Volunteering as a Career Management Strategy

This week I was awarded the Breiger Award from the Human Resources Association of New York, HR/NY, the country’s largest chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management, SHRM. The award honors exceptional service to the chapter and the HR community and I was recognized for my efforts to help build the chapter’s membership. And while I’m thrilled that the HR community thought enough of my service to recognize my contribution, the benefits to me have been equally valuable and my role as a volunteer has offered me countless opportunities both personally and professionally. Helping out a community or cause that you are passionate about helps you build new skills and visibility that can enhance your professional credibility and open doors that can accelerate a career or a job search. Here are just a few of the fringe benefits that come with volunteer service.

• Community. Volunteering in a professional organization or other association that you care about brings you together with people who share similar interests or values. This common bond helps build relationships and trust. People are much more willing to share information with people who are part of their community because their is already a connection to that person.
• Leadership. Taking on a leadership role in an organization allows you to showcase your ability to direct others and think strategically about a process or project. If you can successfully lead a team or project in a volunteer environment, people in that community will notice and will act as advocates for you when other opportunities to lead surface.
• Skill Development. Through volunteer opportunities you can begin to hone skills that may not be part of you current area of expertise but could be important to your future professional development. Skills acquired through a volunteer opportunity are no less valuable than those acquired through a paid opportunity and the skills you build through a volunteer experience could help position you for a paid opportunity down the road.
• Networking. Informal conversations about companies and job leads go on all the time in volunteer-based personal and professional organizations and affinity groups. Some of the best assignments are routinely communicated through people, not job boards or search firms.

Like any other type of relationship you build, approach volunteer relationships with a “give to give” rather than a “give to get” attitude. You will be helping others and generating some good karma, but in the long run you will probably be quite pleased with the “return on investment” of your volunteer efforts.