Volunteering: a win:win activity

It’s Student Volunteering Week! At UEA CareerCentral, we’re passionate about supporting our students and recent graduates to gain skills and work experience, and explore different roles and career sectors. Volunteering is a great way to do this while giving back to the community and making a difference. It’s a win-win activity!????

CareerCentral’s Volunteering lead Kerensa Rands and Progression Adviser Galit Hart have shared their top five reasons why they’d recommend volunteering to both students and graduates.??

Hi. I’m Kerensa and I help to coordinate volunteering opportunities for students and recent graduates within the careers service at UEA. I’ve also been volunteering for years, including during my time at university and since graduating. I’ve gained so much from volunteering and wanted to share how volunteering might help you as a graduate.??

And I’m Galit. As the Progression Adviser my focus is on supporting students and recent graduates with disabilities, neurodivergence, as well as mental health and long-term health conditions, reach their career goals and I wanted to share how volunteering can help with this.????

Here are five reasons why we recommend volunteering.??

1. Increase your confidence??

It can be difficult making the transition from university and feeling confident in yourself, your skills and abilities. Perhaps you haven’t had the chance to take up opportunities before. Volunteering can build your confidence through engaging in opportunities, getting new experiences, developing relationships with others and connecting with your community, all while learning more about yourself and having fun. It is also a great way to increase your confidence and get practice with communicating with employers, application processes and interviews. If you have a disability, volunteering can help you build confidence with talking to employers about your disability-related needs at work and managing your disability in a workplace.???

2. Develop your skills and experience?

Alongside doing things that interest you or you are passionate about, volunteering can be a great way to develop workplace skills or build on skills you already have - helping charities and non-profit organisations while building your CV. You could have opportunities to develop the skills and experience employers are looking for such as teamwork, IT, communication or people skills. Or you could develop new more advanced or specialised skills in time. For example, you may get opportunities to step up with roles that give you the chance to develop leadership and strategic thinking skills. Don’t worry, there are lots of ad hoc and casual volunteering opportunities for you if you would find it difficult to fit regular volunteering into your schedule.?

3. A way to try something new or different?

Trying new things and seeing different environments and workplaces can help you to evaluate what you like or don’t like. It can be a great way to test the water and expand your horizons and the career options open to you. You may find you have skills or preferences you weren't aware of because you hadn’t been exposed to them before. After volunteering for a disability charity, UEA Graduate Tilly was offered a permanent employed position with the organisation – and this changed her whole career path. UEA students and recent graduates can find out more about Tilly’s experience on MyCareerCentral.??

4. Widen your network?

Volunteering can open up doors! For example, if you are looking to work for charities or in sector areas such as heritage or international development, volunteering can give you the chance to gain direct relevant experience with those organisations, find out information and open up potential paid opportunities and networks from the people you meet. As a student, Jill volunteered with YMCA. Not only was she offered a paid position towards the end of her studies, her volunteering experience opened employment doors for her in Kenya. Jill’s story is available for UEA students and recent graduates to read on MyCareerCentral.??

5. Valued by employers?

It’s not just paid work that is valued by employers. Volunteering can help you stand out and shows you are proactive and willing to do things. It may well be something completely different to the field you are looking to enter. The experiences and skills gained from volunteering are often transferable and give you more to talk about on your CV and applications, as well as at interviews. It also shows the employer a bit more about you and your interests.??

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There are many other reasons why volunteering can be a win:win activity. Alongside the opportunity to make a valuable difference to others and help your community, it is well known that volunteering has positive benefits to an individual’s wellbeing.??

Do you have experiences of volunteering as a student or graduate you’d like to share with us? We always love to hear about your experiences and how you have benefitted.?

Volunteering support for UEA students and recent graduates?

There are a wide variety of opportunities and organisations to get involved with, and UEA students and recent graduates can find Volunteering Resources on MyCareerCentral to help you get started. Unsure about volunteering and how it might fit with your career plans, talk to us so we can help. Contact our Volunteering Coordinator, talk with a Careers Adviser, or the Progression Adviser if you want to think about any disability-related aspects of volunteering.??