Sharing Career Advice by Virtually Volunteering

As part of Blue Shield of California’s first ever virtual volunteer week, employees were recently invited to participate in an action that benefits the communities where we live and work. Options for volunteer activities included assisting with homework, serving as a mentor, cleaning up trash, walking for specific causes, knitting scarves and hats for our military, veterans and first responders and even providing career advice to job seekers. Volunteering this year may look and feel different as we navigate things virtually, but it is important that we continue to look for ways to make a difference and adapt to change. 

Throughout the course of my career I have been fortunate to receive helpful advice and have had the chance to learn from strong mentors. Because of this, I wanted to share what I’ve learned and selected to volunteer with Bridges from School to Work, which allows Blue Shield of California employees the opportunity to open up about our own career paths to provide inspiration to job seekers with learning barriers. 

Here is some of the career advice I shared:

Finding a first job:

• Treat your job search like a full-time job. Ahead of getting my first professional job, I found this to be a useful approach. I made calls, set appointments, and made inquiries with companies and people to share my interest in learning more and potentially working for them. All these actions eventually led to interviews and the opportunity to make connections that helped me land my first job. 

Learnings and challenges:

• I have learned so much through my career by observing what great leaders do and looking to incorporate those learnings into my work where possible. I also learned a great amount from watching challenging or poor examples of leadership and making note to avoid these actions or do the opposite where relevant for the roles I have had. 

Other career tips:

• Focus on building your professional network and look to provide value to others first, without expecting anything in return. By doing this consistently, your network will grow and in return will naturally provide you with opportunities over time.

I am thankful for the career advice I have received through the years and hope that what I shared through this volunteer opportunity is useful for others. What is the best career advice you have received? What would you share with others as they embark on finding a job?

Don Antonucci serves as Senior Vice President of Commercial and Consumer Markets for Blue Shield of California. He is also the host of the “Healthy Dose of Dialogue” podcast available on the Apple iTunes/Podcast app. The monthly podcast invites healthcare leaders to share fresh perspectives and engage in healthy dialogue about transformative marketplace trends and industry insights.