Three Ways Volunteering Can Help You During Your Job Search

There are many great reasons to volunteer while you are between jobs. From the practical such as networking and bridging employment gaps to the sense of accomplishment it can give you, volunteering can help you accomplish a lot of what you need to do while positioning yourself for a new opportunity. Here are three ways volunteering will help you:

It Helps You Make Connections

Networking is vital in your job search, and while you may have a network that you keep in touch with, it’s always good to meet new people. Volunteering doesn’t just allow you to meet new people on a weekly basis, but it also allows you to meet people with great connections. It is becoming more and more common for companies, big and small, to promote volunteering as part of their outreach programs. This means that you can meet employees, including managers, of companies that may be on your target list every time you volunteer. You can even track a company’s social media page to see where they regularly volunteer!

It Looks Great On A Resume

Hiring managers aren’t too fond of gaps in employment. While they understand that transitioning is unavoidable, they want to see you do something “resume worthy” with that time. Giving a list of organizations that you volunteered with is a great way to show that you weren’t just busy during your gap, but also that you were doing something exceptional with your time. It will look even better if your volunteering did something to help your career path. For example, if you are applying for an IT job, showing that you volunteered at a non-profit helping them on an ad-needed basis with their IT needs is going to be mighty impressive.

It Gives You A Feeling Of Accomplishment

While you are certainly busy with sending out resuming and expanding your network, your job search certainly lacks that feeling of accomplishment you might get from a 9-5 job. While you will have that experience soon-enough, volunteering is a great way to feel accomplished in the mean-time. Whether you are helping a non-profit with their budget, or you are packing boxes of food for local shelters, you feel accomplished at the end of the day. It’s great motivation for your ongoing job search, and it’s so addicting that you’ll want to find time for it even when you do have your full-time job!