Christians volunteer because they are giving people. Volunteering, however, is not only a Christian act of devotion to one’s fellow man but also is a good career activity for the volunteer.
There are many reasons why volunteering helps volunteers not only to secure future jobs but also to thrive in their present jobs. First, let’s talk about future jobs. Volunteer experience can positively impress a potential, future employer. This positive impression can help a resume stand out over other resumes. The volunteer experience also can help the volunteer during job interviews.
There are different reasons for this positive bias during resume reading and during the conduct of job interviews. Employers want to hire people who can get along well with the other employees in their organizations’ Such employers might reason that people who volunteer their time and effort are also the type of giving people who can get along well, not only with fellow employees but also with customers. As Erma Bombeck once said, “Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.”
Good public relations is another reason for such a positive hiring bias. When employees of a company volunteer their time and effort, such volunteer work reflects well on the company that employs them. The public prefers to buy goods or services from companies that they like and trust.
Those who volunteer often feel better about themselves when they follow the Biblical encouragement of 1 Peter 4:10 which reads, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Volunteering actually helps the volunteer to overcome depression.
There are still more benefits to volunteering. One such benefit is good work references for a resume. It is much easier for a volunteer to get a good reference from a volunteer supervisor than it is for an employee to get a good reference from a work supervisor.
Another advantage of volunteering is the opportunity to increase the network of people who might be helpful in future job searches. Many other volunteers will be working for many other companies that, in the future, might be hiring. Networking is one of the best ways to find a job.
Still another benefit of volunteering is the increased ability to try out new jobs. Instead of acquiring a reputation as a “job hopper,” a volunteer compiles an impressive list of volunteer experiences.
Such volunteer experiences also help volunteers to acquire new and transferable skills while performing their volunteer jobs. Many organizations also will train their volunteers.
Those who are interested in volunteering can search for opportunities by using the internet. There are national databases of volunteer activities that allow searchers to limit their search to their local area.
Volunteer and watch lives improve, including your own.
About the Author
Dan Vale has a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and he has been a career counselor, a director of a career counseling center, a graduate school instructor, and a career consultant. As the Career Examiner for the Examiner Online Newspaper, he published 270 career-related articles over a seven-year period, during which the time he had multiple endorsements and subscribers, and in April 2016 alone, he had over 19,000 page reads.
You can view his books at his Amazon Author Page.
