“I’m not a volunteer – I’m securing my future and contributing to society”

Featured on the Manchester Leadership Program Blog - http://leadershipvolunteering.wordpress.com/2-talking-to-organisations/

So here I am, delighted at being asked to write a post for the MLP blog and, for once, stuck for words.

Having looked through some of the past blog posts (try saying that after a few pints!), there’s no posts that focus on how volunteering adds value to your careers in any detail, so that’s what I hope to touch on in this post.

I’ve been where you are. At University and living the “student lifestyle” of work hard, play harder. With the employment climate as bad as it is, there was always that cloud hanging over my head – will I get a job when I finish my degree?!

I’ll be blatant here. I have friends who graduated before me, over 3 years ago, who are still stacking shelves and pulling pints. And it’s not for the want of trying. A number of them applied for literally hundreds of graduate level and middle management jobs and got absolutely nowhere.

On the flip side, I have graduate friends that are earning a lot of money in companies like BT, Lloyds TSB, Balfour Beatty and Zara.

So what’s the difference between the two? Volunteering. For the sake of this post – skill exploration and development.

All of the successful people above engaged in a lot of volunteering, which gave them the opportunity to do three key things:

1.       Explore new skills

2.       Develop and fine tune existing skills

3.       Demonstrate their capabilities to employers

Programs like MLP are incredibly important – not only do they give you the opportunity to do all of the above things; they also train you to be reflective and dissect your skills. This is very important when it comes to writing CVs and being outstanding at interviews.

To demonstrate this, I will take an example from the “Great Fundraise” post on the 5^th March.

“The Barnardos group put their entrepreneurial skills to the test by selling Oriental food outside the Sugden Sports centre after sporting events. They were able to manage their stock and finances by setting up an online ordering service which proved really useful for their team – well done!”

So what does this one paragraph demonstrate?

The biggest thing that jumps out at me is the online ordering system – Setting up something like this on any scale will need careful planning, development and monitoring. They also tapped into a very fragile market – how many times have you gone to the gym and visited McDonald’s on the way home?! I know I have. Visionaries in the making!

A task like this would require a good level of team work to ensure its success. Who sources the food, and from where? Who is responsible for cooking it safely? Who is responsible for marketing the activity? Who set up the online ordering service?

This one task can be broken down into a number of skill areas, giving you extra ammunition for your CVs and Interviews.

One thing to remember is that size doesn’t matter (lol).

 Regardless of how big your event is, or who you volunteer for, you are still demonstrating the same skills. The key is to do it regularly and ensure you reflect on what you’ve done. In work, you’ll have regular one-to-ones with your manager for this very purpose, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do it with your volunteering (or assignments for that matter!).

Being aware of the skills you are demonstrating, and especially identifying what you need to improve, will lead you into a constant cycle of self-development and ultimately, a tidy career!

I always wanted to be a pilot, but during college I didn’t have the drive or ambition to put effort into my professional development. My easy route out was to be a P.E. Teacher. Neither happened.

Through volunteering and professional development, I find myself in a position where I get to work with and inspire volunteers on a daily basis. I meet people that, piece by piece, are changing the world. Every little bit of volunteering they do makes a difference to them and to the people they are helping, and employers LOVE to see that.

Competition is rife for any job with employers often sifting through hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of applications. Believe me, it’s a boring process which means It’s more important than ever to stand out - and volunteering will help you do that.

So what’s my advice? Talk to the guys and girls at MLP (they’re very good!), join V-inspired, and check out the Five Minute Fundraiser on the Institute of Fundraising website.

If you can, find yourself a mentor, and remember to always record and reflect on your volunteering.

I think I’ve said enough for this post, but before I sign off, it’s my turn to invite you to join us at The Children’s Air Ambulance.

Good luck with your upcoming exams and dissertations, and for those of you about to join me in the big bad world – I’ll see you there!

@TCAADave.