Benefits of Volunteering as a job seeker

Volunteering is often seen as simply giving back to the community; however, it can also provide significant personal and professional benefits. Whether you are a student, graduate, job seeker, mid-career professional or senior executive, volunteering can be personally rewarding while also helping you develop valuable skills, gain experience, enhance your personal brand and strengthen your employability.

One of the biggest benefits of volunteering is the “feel good factor” that comes from contributing to your community and supporting causes you care about. At the same time, volunteering can help individuals gain practical experience and workplace skills that employers highly value. According to SEEK, 95% of hirers agree that volunteering is a credible way of gaining real work experience. Further, 85% believe volunteering is just as credible as paid work.

Volunteering can help individuals build a range of transferable skills including leadership, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, conflict resolution, time management and reliability. These experiences also demonstrate initiative, commitment and community involvement, all of which can strengthen a resume and make candidates stand out to employers.

Another major advantage of volunteering is the opportunity to expand your professional network. Through volunteering, individuals can connect with mentors, peers and professionals who may provide career guidance, references or even future job opportunities. Volunteering can also help fill gaps in a resume and allow individuals to explore different industries and career interests before committing to a long-term career path.

Some of the top benefits of volunteering include:

• enhancing employability

• applying theory to practice

• building transferable skills

• expanding professional networks

• transitioning into new work environments

• gaining local experience

• exploring career interests

• supporting mental wellbeing

It can be a valuable addition to both resumes and LinkedIn profiles. When including volunteer work, it is important to highlight the responsibilities of the role, the skills developed and any achievements gained through the experience. On LinkedIn, individuals can add volunteering under the volunteer section and explain what they learned and how it influenced their career goals and aspirations.

Job seekers should also consider aligning their volunteering experience with the values of organisations they wish to apply to. Researching a company’s mission, vision and goals can help demonstrate how volunteering experiences reflect similar values and workplace qualities.

Whether you are looking to follow a passion, contribute to a meaningful cause, gain experience, build confidence, develop skills or discover a new direction, volunteering can provide opportunities that support both personal growth and long-term professional success.

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