Searching for a brand new job could be an absolute grind! Particularly if you wish to change jobs or fields or transition from working in individual to a distant job. Perhaps you’re getting rejected left and proper and simply can’t determine the right way to make your self extra interesting to potential employers.
As a substitute of feeling discouraged, strive a brand new tactic and provides volunteerism a shot. Over the previous decade, I’ve had quite a lot of distant volunteer roles and have discovered that volunteering has many advantages, each personally and professionally.
In reality, based on the Company for Nationwide and Group Service, individuals who volunteer have a 27% higher probability of touchdown a job after being unemployed than non-volunteers do.
Listed below are 9 advantages of volunteering particularly for distant job seekers.
1. Achieve Experiences in New Fields or Abilities
If you happen to’re trying to break into a brand new job or discipline, volunteering could be the right method to get your foot within the door or strive new expertise or skills. For example, let’s say you need to transition careers and finally get a distant digital advertising and marketing job. Nonetheless, you don’t presently have any expertise in digital advertising and marketing. Getting a volunteer place on this space with no expertise will likely be a lot simpler than a full-time or part-time place. Then, as you proceed to use for jobs, you’ll now have the ability to put your volunteer expertise in your resume.
I can let you know firsthand that this has labored for me greater than as soon as! The primary time I did this was again in 2012 after I was a volunteer Group Supervisor. On this position, I managed a Fb neighborhood and trialed a brand new private improvement program. The second time, I volunteered as an entrepreneurship author and social media supervisor for a micro-lending group.
Each of those experiences got here in helpful when a freelancing consumer requested me to take over her digital advertising and marketing. Due to these volunteer alternatives, I used to be totally assured that I may tackle this work since I’d already performed it, simply not in a paid capability.
2. Attempt Out a New Job With out Committing to It Full-Time
The difficult factor about making an attempt a brand new job or ability is that we regularly don’t know if we’ll prefer it or be good at it till we strive it. Additionally, when you’ve got relations to assist or different duties, it may be extraordinarily tense and dangerous to surrender what you’re doing now for one thing unknown.
That is another excuse I like volunteering—it lessens the stakes. If you happen to strive one thing new and hate it, quitting received’t really feel like the top of the world for those who’re volunteering, whereas dropping your earnings would make quitting far more troublesome, even for those who don’t prefer it.
3. Use Volunteering to Fill Any Gaps in Employment
Whether or not you freelance or work for an organization, many individuals lose shoppers or get laid off. If that is you, you would possibly fear about having a spot between jobs. On this case, discovering a volunteer place in your discipline or doing a associated job generally is a good method to preserve your expertise contemporary, fill your time, and increase your resume.
When it comes time so as to add this to your resume, you may select whether or not to make use of the phrase volunteer. If potential employers particularly ask you about it, you by no means need to lie. Nonetheless, you don’t essentially want to jot down the phrase volunteer in your resume; you may merely state your place and listing your duties or duties.
4. Construct up Your Checklist of References or Letters of Advice
If you happen to hate asking folks to be references for you, you’re not alone. This may be particularly difficult when you’ve got a troublesome boss or primarily work independently and don’t really feel like you will have many individuals you may even ask.
Since you aren’t being paid as a volunteer, it’s fully affordable to ask a supervisor at your volunteer office or perhaps a fellow volunteer to be a reference. After all, for those who’re going to ask, just remember to’re working arduous and doing an important job in order that they’ll communicate candidly about you and could have optimistic issues to say.
5. Get a Distant Volunteer Job if You’re Trying to Begin Working Remotely
I’ve been working remotely for a decade, and I’ve been requested in interviews or on calls with shoppers if I’ve expertise working remotely or have labored on a distant staff earlier than. If you happen to haven’t labored remotely earlier than, volunteering can assist you get distant expertise you can share with future employers.
Distant work isn’t for everybody, so that is additionally a very good check to see for those who prefer it and need to do it on a extra everlasting foundation. It might probably additionally offer you time to regulate to working remotely and managing your schedule.
One other risk is discovering a neighborhood service alternative that may permit you to go hybrid, doing a few of your work in individual and the remainder remotely.
6. Be taught to Use New Software program and Different On-line Instruments
My early distant volunteer work helped me to study extra about on-line instruments like Zoom, Google Suite, Groups, Pinterest, Instagram, and others. Whereas we use most of those daily now, 5-10 years in the past, they have been newer to me. Studying these in a volunteer capability lowered the strain and helped me enhance my self-confidence with studying new expertise instruments.
As you search for distant jobs, pay shut consideration to the software program and instruments talked about within the job descriptions. If you happen to aren’t acquainted with them, you may probably study them in a volunteer place. Or, if not, you may at all times take the initiative and take a look at them out by yourself.
This will also be your probability to enhance your intangible expertise like problem-solving, growing your teamwork expertise, or turning into a greater listener.
7. Develop Your Community and Make New Connections
Everyone knows that networking is among the greatest methods to discover a new job, however most of us hate doing it. As you volunteer, don’t be shy about telling folks in your volunteer office that you just’re job searching; you by no means know who they may have of their social community who may show you how to.
If you happen to’re extra of an introvert and shrink back from networking, this will preserve you in common contact with new buddies and improve your social expertise. Although this isn’t simple for many people, it may be good to get out of our consolation zones and take a look at new issues.
You would possibly even end up making new buddies and constructing your assist system. I can share firsthand that I met one in all my greatest buddies by means of an area literacy volunteer alternative. This will also be the right method to meet others with widespread pursuits.
8. Enhance Your Psychological and Bodily Well being
You is likely to be stunned to know that volunteering provides many well being advantages and psychological well being advantages. Based on the Mayo Clinic, volunteers have higher bodily and psychological well being and likewise exhibit decrease charges of despair and nervousness in comparison with non-volunteers. At the same time as a distant volunteer, you may fight loneliness and social isolation whereas engaged on a shared exercise.
If you happen to work for a corporation that you just genuinely have a ardour for, you’ll really feel a pure sense of accomplishment and sense of satisfaction as you’re employed in your duties, regardless of how trivial they is likely to be. This will also be useful for stress discount and well-being if work or areas of your life are particularly tense.
9. Get Out of Your Head and Concentrate on Somebody Else
As a job seeker, you in all probability spend extra time than you care to confess in your head. Just a few years in the past I used to be going by means of a difficult season of life. Throughout that point, on-line volunteering gave me a way of function and even helped increase my temper and shallowness as I spotted how a lot I excelled on the work I used to be doing.
Typically, we simply have to take an hour or two out of our week to assist another person. To assist others is among the greatest emotions on this planet and is really one of many intangible advantages of volunteering.
Advantages of Volunteering Wrapup
Whereas most distant job seekers overlook volunteering, you may see many advantages of volunteering by way of well being outcomes, life satisfaction, networking, and constructing your expertise and skills.
If you happen to’re uncertain the place to start out, the Volunteer Match web site has 1000’s of choices. Bear in mind, not each alternative will likely be an ideal match, and that’s regular. If the primary one doesn’t work out, don’t fear—simply bounce again in and take a look at one thing else.