Volunteering is not only a great way to help your community. It can also help you on your path to your chosen career. You may not be paid for your time, but you’ll gain skills and experience that money can’t buy.

Here’s how volunteering can help you to get to university and into your chosen career:

It adds value to your personal statement
If you’re looking to apply for university, including volunteering experience in your personal statement will help you stand out from the crowd. It shows that you will have some great transferable skills, like time management, communication skills and interpersonal skills. Similarly, employers like to see volunteering on your CV as it shows that you have spent time in a working environment.

It can help you build your professional network
You will likely work closely with other people while volunteering and this can bring many benefits. It gives you the chance to meet people who already work in the industry you are interested in. For some of us, formal networking events can be a bit intimidating, but volunteering opportunities are often more casual. This means you can get to know people in a more relaxed way.

It can help you decide on your future career
It’s OK not to know exactly what you want to do for a career, but volunteering can help you on your journey to finding out. Volunteering in the sector that you are interested in will help you decide if it really is something you want to do, and it may help you decide what you want to study at university to help you reach your goals.

It can boost your confidence
Volunteering will encourage you to get out, meet new people and build on your skillset. All these things combined will boost your confidence which will come in handy in many areas in life, from applying for university to sailing through job interviews.

Due to COVID-19, many volunteering opportunities have been postponed. However, there are remote opportunities out there. Websites like Studenteer connects students and graduates with remote volunteering opportunities. Other resources like Reach Volunteering and Do It can help you find volunteering opportunities near you.