No matter what you choose to do when it comes to voluntary work, it’s always going to be a beneficial way to use your time and develop yourself as a person. Nevertheless, to make sure you can make the best out of the time you spare, it’s a good idea to explore the following questions to help find the best fit for you.
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Are You Looking to Improve Any Skills?
Voluntary work can be a great opportunity to either fulfil a missing skill, or build on one you already have. For example, if you think your people skills are lacking and you usually always work alone, you may benefit from a highly sociable voluntary position that sees you working and interacting with other people throughout the day. This question is therefore important to ask if your sole purpose for voluntary work is developing any skills you’re missing, so think about what those might be.
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Do You Want Something Similar or Different to Your Everyday Job?
Voluntary work takes up time and energy, so you might need to think whether you want more or less of what you already do. If your main employment is highly active and stressful, do you thrive with that or would you rather avoid more of the same thing? You can therefore look for voluntary work that is the polar opposite of what you usually do, for variety and to ensure you don’t become too exhausted.
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Are You Looking to Help Those in Need?
A lot of voluntary work can focus on charity and community work, with the sole purpose of raising awareness, funds or helping those in need. If this is your focus, then there are specific positions you’ll want to look for, such as those with charities and community organizations. It could be helping out in a charity shop to serve customers, or helping on a bigger scale for physical work in the community. If you regularly look to donate and help charities, then this kind of voluntary work could be right for you.
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Are You Looking to Bolster Your Resume?
A lot of job positions will look positively on candidates who have done something worthwhile with their spare time, especially when it comes to active voluntary work. If your purpose is related to the job market and you’re looking to improve your resume with things to talk about, then look for voluntary work which will allow you to put in the hours, gain good references, and also show a wealth of skills.
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Do You Have a Career Path in Mind?
Certain voluntary positions can go hand-in-hand with certain career paths, so if you’ve one in mind that you’re looking to get into, then you’ll want your voluntary work to complement that rather than looking for random positions. As an example, if you’re looking to go into an animal-centered career, you may then want to look for voluntary positions at kennels, veterinary clinics, or anything else related to animals to prove you have voluntary experience in that area.
This can also be helpful for testing the waters if you would like to see whether you would like to work in a certain environment.
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