This week, 1st - 7th June. is National Volunteers’ Week, a week intended to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution that millions of volunteers make across the UK every day. There are many reasons why people choose to volunteer, be it for a hobby, to help out a with a good cause or charity or even to gain valuable work experience. Even if it isn’t 100% relevant to the role you are applying for, whatever it is, volunteer work makes you feel good, helps you develop and looks great on your CV.
Below we look at just some of the benefits of volunteering can have when it comes to looking for your next job.
Volunteering will not only give you a sense of accomplishment but when doing so within a professional environment it will greatly improve your chances of landing your next job. These days prospective employers want potential employees to have as much workplace experience as possible. Volunteering gives you an opportunity to get this and gain an edge over other candidates. It shows potential employers that you are outgoing and willing to work hard. It also shows employers that you know how to act in the workplace and interact with colleagues, as you have done it before. You can also use previous employers that you have volunteered for as references, again adding more weight to your CV.
Sometimes, when applying for a job you may think that it is going to be your job for life. However, this can soon change and you may come to regret the decision you made. Volunteering first can help you to asses different job types and industries allowing you to experience first hand what you enjoy the most, this could be completely different from what you had first thought. This will mean that you are likely to stay in the job for longer and not jump between different roles, leading to a long and rewarding career.
It can be daunting sometimes starting a job for the first time or moving into a new role following a period of unemployment. Volunteering can help ease these nerves and restore any lost confidence. Volunteering allows you to feel a sense of pride by doing something to help others, it also allows you to be social and communicate with others, developing your interpersonal skills.
As well as developing your current skills, volunteering allows you to learn new skills that you may not have had chance to do so before, these new skills could be invaluable in later life and allow you to improve your potential career prospects. Whether it is liaising with others and organising events, collecting donations of members of the public or working within a small team, each of these offers different challenges for you to overcome and add to your personal arsenal.
Despite, the many benefits of volunteering it is important that you are not exploited and that employers do not take advantage of your good will, asking you to do tasks that aren’t reasonable. Therefore always consider any volunteer work carefully before taking it on, fully understand what you are being asked to do and make sure you maintain a healthy work/life balance at the same time.
At Prestige, we’re 100% committed to supporting our candidates. offering an ethical, professional recruitment service from the moment they step through our door.
Additional information about the way we work, our industry accreditations, awards and association memberships can be found athttps://www.prestige-recruitment.com/about-us
Alternatively, for more about how we can help you find your next employees, please contact your local Prestige Recruitment office inHull, Norwich, Leeds orHuddersfield.