From improving health and happiness to making a positive impact on others, to making friends and learning new skills, the benefits of volunteering keep growing. Add to that how it can help you stand out to a recruiter, and volunteering becomes a no-brainer for uni students!
Here are 3 types of volunteering opportunities you can get involved in, and how they can help benefit you too:
University Societies, Organisations and Clubs
Most universities have societies or clubs that you can join and be a part of. The majority of these organisations are student-run and completely pro bono. The great thing about taking on a committee or leadership position in a university society is that you get to learn valuable and transferrable skills whilst having a positive impact on the student or wider community, plus it's a lot of fun! From helping high school graduates have a great orientation week to creating events, the type of work or responsibilities will differ from society to society, university to university, but the overall outcome is generally the same. Some of the main benefits include:
- Meeting new people and expanding your network
- Giving back to the community by engaging with different groups of people
- Gaining valuable leadership, teamwork, time management and communication skills that are transferrable to the workplace
- Finding new passions and interests
- Working on fun projects that you can talk about in an interview
Charities
There is no shortage of charities looking for volunteers to bring their vision to a reality. Charities warmly welcome any passionate and enthusiastic volunteers, and the diverse nature of charities means that you can choose an area where you want to make a difference.
For example charities operate in areas such as education, environment, human rights, and social welfare. When applying for graduate roles, having volunteered with charities as part of your experience tells recruiters that you are generous and willing to go above and beyond what you are obliged to do. Here are a few added benefits:
- Having a sense of achievement and purpose beyond your own goals
- Being part of a community and giving back
- Sharing skills, knowledge and passion with others
- Helping combat major issues that exist within the community
Not-for-Profit Organisations
Not-for-Profit Organisations (NFPs), as the name suggests, do not operate for the profit, personal gain, or the benefits of particular people such as its members or the people who run them. Ultimately, charities and most university clubs are also NFPs, so there is a little bit of an overlap. However, the NFP sector is huge and growing with over 600K NFPs in Australia.
NFPs are always in need of certain services and support to continue to contribute to the issue or problem they are combatting. These services can include fundraising, human resources or even marketing and technology. If you are looking to upskill and gain valuable industry experience, why not volunteer a bit of your time to fulfil a role in an NFP and contribute to a worthy cause simultaneously.
To discover what volunteering opportunities are currently available or for more tips and advice on how volunteering can help you stand out to recruiters and employees, visit SEEK Volunteer.