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Without a doubt I believe the time I spent volunteering, after bailing on law school, helped me secure my first real job.

Working for the YMCA as a Gymnastic Instructor and Recreation Assistant was volunteer work experience in the traditional sense. Being new to the workforce it provided me with opportunities in leadership and team work and allowed me to communicate and work with people of all ages.

Personally, the experience is significant in terms of my lifelong aspirations, it highlighted the value of recreational education and the powerful, positive influence of role models on young people. It made me feel like a contributing member of society and in terms of my CV it reflected my willingness to work.

Volunteering for any of the many charitable organisations that support our communities is a great way to build basic work experience and skills.

But if you’re interested in developing more specialist skills, in line with you passions, interests or education then the potential to volunteer your time applies also to company’s that interests you.

It’s a great way to learn about the realities of the workforce to gain an inside look at an organisation and help you to acquire work experience. For a select few it  can even lead to jobs.

Indeed several people that I have spoken to in local community organisations say that when taking on new team members they look first to those that have volunteered time with them. Which makes sense right.

Ideally, we’d all like to land the paid internships but in such a competitive market why let those fortunate enough to score places gain extra advantage when you can as easily build work experience alongside them in the same industry with the increased flexibility of a volunteer position.

By creating your Talent Profile here at Worknow, we can help you find and match you talent, skills and interests with both volunteer and paid work opportunities. Register today