Giving Compass' Take:

•  Volunteering can help you build a career in various ways. Volunteering gives you experience, it helps with networking and connection building, and it will give you a preview of what you may or may not be interested in. 

• There are clear benefits of volunteering. Are there any shortcomings to the practice? 

• Read about the top seven myths about volunteering get debunked. 

There are many ways to create a fabulous career including getting the right education, moving, and demonstrating your mastery of skills at work. However, one way of helping your career is often overlooked. While volunteering may seem irrelevant when it comes to career advancement, nothing could be further from the truth.

Actual Experience

Many companies today are looking for people with experience. One way to get experience is to do volunteer work. For example, if you want to become a nurse, working as a volunteer at a senior center can help you learn to interact with people and demonstrate you have what it takes to function in the real world of patient care.

Networking and Making Connections

In today’s world of ideas, it’s more important than ever to have connections with other people when searching for a job. Companies like to hire from within based on candidates they know well. If you are at the job site as a volunteer you can get to know your colleagues and find out about potential job openings that might be ideal for someone of your qualifications and background.

A Feel for the Job

As a volunteer, you’ll get the chance to understand the requirements of the job.  You may discover that a given career path is simply not right for you. That can also be useful as it allows you to look for other work instead.

Read the full article about volunteering to help your career by Mickey Berlianshik at Medium