How Volunteering Can Get Your Career Started 

By Maggie Jones

Account Manager

Employment Solutions

The job search is a challenge in this current U.S. economy. It is an employer's market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the unemployment rate rose to 6.0 percent in April 2002, which means c ollege graduates are competing with many unemployed experienced job seekers. A college graduate even with co-op internships may not have a lot of related work experience. It's a catch-22 situation. In order to get a job you need experience; in order to get experience you need a job. Is there any other way around this? Yes, there is! Volunteering is a great way to gain the work experience you need to get your career started.

Volunteering adds to your repertoire of skills, which increases your viability as a job candidate. Simply put - volunteering makes you more marketable! A great example of this is web design. It is difficult to get a job as a web designer without experience. You can get this experience by volunteering. Most non-profit organizations or clubs that do not have a web page would jump at the chance to have someone help them with their web page. Or, there may be web sites that need updating. Then, you could show your potential employer a completed web site that is fully functioning.

Volunteering also helps you make contacts, which can lead to employment opportunities. Some volunteer for clubs, organizations, or non-profit groups long after they have started their career. Networking is a life long skill that will provide many benefits. There are many organizations that can help you make contacts throughout your career. For example, manufacturing engineers would do well to belong to an engineering organization such of SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers.) Remember , you will be looking for a job many times in your lifetime. Wouldn't it be helpful to have people in your corner; people that know you and your strengths? What your capabilities are? And they can be on the lookout for you when new job opportunities arise.

Volunteering can help you decide whether you really want to do something. I witnessed a great example of this when I was working with a student who wanted to be a veterinarian. She had volunteered at a veterinarians office to get the job experience and learn more about the environment. After working in a vet's office, she had decided that she didn't want to be a vet after all. It's so much better finding out before you invest so much time and money in college that your career choice wasn't exactly what you wanted.

After volunteering, it is important to market your new skills on your resume. By all means include the volunteer experience. You can place this under the heading of work experience, or related experience.

If you don't know where to go for volunteer opportunities try the Points of Light Foundation at http://www.volunteerconnections.org . The foundation should be able to direct you to opportunities close to where you live. Or you can check the yellow pages or the internet for community service opportunities. There are a countless number of volunteer opportunities. You may find that you can have fun by volunteering and it helps you with more than just your resume.

Maggie Jones is Account Manager at Employment Solutions, a staffing firm specializing in placing engineering and technical positions. http://www.empl-solutions.com

 

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