Although it might not seem like it, volunteering can be a really important step in getting the job you want. It might even help give you a few ideas about what you might want to do in the future if you’re not sure what you want to do for your career. For some jobs you have to take on a voluntary placement before your application for training or further study will be accepted.

Working for nothing...?

Volunteering usually means you won’t get paid – though in some instances you might receive money towards your travel expenses. But even though you’d be giving up some of your time for free a volunteering placement can give you lots of advantages when you’re applying for jobs.

Volunteering will help you:

Gain practical experience
Lots of companies and organisations state that they’re looking for candidates with experience. That can be difficult if you’ve only recently left college, school or university. Volunteering is a great way to get that practical experience so you’re not at a disadvantage when filling in an application form. Volunteering is also a great way to put theory into practice and get hands on experience of things you have previously studied.

Provide interesting answers in job interviews
Job interviews can be stressful and nerve-wracking. Going into them knowing that you’ve been doing lots of interesting and valuable work can help you relax as you won’t have to worry about coming up with an answer – you’ll naturally have plenty to talk about.

Demonstrate passion and commitment for a job
Volunteering placements really stand out to potential employers when they’re reading application forms or C.V.s. If you’ve been volunteering for a long time they know you have a genuine passion and commitment for that line of work. It shows you’re willing to go the extra mile and put in extra effort to achieve what you want. Volunteering can also help you get really good references for your C.V.s and application forms. A reference from someone who you volunteered for tends to look better than a simple reference from a temp agency.

Make connections and meet people
Volunteering within a particular sector or industry can be a great opportunity to meet people who can become really useful contacts when looking for future employment. They will be able to offer you lots of useful advice about interviews, applications and should be able to provide you with lots of background information on the sector they work in. They might even know about job opportunities that are coming up in advance.

Learn new skills
Taking on a volunteering placement will put you in a new environment which will give you the chance to learn new skills. It might also give the chance to improve skills you know you’ll need for the future and practice things you haven’t done for a while. It will also give you the opportunity to develop team working skills and if you do a good job you might be asked to lead a team of other volunteers or be responsible for a particular job or project.

Getting the job...

The job market is getting increasingly competitive and more and more young people are using a voluntary placement to help give them the edge on applications and at interviews. Everyone wants to stand out from all the other applicants for the right reasons - so while volunteering won’t guarantee that you get the next job that you apply for - not volunteering could put you at a disadvantage.