Volunteering is becoming a good way to develop new skills, boost your career and find business opportunities.
Besides giving the satisfaction of helping others, volunteering could be the opportunity to develop new skills in a fun way. Most volunteering jobs are challenging, so this helps to gain new competences and develop leadership capabilities. Volunteering works are always pleasant and satisfactory experiences, so the return outweigh the time you invest.
When you think about volunteering you immediately think about picking litter, planting trees and others non-glamorous stuff. Despite the fact this exists, there are now other types of volunteering jobs. They cover different areas, such as education, sport, art, culture, and music.
The main qualities required are empathy and creative problem-solving. Having done some volunteering works, it has brought me personal development, business skills, and networking contacts.
Here are key benefits of volunteering for your personal and professional life:
● Develop new skills and improve your existing skills
● Learning to work with people from different professional backgrounds
● Assess your capabilities and gain self-confidence
● Develop networking skills while making new contacts
● Show your expertise for a particular subject
● Make a career change or practising your own passion
● Have better understanding of a particular job function or sector
● Personal satisfaction of helping people
● Add additional projects to your CV to enhance your employability
● Discover hidden talents to improve your self esteem
When you are ready to volunteer, start by assessing the specialist skills you can offer; it could be marketing, design, accounting, or event management. Then choose the group of people you would like to work with – it could be elderly people, children, or adults with learning difficulties. Finally decide on how much time you are willing to give. So start from today, give a call to your local community centre, book an appointment, and find out what they need.
About the author
Lisiane Ndong is an entrepreneur and online marketing specialist. She is the owner of Nilare (formerly Lilie Design), a lifestyle brand offering handcrafted accessories and gifts. Having worked in the field of marketing in London for 4 years, Lisiane decided to pursue her passion for design by creating her own company. She has strong belief in people empowerment so she set up her social enterprise to supporting communities in Africa. She loves interior design and fashion, and is passionate about personnel development, coaching and wellbeing.
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