Volunteering: A Bridge to Your Goals

When I conduct job search coaching with clients, I often suggest they volunteer as a way to gain experience and expand their connections. When I was discussing this strategy with a friend of mine (who works for a nonprofit and utilizes volunteers), she shared a couple of success stories which resulted from volunteering:

Story One: A Recent Grad Applying to Grad School
My friend accepted a volunteer application from a student who had applied to grad school but had not been accepted. The program the individual had applied to was very competitive, and because this person had minimal work experience, other applicants with more experience were selected for admission. He decided to gain additional experience through volunteering, and one year later when he applied to the same program, he was accepted.

Story Two: A Recent Grad Looking for Work
Once again, my friend worked with a volunteer who was a recent grad, but this person had a degree in graphic design. This volunteer revamped the organization's newsletter, and when one of the recipients of the newsletter noticed the new eye-catching format, contacted the individual about a freelance job.

Volunteering works! Not only are you giving back to the community, you are gaining experience, increasing connections, and others are seeing first-hand your work ethic and talents!