Working for Peanuts, or How Volunteering Can Boost up Your Career

Volunteer (Cambridge Dictionary) :?

• to offer to do something that you do not have to do, often without having been asked to do it and/or without expecting payment
• to do something, esp. for other people or for an organization, willingly and without being forced or paid to do it

We are all very busy these days, trying to balance between work, family, hobbies, and simultaneously paying attention to staying healthy and fit. 24 hours is just too little to introduce extra activities to our routines. Unless you are truly willing to constantly develop and upgrade, and are not scared to invest in this process.

This time I would like to talk about volunteering. Let’s not discuss its benefits for society and environment and instead focus on the advantages it can have for your career and professional development.

This Saturday I joined HYROX as a volunteer and spent a great day counting reps at the wall balls station. That was quite a challenge as usually I try to avoid monotonous work, and there I had to concentrate and count. Moreover my task was to count only properly completed reps, so I had to study the rules and technique for the exercises. But that was an exciting experience.

Apart from introducing new activities to your life, training your brain and saving it from routine, volunteering has a number of advantages.

Networking. You can never tell where you might meet your next customer/employee/employer/friend. Nowadays, the sayings about benefits of having many acquaintances are relevant more than ever before. And if you have recently moved to a new country, volunteering is an amazing chance to enrich your social circle.

High self-esteem. By contributing to something important or interesting, you build your self-confidence and get rid of the impostor syndrome which is so common these days.

Mental health. When you are surrounded by others who share your ideas, it is easier to combat stress, anxiety and depression. People don’t concentrate too much on their own problems, and quite often admit that those get solved easier.

Practice and experience. All job seekers faced the problem of lacking necessary experience required by employers. Volunteering is a great chance to improve that. Not only it demonstrates your willingness to contribute, but also highlights your initiative and desire to constantly develop, both personally and professionally. Besides, there are always some lessons to learn. You observe the way other people organize and manage events, you notice what goes right and what could have been done better. That’s invaluable.

Fun. Some events can be truly entertaining, so don’t feel too shy and enjoy yourself!

The list can be prolonged with other examples such as physical health, sense of purpose, and making the world a better place. Regardless of the driving power and motivation behind, that is something worth trying.

Now the question comes: where can you find an opportunity to volunteer?

Well, almost everywhere! Starting with a nearby school, kindergarten, pet shelter or social club, - help can be needed anywhere! Just offer it)

Searching the web for volunteering opportunities can significantly enrich the geography. There are many NGOs regularly posting news about volunteer help needed. UNICEF and the UN might be most popular among them, but the list is pretty long.

Targeted ads can sometimes ‘accidentally’ bring volunteer opportunities to your attention. And that was actually how I found out about Hyrox.

You can also subscribe to event pages on social media, and always be up-to-date when something exciting is about to take place.

By the way, I was personally surprised to find out that in Poland students are encouraged to volunteer; during their last years of schooling they can even improve their overall score by getting extra points for such activities. That's an example to follow, I believe.

When you finally decide to join any initiative as a volunteer, be prepared to face some challenges.

Age and culture difference. At first it might be difficult to establish smooth communication with other volunteers as they all come from different backgrounds. But always remember about the common thing you have together, at least something brought all of you to one and the same event.

Language. Even though it is usually highlighted which languages are important to know in order to participate, the level of knowledge may differ which affects communication. Stay patient.

Time. Usually it takes a whole day to participate in an event as a volunteer, and yes, you have to work during that time. Definitely, if that’s a concert you might be able to enjoy the songs, but doubtfully you will manage to spend the whole day in the dancehall.?

Discipline. As a volunteer you get to follow the rules to guarantee smooth processes and expected results. It might be especially difficult if you are used to managing things, and now you can not influence the procedures that much. However, that is also a great skill to master.

To sum it all up, I have to clarify that peanuts in the case of volunteering only seem small, it actually is a great investment in your personal and professional growth, and with a proper approach one can make delicious peanut butter.