Throughout our school years, plenty of people recommend doing voluntary work. Which many kids at the time of hearing this dismiss. Partially due to the fact we don’t see how it would be helpful in the long term. Another reason is that we would all like to go home and procrastinate on our homework after school.
However, this dismissal of voluntary work could be misplaced. Let’s talk about the benefits of voluntary work and why you should try to find a placement if you find yourself bored at the weekends!
Voluntary work and community
When you do voluntary work, you are working in your local community. It enables you to find out more about where you live, the other people around you. Voluntary work can help you feel more connected and care more about the area. You can give back to your local area and feel more connected to it. It also allows you to be more proactive in changing it for the better. On top of that, it makes you interact with people from different backgrounds and helps teach respect and tolerance.
Skill builder
Speaking of learning and teaching, accepting a voluntary job enables you to learn new skills in a professional environment, such as communication, time management, and punctuality.
These skills will allow you to develop as a person and learn things others might not know. Plus, it helps you understand how life works more. And in terms of the workforce, it gives you skills valued by employers and helps make you stand out during the hiring process and makes it easier when you enter the world of work, especially if you can explain how these skills are helpful.
Experience
Another thing the workforce loves is experience. When you first leave school and start applying, they will usually reject you for someone with more experience. However, you can lessen that type of refusal with voluntary work as it gives you some form of experience. For example, working in a library gives you skills in organisation and record management. If you get some voluntary work in a shop, customer service skills, communication and experience with money. Depending on the sector you want to go into, the experience and how it helps may vary, but it still looks good.
Networking
When you do voluntary work, you are working with a group of people. If you do a good job and make a good impression, they can offer you a permanent position. Another thing is that they know other people and will be looking for other workers or have similar opportunities. And those people could recommend you. Working in voluntary work and doing a good job can give you new connections and people willing to provide you with a chance.
Figure stuff out
As you know, I’ve written many posts about young people not knowing what to do with their lives. And how career goals are sometimes a nightmare. Part of that struggle is not experiencing enough of the world and finding stuff to do that you enjoy. Doing a voluntary job can help you figure out that struggle early.
For example, you get a placement in a charity shop and, like most people, realise you hate retail and never want to return to it in the future. If you had waited till you were eighteen to work in a similar setting, you would’ve had to wait even longer to be in a job you didn’t like whilst studying. Or to get yourself on the career ladder. Yet, you could’ve narrowed down the search and gone for a different sector that you would’ve enjoyed more.
Ultimately voluntary work helps you realise the parts of jobs you dislike and enjoy. And the sectors you never want to work, which will be beneficial if you do it young. You can begin shaping the types of jobs you could do in the future or if freelancing could be a good strategy for you.
And it’s easier to have that stuff figured out earlier rather than later.
Anyone can do Voluntary work.
I know I’ve focused on those still in school and not employed. However, anyone and any age can do voluntary work. If you are in your forties and still volunteering, it’s excellent as it shows time management and commitment!
In the end, voluntary work has a lot of benefits! Voluntary work gives you a connection to others. And lets you figure out where your next steps could be work-wise. So if you have the time, why not try volunteering?
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