How you benefit from volunteering...
There are many reasons to volunteer other than the fact that you're helping others. You're helping yourself in many ways. There are many different types of non-traditional volunteer jobs so it's easy to find one that will be fun for you or that will give you the experience you need. Volunteering gives you many opportunities to meet different people or experience situations different from your everyday life.
If you need experience to get a job in a particular field, or to find out if what you're thinking about studying is right for you, try finding a volunteer job in that field or taking a school co-op placement. Because you are volunteering your time, a company will generally take you with much less experience and spend more time training you. You also have more control over where you work and what you do. For instance, volunteering at a non-profit agency's office, you may be allowed to sit in on meetings, learn to use different types of computers and office equipment and assist different people on different projects. In a paid job at an office, a summer student would generally spend their day doing routine tasks like answering phones, photocopying and making coffee. They would also usually need to know how to do these tasks to get the job.
Even volunteer jobs that seem unrelated to paid employment, like working on a school yearbook or coaching kids' sports actually help a lot. Things like this on your resume show responsibility, the ability to take initiative, teamwork, communication and leadership skills. Personally, my volunteer experience helps me much more in applying for summer jobs than my paid experience does. Volunteer work belongs on your resume and you can put it under work or work/volunteer history.
Volunteer work can be fun too. If you like meeting people, working on a team and planning events, a lot of organisations have youth groups or youth councils that plan events for other youth. If you like the outdoors, people are always needed to clean up and maintain parks, rivers and trails. Many historical or cultural sites take volunteers guides. If you like children, volunteering at camps is the way many counsellors get their jobs; also try helping with Scouts, Guides or The Boys and Girls club. If you like animals, call a riding stable, a vet's or the humane society. There's a volunteer job somewhere for everyone. Think about your interests and skills, be creative and just start asking.
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