Do We Have Any Volunteers?

Stepping up might be a great big step to your next job

Of the many strategies put forth to assist you in your job search is the concept of “Volunteering your way to a job." It’s an admirable strategy loaded with benefits.

Consider:

It’s a great way to update your skills. Doing today’s work on today’s equipment with today’s tools demonstrates initiative and a desire to learn new things – or at least to refresh or keep current with what’s going on today.

It’s also a great way to acquire a current track record. Especially if you’ve been searching for a while, it’s far more advantageous to show things you’ve done in the past 3-6 months as opposed to the past 3-6 years. Think, what have you done for me lately?

Along with that current track record, you now have the possibility of securing a reference from someone who has worked with you in a current sense as opposed to several years ago. Plus, those people with whom you work – paid and unpaid – can be added to your network as potential sources of valuable information.

Let’s not also forget that, if you’ve done enough to impress someone at your volunteer site, you just might be offered a job there. Stranger things have happened.

But maybe not as strange as some buzzing that we’ve heard from people working on the non-profit side of the fence today. It seems that some employers have been approaching volunteer groups with temporary job opportunities. And we all know that temp jobs are a great springboard to permanent positions. It would appear that some HR-types (and/or recruiters) realize that volunteer groups can be a great source of talent.

More tips.