More often than not, you can’t just “order up a job” by responding to an online posting and have it delivered in one or two days as if you were buying whatever your heart desires on Amazon.
Even as employers are hiring at a higher rate than they have in the last several years, it can often take months to work your way through the job search process. If you are a new graduate yet to receive a job offer, if you recently moved to a new locale with your spouse or partner or if you are unemployed for any other reason, you may find success in your job search by spending time volunteering at a nonprofit organization.
[See: 10 Tech Jobs That Make the Most Money.]
Both the nonprofit and for-profit worlds need people with many of the same talents. The best volunteer jobs for you to consider are ones where the experience you acquire will be applicable in the “for-pay” position you want to attain.
It’s often the case that once you display your passion for the organization and its mission, and have demonstrated your abilities, you’ll earn strong consideration when a paying position opens up that can benefit from your talents.
Even if you don’t have a path to employment at the place you volunteer, by highlighting your volunteer experience on your resume you can demonstrate that you haven’t been wasting your time away staying at home watching the grass grow.
There are a few strategies you might adopt when considering at which organization you’ll want to volunteer. You’ll probably want to make a priority of volunteering to do what you’ve already done, or want to do, in the for-profit sector. Alternatively, however, it might make sense to volunteer to do something where you can turn an area of professional weakness into a new strength. Remember, as well, that nonprofit organizations maintain strong relationships with their corporate sponsors, and you might look for a volunteer position that would enable you to be that nexus point between the two. And, especially if you are recently out of school, you should look for positions that let you learn about an occupation, a field of interest or an industry.
[See: Tips for Surviving a Career Transition.]
As you try to determine what you want to volunteer to do, and where you want to do it, make three lists: your marketable skills, the roles you seek and the kinds of charitable organizations you would want to support.
For example, perhaps your skills cluster around accounting, marketing or event planning. Think about how these might come in handy for organizations that need financial help figuring out how to brand the organization to attract other volunteers or donors or run anything from charitable golf tournaments and 5k runs to gala dinners.
The number of charitable organizations that can use your help is virtually limitless. Whether your passion is working to find a cure for a particular disease, education at any level, culture and the performing arts or dealing with any number of “cause” issues, you are sure to find a nonprofit whose mission you respect.
There are many ways to find out about opportunities to serve that may be available to you that you’ve never considered.
Start by doing a simple Google search like: “Volunteer opportunities [insert your location]” or: “Volunteer opportunities doing [what you want to do] near me.” In LinkedIn’s Jobs tab, you can search for volunteer roles as well.
[See: The 25 Best Jobs of 2018.]
There are several very helpful online sites where nonprofits post volunteer roles they are seeking to fill. Each of the following work a bit differently, but they all serve as connecting points between organizations in need of volunteer talent and people looking for ways to contribute their time. Check out these sites: Idealist.org, VolunteerMatch.org, Points of Light’s HandsON network, Createthegood.org, Catchafire.org and the Taproot Foundation.
If you are unemployed, you may not be in a position to donate a large sum of money to a favorite nonprofit, but by volunteering you can genuinely make a difference for the organization and what it stands for, you can get yourself out of the house, build and utilize your skills and further your own career goals.
Happy hunting!
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How to Volunteer Yourself Into a New Job originally appeared on usnews.com
