If you're fortunate enough to have a year ahead of you in which you can do anything you want, then how about volunteering? Not only does it give you a great sense of achievement, but it also makes your CV very interesting reading. So whether you want to travel halfway around the world to help an overseas aid agency, or stay somewhat closer to home, there are volunteering opportunities to suit you. Here are a few of the advantages of volunteering your time and expertise.
Not only will your volunteering experiences make reading your CV a much more enjoyable process, but potential employers look on volunteers as people with character, able to work equally well both independently and within a group environment. Traits like these are what employers are looking for these days.
Most interviews tend to follow a set pattern which, if you're an interviewer, can be days and days of the same old conversation. However, if you've done any volunteer work talking about it could well be a very welcome distraction. It also gives you the chance to take a certain amount of control over the interview process - at least for a short while - and if you have one or two good stories that you can use to show just how well you would fit into the company, you can use them as excellent weapons in your jobseeking armoury.
When it's time to go home and you look back at what you've done over the past few months of volunteer work, you're entitled to feel proud of yourself for the difference you've made. It's an incredibly satisfying experience (and yes, getting paid would have been nice, too) but that feelgood factor you get from looking at the difference you've made is something money just can't buy.
Volunteering is also very much a learning experience - and what you'll learn, naturally, will depend on the type of volunteering work you undertake. Most of the skills you bring back home with you will stand you in good stead with employers of all kinds. But there's more to volunteering than just the skills you develop to help people, you're also developing skills to help you manage yourself, to be able to cope with sudden culture shocks and situations you'd never experience back at home.
Twelve months of doing the same kind of volunteer work can feel like a very long time, so many people choose to do some in one location for a while, and then move on to somewhere else - so there's nothing to stop you participating in several projects during your time out. One disadvantage, though, is the expense of getting from one project to another, and that's where the fundraising element comes in. But whether you choose to travel via the same route every day on your bicycle... or by a series of airliner flights... you receive a whole new outlook on life through your volunteering work which you'd would never have done if you'd stayed at home.
Not only will your volunteering experiences make reading your CV a much more enjoyable process, but potential employers look on volunteers as people with character, able to work equally well both independently and within a group environment. Traits like these are what employers are looking for these days.
Most interviews tend to follow a set pattern which, if you're an interviewer, can be days and days of the same old conversation. However, if you've done any volunteer work talking about it could well be a very welcome distraction. It also gives you the chance to take a certain amount of control over the interview process - at least for a short while - and if you have one or two good stories that you can use to show just how well you would fit into the company, you can use them as excellent weapons in your jobseeking armoury.
When it's time to go home and you look back at what you've done over the past few months of volunteer work, you're entitled to feel proud of yourself for the difference you've made. It's an incredibly satisfying experience (and yes, getting paid would have been nice, too) but that feelgood factor you get from looking at the difference you've made is something money just can't buy.
Volunteering is also very much a learning experience - and what you'll learn, naturally, will depend on the type of volunteering work you undertake. Most of the skills you bring back home with you will stand you in good stead with employers of all kinds. But there's more to volunteering than just the skills you develop to help people, you're also developing skills to help you manage yourself, to be able to cope with sudden culture shocks and situations you'd never experience back at home.
Twelve months of doing the same kind of volunteer work can feel like a very long time, so many people choose to do some in one location for a while, and then move on to somewhere else - so there's nothing to stop you participating in several projects during your time out. One disadvantage, though, is the expense of getting from one project to another, and that's where the fundraising element comes in. But whether you choose to travel via the same route every day on your bicycle... or by a series of airliner flights... you receive a whole new outlook on life through your volunteering work which you'd would never have done if you'd stayed at home.
About the Author:
Thinking about organising a gap year, or looking for various apprenticeship positions, jobs & offers: visit notgoingtouni.co.uk. Find details of how to volunteer in Thaliand. Also find information on studying from home.
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