Volunteer to Better Your Resume and Your Community

An often overlooked method to strengthen your resume and job skills is to volunteer with nonprofit groups in your community. These groups welcome all volunteers who have a willingness to learn and to serve others. Volunteerism provides many benefits to job seekers and is essential in any community. Despite these benefits, many talented people avoid community service work. Some may even ask, "What's in it for me?" The short answer is; plenty!

Brand Yourself
Giving your time and talents for a charitable cause can help you to find work with a growing number of employers who recognize the importance of promoting a socially responsible image. These firms realize that support of nonprofit public service groups is an effective method to build public trust, community support, and an expanded customer base. Also recognized, is the value of employees who volunteer and promote a spirit of public service. Your volunteer service alone is unlikely to assure your next job offer, but branding yourself as a community volunteer can elevate your resume above non-volunteers.

Expand and Strengthen Your Skills
Graduates lacking a work history and those reentering the job market following a break in employment will benefit greatly from volunteer work. Volunteering provides hands-on training and experience that can expand and strengthen your employable skills. Some of these skills include: public speaking, strategic planning, budgeting and financial planning, communications, leadership, interpersonal skills, as well as consensus and team building. These transferable skills developed as an unpaid volunteer will only increase your job opportunities in the for-profit sector.

Expand Your Network
A network of friends, coworkers, supervisors, customers, or suppliers is your best bet for finding new job leads. If you have not seriously developed your social and professional contacts, volunteer work can get you started. You will find yourself working with other volunteers from all walks of life including wide a variety of business and community leaders. These new friends can be good job contacts and may provide quality personal and professional references for a future employer. Developing friendships with others who share your passion for service is a sure method to build and gain the support of a diverse social and professional network.

No Barriers to Entry
If you know the sting of rejection that goes hand-in-hand with job hunting, you will appreciate the warm welcome for those wishing to volunteer with a nonprofit group. Many nonprofits operate on a shoestring budget and gladly welcome enthusiastic volunteers wishing use their education and/or career experience for a greater good. Nonprofit groups operate nearly identically to for-profit enterprises. But for nonprofits; success is measured in service to their communities, not in dollars and cents. Their success will be your success as volunteer experience will prove a valuable addition to your resume. A history of volunteerism portrays you as motivated and proactive, with a passion for helping others. These are all positive traits to potential employers.

The Big Picture
A shortage of paid staff means that volunteers must fill many essential roles in a nonprofit group. For many of these groups, a lack of volunteer manpower may sink the entire organization. These groups really are volunteer and community driven, should public support fade, the nonprofit can also disappear. This loss would be tragic to the less fortunate community members who rely on nonprofit services. As the national economy continues to slide, more of our neighbors will need these groups for temporary assistance. Clearly, these groups must receive the community and volunteer support needed to fulfill their mission of helping those in need.

Conclusion
Volunteer service is a win-win for you and your community. This investment of your time and talent will provide practical work experience as you demonstrate a desire to serve others. These admirable traits will help to separate your resume from hundreds of others and can impress employers. The continual need for volunteers will also grow your network of social and professional contacts. This need for motivated and caring people will certainly increase as the national economy sours. Give away some of your time and talent and you may be surprised by how much more you get back.