Your Skills Lets You Help Yourself While Helping Others
Although previous generations of volunteers donated services for a pat on the back, today's bleak job market forces volunteers to be more opportunistic than altruistic.
The newest trend is to use volunteer work as a means to “try on” a new career, get free on-the-job training and look for job leads and industry contacts. The fact that volunteers are helping themselves while helping others doesn’t really matter in the larger scheme of things. Regardless of their reasons for getting involved in volunteer work, they are still providing a valuable service to the company, offering their skills free of charge to those who need them.
Although today’s job market has caused many people to volunteer as a means of gaining experience, contacts, and a reputation - sometimes people still just volunteer because they believe in what they’re doing. They may want to help others either indirectly or anonymously; they might need to practice or improve a particular skill; they could crave the notoriety of being a volunteer; or they could even feel compelled to help out of guilt.
Today’s tendency toward “episodic volunteering” or helping others on a one-time basis, allows them to derive the benefits of volunteering without making the time commitment. The practice lets busy people volunteer once a month on various community projects.
Volunteering makes good business sense during all stages of the life cycle. From the student learning a new skill to the senior practicing old skills, working at a volunteer job can be practical and fulfilling. Here's what to consider during these stages:
Benefits of Volunteer Work (Children)
- Teaching volunteerism to children (especially by joining them in their efforts) may set a lifetime example of helping others.
- Students know employers are impressed when a resume lists volunteer work. College students who need job experience and high school students trying to qualify for scholarships are perfect volunteer candidates.
- Recent graduates can meet people and gain work experience through volunteering. The attitude among today's recent college graduates is to get out there and do whatever is necessary to gain experience.
Benefits of Volunteer Work (Adults)
- Professional volunteers – degreed and/or experienced – often get the more desirable assignments. Professionals may be seeking challenges outside the realm of their everyday work place or keeping their skills up between jobs.
- Stay-at-home parents may seek new opportunities to meet interesting people or learn new skills in case they re-enter the marketplace.
- Some volunteer assignments, such as school projects, church projects, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts allow parents to help the community while enhancing their relationship with their child (or children).
- People have been known to find true love at volunteer jobs, especially when the assignment is something they thoroughly enjoy.
- Childless adults (or empty nesters whose children have grown up already) often seek volunteer work that allows them to help children through direct interaction.
- Older Americans can stay active, get involved in the community, meet new people, practice a former profession or learn a new one at a volunteer job.
- Retired workers sometimes feel it’s an honor to return to the work force on a part-time volunteer basis because they can donate their valuable skills to worthwhile projects rather than focusing on the full-time responsibilities of supporting a family.
People volunteer for many different reasons. Whatever the reason (and despite the occasional drawbacks of volunteer work), donating time, talent, and effort has the potential to bring great benefits.
To learn more about the job market, read Ace Your Job Interview.
