As we approach Thanksgiving, many people are wondering how to get involved in volunteering, with good reason: Now is the perfect time to commit energy to help others, get involved with something you feel passionate about, and often meet new people.
But volunteering can bring other benefits, too—one being a great boost for your career. Here’s how volunteering can help you thrive.
You expand your personal and professional networks
People already working in your target field are great sources of information about job openings, affinity organizations, and people you should meet. And if you have a good experience volunteering, your supervisor might serve as a reference when you’re applying to jobs.
You learn new and transferable skills
Volunteering will help you develop new job skills as well as apply current skills in new ways. For example, a mid-career professional who has worked in concert promotions could use her marketing skills to help an organization with their fundraising or other mission-based events. A college student accustomed to doing research for school assignments could volunteer to research an issue or demographic for a nonprofit.
It’s an opportunity for career exploration
Volunteering allows you to try on different organizations, roles, issues, etc., without job-hopping. Of course, volunteering isn’t the same as being on staff, but it can expose you to the work of an organization in a deeper way than becoming a member, following it on Twitter, or even conducting an informational interview with an employee.
No comments:
Post a Comment