Ever ask yourself, “What can I do to make myself more knowledgeable, or gain more experience in my career field”? There’s always the option of research, continuing education, or simply going out to apply for jobs in that field. The best way to gain experience in your chosen career field is to volunteer. To volunteer, means to willingly perform a service without pay, and doing so can help you gain contacts for networking, career experience, and other valuable job skills.
Having numerous contacts and networking with others in your profession can lead to a job that may not have been in the foreseeable future, or a career change and lead to higher job placement. It also helps to gain more career experience, and lets the volunteer know if this is the field that they really want to pursue. Lastly, it helps to gain valuable job skills by taking something you’re already good at and helping it to become great. For instance, if someone was to volunteer for a youth sports league and their responsibility was to increase awareness of the new league, they then have the opportunity to become more knowledgeable in marketing, public speaking, and communication.
Opportunities are always available, and to gain any kind of experience in a field that also helps an organization become better is more than anyone can ask for. Get out there, volunteer, and gain experience so you can get the job you truly desire. Volunteering opportunities can be found in many places such as:
- Places of worship like churches
- Youth organizations
- Online
- Assisted living or nursing homes
- The community
Although volunteering does not pay the bills, it really does help those who are searching for a job, as it is a great networking tool, as well as resume’ building. I knew that after graduation I wanted to be a high school dance coach. However, with no experience it would be hard to beat out the other possible candidates for the jobs that I wanted to apply for. I started volunteering with local Girl Scout troops, middle school and high school dance teams, offering my dance experience and choreography for free. This allowed me to gain experience in working with children of all ages, while meeting other directors. This is how I ended up where I am at today, working for a high school dance team in ft. worth. Although I did not get paid, in the end volunteering really did “pay off.”
ReplyDeleteVolunteering for a job is not something most people would like to do. Especially college students that already don’t make that much money. But there are a lot of benefits in volunteering. Not only does volunteering show the employer that you want to be there but that you care about your profession. I personally have never fully volunteered for a job but in a way with my Graduate Assistant job I volunteer a lot of my time. As a G.A., I get paid for four hours of work Monday through Friday, but do you think I only work four hours those days? No, some days I only work four hours some days I work ten hours, it just depends on the day and what’s needed that day. Even though I don’t get paid for the hours that I work, I still gain great experience and get to meet a lot of people.
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