Here is an opinion on Volunteering by Anuli Ola-Olaniyi. Anuli is the founder of HEIR – A career support platform for young women.
I hope this helps you:
Have you read or been told that you are not suitable for a job role because you lack the relevant work experience required? To volunteer or not to volunteer, that is the question?
There are many ways to get work experience when your CV says you have none and one sure way to get that needed experience for your career climb is engaging in volunteering opportunities.
It is really what it says: volunteer means to give of your time, energy and effort in order to gain knowledge, information, skills, tools, training and on the job experience. I find that many candidates walk away from this opportunities because of the possibility to be treated wrongly by some organizations however majority of those who embrace volunteering wholeheartedly always come out better and more equipped for the next role.
Volunteering can help to build your work ethics and give you a professional look. It can develop skills you never had or build up the ones you already have. Volunteering can enable you take advantage of networking opportunities within and outside the professional organization. It can give you a more defined career path and vision for you to succeed in other roles or opportunities.
Most volunteering opportunities may not have an allowance or salary. This should not deter you from what you need to achieve. You still need to be on time, give your best to learn the part and my strongest advice is be indispensable.
“The willingness to volunteer is a selfless act”.- Mike Doody
What you learn from your volunteering experience can go a long way to prepare you for a great start to a promising career. All the best!
