Volunteering Can Open Doors to Areas of Interest and Job Opportunities

I've written about volunteering, volunteer myself and my clients probably get tired of hearing me push it as part of their search strategy.  I am an advocate for the following reasons:

1. Volunteering gets you out of the house and doing something productive.  This is really important in the battle to stay positive.
2. Volunteering provides unanticipated and therefore really encouraging network opportunities.
3. Volunteering usually exposes you to new arenas and therefore expands your search horizons.

Following is an e-mail I received from a client this morning.

Last month I started volunteering at a local hospital as a Patient Advocate in the Emergency Room.  There's not much to do and the 4 hours drags along, so I’m trying out working on a floor as well.  I've discovered that I enjoy being around the doctors and nurses in addition to seeing what I can do to make the patients stay more comfortable.  Two weeks ago my sister-in-law sent me some information about Medical Coding Certification as a way to enter the Health Care industry, and for the first time I became serious about going back to school.   I did some research and enrolled with Kaplan University Continuing Education online Medical Coding Certificate Program.  The program starts today.  I plan to devote 16 hours each week as long as I’m unemployed and my expected completion date is year-end. 

While doing my research about  obtaining the certificate, I talked with a young friend who is working at another local hospital and she informed me about a data management position in her unit.  The requirement seemed heavy on medical experience so I didn’t think I would be considered and asked if she could at least ask her administrator to meet with me to talk about getting into the industry.  The administrator suggested that I submit my resume for the job because they have not been successful so far with getting people with the medical experience.  So I forwarded my resume (after tweaking it, of course) and cover letter to my friend and she submitted it to HR yesterday.  I’m thinking positive and will start doing some research and prepare some questions and answers in case I get called in for an interview.  My sister-in-law is in the field and she offered to help me understand the details and acronyms listed in the job description.  

 

You don't have to be an expert to volunteer and it doesn't replace or take away from your job search.  In today's market volunteering is truly an important part of any search strategy.  Simply pick a cause or field you have an interest in and offer your services.  You'll be amazed at what you'll get out of giving.