Employability expert reveals five career-boosting reasons to volunteer

A quarter of Queenslanders have a higher chance of landing their dream job thanks to their volunteering experience, a career development expert says.

A quarter of Queenslanders have a higher chance of landing their dream job thanks to their volunteering experience, a career development expert says.

University of Southern Queensland career development specialist Jennifer Luke has revealed how volunteering can make the difference between landing a role or falling short.

She said people should turn their minds to the personal benefits of giving their time this National Volunteer Week as 26.5 per cent of Queenslanders gain an edge by volunteering through an organisation.

“Volunteering provides experience, networks and confidence to a person. All of this is attractive to employers,” Ms Luke said.

“Whether it’s paid or unpaid, call it experience on your resume.”

University of Southern Queensland career development specialist Jennifer Luke says volunteering can make the difference between landing a role or falling short.

Ms Luke, whose role involves bolstering student success, said volunteering also highlighted a person’s versatility.

She said gaining experience within a variety of industry sectors opened up career path options.

“Volunteer work in unrelated fields or industries is still valuable,” she said.

“Look at the skills learnt and how they translate across to various occupations. Customer service, payroll or team leadership are two examples of skills that are needed in any industry.”

USQ psychology graduate Kirstie Daken works as a clinical psychology register at Springfield’s The Rosy Room.

She said volunteering at Drug ARM while completing her clinical masters changed the trajectory of her career and improved her resume.

“It provided me with a lot of practical skills that you need when heading into the job force,” she said.

“I gained interpersonal and time management skills and I also gained a feel of what to expect in the real world.”

Kirstie Daken is a University of Southern Queensland psychology graduate who's volunteering experience at Drug Arm Ipswich gave her the edge in landing a great job. Photo: Steve Pohlner

The 30-year-old who is now doing a PhD believes her volunteering experience helped land her first job in a psychology clinic at Ipswich.

“I still remember that moment. It was fantastic,” she said.

New research from Volunteering Australia and the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods suggests that voluntary work has been impacted harder by the COVID-19 recession than paid work.

An estimated 2.3 million less Australians volunteered in April 2021 than in late 2019.

The research found those who managed to continue volunteering during COVID-19 fared much better in terms of life satisfaction than those who didn’t.

“The findings reinforce the importance of volunteering to the economic and social wellbeing of Australia and has several implications for policy and practice,” Volunteering Australia CEO Mark Pearce said.

“Given the weak recovery in volunteering to date, there remains an important challenge ahead in reinvigorating volunteering.”

Ms Luke said volunteering provided confidence in a person’s self belief.

“Connecting with others, learning new skills, and gaining understanding in the workforce – all of this provides both experience and confidence to a person,” she said.

Here are Ms Luke’s five career-boosting reasons to volunteer at any age:

• Volunteering is as important as paid work. Employers recognise real-work experience – paid or unpaid (volunteer)!
• It’s a great way to highlight your employability. Highlight your personal traits, values, skills, aptitude and experience to an employer.
• It expands your network! Authentically connect in with other volunteers (they could end up being a potential employer).
• Volunteering helps you avoid job gaps on your resume. Experience is experience.
• Increase your job confidence. Volunteering builds on your experience and self-belief.