Improve your Employability – Start Volunteering!
There can be no denying that the current jobs market is a challenging one. With so many people applying for every position that gets advertised, it is essential that you do your utmost to ensure that your application stands out. It may be difficult though to make your application stand out if you have been out of work for quite a while or if you are just about to graduate and have had no real work experience. However there are still ways that you can change this and in turn boost your job prospects and your employability. One of the best ways to improve your employability is by Volunteering. Volunteering will help you to improve and develop your skills, boost your confidence and open up new opportunities. And with Volunteers’ Week 2012 just about to start ( 1-7 June), we thought it quite timely to highlight some of the best resources that you should look at if you are considering doing voluntary work.
Do-it
With their ‘Volunteering made easy’ slogan, this excellent online resource has a database of volunteering opportunities which can be searched through by geographic location, area of interest or type of activity. Apparently every 45 seconds, someone in the UK finds a volunteering opportunity via the site.
vInspired
This charity specifically promotes volunteering for young people up to the age of 25. Although they have only been in operation for 5 years, they have already delivered over 1 million opportunities. They have recently launched free to download volunteering apps which has helped make their volunteering opportunities even easier to access.
Volunteer.ie
This portal is the definitive online resource for volunteers in Ireland. As well as a database of current opportunities, it also offers advice, and publishes best practice guides both for volunteers and volunteer involving organisations.
TimeBank
TimeBank is a national volunteering charity which as well as promoting volunteering opportunities, also designs its’ own projects which tackle social issues and which focus on mentoring and youth led volunteering.
VolunteerMatch
If you are based in the US, this platform is one of the best resources to find opportunities where you can strengthen your experience whilst also doing some social good. The platform also has a service where organisations can directly seek out potential volunteers.
Whilst these resources are in no way a definitive list of what volunteering options are out there, they are certainly a good place to start should you want to embark on that most rewarding of paths and improve your employability in the process. If you are aware of other resources that we should highlight or if you have any tips, guidance or opinions on volunteering, then please feel free to let us know via the comments section below.
Need more help on how to Search and Apply for Jobs – you might want to check out TheEmployable ebook.
If you like what TheEmployable has to say, please sign up to our Newsletter via the home page so that we can keep you up to date with our most recent features, news, and interviews…
Useful though volunteering is, there has been a regrettable recent tendancy for organisations to oversell their voluntary opportunities. I applied for 2 voluntary posts that were much less useful (in terms of skill development) than the way they were advertised. You should weigh carefully the time cost against the development benefit.
Posted by Lindsay Jackson | May 31, 2012, 9:42 amIf you do volunteer for something and it turns out to be less useful than advertised, then don’t be afraid to negotiate. Other opportunities with the same organisation may be available that make better use of your skills.
Posted by Lindsay Jackson | May 31, 2012, 10:11 am