How important is volunteering when looking for a job?

If you are looking for a job, whether you are young or not and have volunteer experience, please note that this is the decisive factor that many companies look for in the resumes they receive. The importance of volunteer service in hunting is highly valued and should not be hidden in the application.

In addition to being a very rich experience on a personal level, it is also a mechanism for developing certain technical skills that may ultimately be related to professional performance.

This question becomes especially important when it comes to producing resumes for young graduates with little or no work experience. It may be what distinguishes one application from another during the recruitment process.

4 reasons why volunteering is important in job search

01. Development of technical skills and interpersonal relationships

Regardless of whether you are volunteering in your training field or not, just cooperating in the tasks of your organization and connecting with people around you will allow you to develop a range of skills.

In your resume, you have been able to include a series of soft skills that will definitely have a positive impact on your professional performance. It is already counted as “experience”.

02. Occupation of free time

In addition to having the experience to include on a résumé, volunteering can help fill the waiting time between job applications and the long wait for a response. Occupying free time with a volunteer activity not only helps the affected entities and people, it is also an asset for a healthy and balanced mind, during a process that can be challenging.

03. Creating potential professional references

When considering the true importance of volunteering when looking for a job, one aspect that is overlooked is the creation of professional references (and even possible contact details). Many recruiters seek more information from so-called professional reference materials.

Even if you are a volunteer, you will have a coordinator or supervisor to accompany you and help you complete tasks. For example, this person will be a potential reference to prove their good posture or behavior, interpersonal skills or strong ability to adapt to different environments.

04. Reveals proactivity

If there’s one thing all recruiters want to see in a job seeker, it’s proactivity and volunteering fits perfectly here. In the eyes of recruiters, your activities as a volunteer represent a willingness to work and/or team spirit, an excellent asset.

Despite these benefits, volunteering is a noble activity and should not be seen as a professional lever. Volunteering must be a choice with the right motivation. Even in volunteer service, there are countless task choices. The goal is not to ignore this contribution to society as a testament to the ability or values ​​of professional importance.

Read more:

• International Volunteering: How Important Is It And How To Do It?
• 9 Reasons To Join A Volunteering Program