chat
expand_more

Chat with our Pricing Wizard

clear

Career Advice for Job Seekers

Volunteering Your Way to Steady Employment: How to Gain Experience Without Having a Job

harpermac11@gmail.com Avatarharpermac11@gmail.com
January 11, 2013


Young man carrying a box with food donations.  Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Young man carrying a box with food donations. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

One of the main attributes employers look for when reviewing potential candidates for a job is experience in the field. Unfortunately, there’s a catch-22 with this because job-seekers can’t exactly gain experience for the job when employers only hire those with experience. Although this fact might make the situation seem hopeless, one viable solution for gaining experience is by taking advantage of volunteering opportunities relevant to your industry. If you’ve been struggling to gain experience and/or find a job in your field, consider the following advice for finding the right volunteer work for you.

Choosing Your Volunteer Work

Volunteering is about selflessness and service to others, but that doesn’t mean you can’t gain something from your experience as well. In fact, volunteer projects are likely to be more successful overall if those participating have a higher level of relevant skills and passion for the work at hand. So, what types of available volunteer projects are relevant to specific careers? To offer one example, let’s say your ambition is to be a veterinarian or work with animals in another professional setting. Volunteering at an animal shelter or animal hospital would be an effective way to gain experience working in this kind of environment before you actually landed a job in your prospective industry.

Location, Location, Location

Volunteering to teach English abroad is an excellent way to gain experience for a job in education. However, this experience is unique in that it also comes with the benefit of cultural experience. For employers, experience overseas can be a highly valuable attribute because it can improve the company’s global outreach. For example, say you want to volunteer abroad to plant trees, crops and other vegetation in an undeveloped region of China, while also visiting other parts of the country. This experience could be valuable to a company with partners and clients from China, since you could better relate to these clients and form more effective relationships.

The Perks of Volunteering

Aside from just gaining experience in your field, volunteering comes with invaluable rewards. Recent studies have shown that those who volunteer tend to be happier and live longer than those who don’t. This is likely because helping others has a way of making you feel like your work is contributing to a greater good, which builds self-esteem and adds more value to life itself. Even once you have found steady employment, you can continue to incorporate volunteering in your life to experience new things and help others. Doing so can also be a tool for coping with the stress of your job once you do find employment, as well as everyday hardships.

If you’ve always wanted to get involved in volunteer work, gaining experience for your resume adds yet another incentive to get out there and make the world a better place. Volunteer work in general is impressive to employers because it reveals positive attributes regarding your personal character. However, choosing relevant volunteer projects would be an effective way to both express your honorable desire to help others, while also showing employers you’re fully capable of performing the work required.

 

New Job Postings

Advanced Search

Related Articles

No Related Posts.
View More Articles