All of us have different stories as immigrants, job seekers and a combination of these two. We also have different resources of money, time and knowledge.
Some of us have enough to share with others, and some of us do not. Some of us have to pick up any job in order to support themselves and their families, and some of us have a chance to explore the labor market and our preferences before landing the job.
Volunteering is about sharing your time and knowledge: you can support a worthwhile cause, your community, or make your efforts benefit somebody in need.
But the main beneficiary of volunteering will be you. Besides the fact that volunteering will make you feel better physically and mentally, it will also make you more engaged and mindful in your life. And I still did not mention the noble desire to make the world a better place! 🙂
Moreover, volunteering can boost your career – and here is how:
1. Volunteering Will Look Amazing In Your Resume
Over the last several years I have met a lot of new immigrants that were telling me the same story in different words. The gist of it was: “I was thinking about volunteering before I got a work permit, but now I have it and I don’t want to lose my time, I want to make money and have a REAL job”.
I found that it is hard to get a job right away – as an immigrant and as a recent college graduate.
You may have a good education from your home country, years of experience in your profession and an intermediate level of English – and still, struggle with getting any response to your resume.
And the reason is… well, you are a dark horse for recruiters. They most likely do not know anything about your school and your previous company, you have a non-English sounding name and so…they cannot relate to you. But there is a way to fix it and be more relatable.
Volunteering Is Basically A Job
The right chosen volunteering opportunity can add a very important part of your resume. Volunteering is basically a job. You need to prove that you can show up on time and that you are otherwise reliable and positive. You are a true professional and you will remain professional, even if you are not being paid.
And all these great things about you can be discovered when you are volunteering. This is your chance to shine! Now when the recruiters look at your resume again – they will have some organizations that they can recognize, which makes you more relatable and a better candidate to hire.
And besides upgrading your resume and LinkedIn profile with your awesome volunteering experience, you can also start your professional reference list. It could be your supervisor or your peer who thinks that you are doing a great job and is ready to vouch for that. I cannot stress enough how important it is to build this circle of strong work connections.
Volunteering is being taken seriously in the US. I would recommend you treat your volunteering position as a job – and one day it will become one.
2. Meeting New People Will Help With Networking
Two Words About Networking
On the one hand, I agree that it is important to do the networking – to make as many connections as you can and to stay in touch with them via social media.
On the other hand, your networking should be meaningful and mindful. If you just exchange phone numbers or business cards with people you are not sure you have anything in common with – it is not networking, it is just making a useless collection of contacts.
I truly believe that volunteering is a meaningful way to do your professional networking.
3. Practicing Your English Will Make You More Confident
I completely understand that there is nothing easier than to speak your native language and to be around people with the same cultural background. Besides, all of us have different levels of English language and, it is hard to adjust to a new environment.
And do not let me start on how frustrating it is when people do not understand you and when you misunderstand them! Oh, it is just the worst! I will never learn this language!
And we always hesitate to start communication with a native English-speaker. That is fine. This is a great reason to try volunteering.
There is a great chance that you will meet other immigrants during volunteering. They will be speaking slower, perhaps with some grammar errors, and with different accents. But it will be easier for you to start, easier to continue, so easier to improve your English.
This regular practice will make you more confident in your skills – and maybe you can practice some small talk at the grocery store later?
By the end of the day, learning another language is more of a journey, not quite a destination. Just like a job search.
Volunteering Can Help You To Start Your Career
Companies are interested in hiring people that want to make a difference. And by volunteering you can prove that you are one of them.
How to find the right volunteering opportunity for you? Check out my recent post!
If you have any questions or topic suggestions – or would like to share your career story with me – please do not hesitate to contact me! I would love to hear from you!
Good luck to you!
