How can you leverage your volunteer work for job opportunities?

Volunteering is an excellent strategy to acquire the skills necessary for landing your dream job. Begin by identifying skill gaps in your professional profile. Consider volunteering in areas that allow you to develop these skills. For example, if you need experience in project management, find volunteer roles that enable you to plan and execute projects. Next, focus on identifying your transferable skills. Reflect on the abilities you've honed through volunteering that are directly relevant to the workplace. This can range from technical skills like IT and financial management to soft skills such as leadership and effective communication.

As you volunteer, you learn new skills. You gain experience by volunteering. As you are looking for your next career, you can use your skills and experiences to showcase your abilities. Remember you have the skills and can speak to how you have used them.

Just recently realized that a lot of my volunteer experiences are actual jobs and I put them all in ChatGPT and asked it to reccomend roles.

Si no tienes experiencia profesional, tus competencias y habilidades vienen de los conocimientos adquiridos con tu formación y de todas aquellas actividades que hayas realizado desde peque?ito. Haz una relación de todas ellas (deporte individual y de equipo, lectura, organización de viaje de fin de curso, delegado de clase, escribir en la revista del colegio, etc...)y extrae que las competencias que adquiriste con ellas. Para adquirir nuevas competencias necesarias para ese trabajo que deseas conseguir puedes ofrecerte como voluntario en alguna causa que te interese contribuir y que te las pueda aportar. Muchas competencias son perfectamente transferibles de unos roles a otros y de unas áreas a otras. Es por esto, que es muy útil listarlas

Did you know that 41% of Hiring Managers view volunteer experiences as equivalent to formal work experience? And, LinkedIn profiles that highlight volunteer experience get 6x more views than those without? Volunteer experience matters! It shows that you are invested in your work or personal community, and that you are willing to do more by contributing and giving back. Volunteering often gives you opportunities to practice skills that you might not do in your day job which can help make you a more well-rounded candidate. Perhaps you are in Sales, but through volunteering, you assist in planning an event. Or if you are in Operations or Admin work, volunteering may give you the chance sell sponsorships or fundraise. Highlight this!

Networking is a wonderful thing. Through your time as a volunteer, you meet many people. The connections you make and the relationships that you build can assist you as you search for your next career. You have proven yourself and shown your knowledge, skills, and abilities through the work you did as a volunteer, and they have seen it. These are the people to reach out to as you are looking to find new opportunities. You have already built these relationships and they will be willing to assist you, make introductions, referrals, and more.

With that kind if volunteer experience, why the hell isn't there a means of extracting value that u can spend oht of it? Seems crazy. I was volunteering 20 to 30 hrs a week on top of my regular job. Then I jumped off into it. I wonder if i will make it some months, hell I have lost a lot of weight, stoped watching tv and drinking, but i am still debt free. What os it I am doing then? Does ot address some ACTUAL root causes for the suffering we unecessarily inflict upon ourselves and each other?!? Yes! It absolutely does. These ladt couple of weeks is a great time to question the manufactured nature of our own subjective, associative, and collective reality!