How volunteering can help you to do better at work

If you want to do better at work it is a good idea to consider volunteering. The act of volunteering can have a powerful effect in bettering the lives of others, while for the volunteer, this selflessness and the warm feeling that usually follows helping someone is usually enough of a reward.

But did you know that volunteering can benefit volunteers too by helping them move forward in their professional lives? Patronella Sono, staff volunteerism portfolio specialist at Momentum Metropolitan, says jobseekers, particularly those who are graduates, often find that prospective employers do not want to hire someone without any experience.

It is a chicken and egg conundrum, as these candidates cannot gain the necessary experience through gainful employment without any existing experience. This is where volunteering comes in. “Volunteering can provide a valuable opportunity to gain experience in your field of interest, which can be included in your CV,” she says.

A Deloitte survey found that 81% of respondents in a study believed that skilled volunteering should be considered in a hiring decision, while 76% said that it made a candidate more attractive as a prospective hire, with this desirability factor even higher for volunteer experience among college or university graduates.

Sono says it can also help you better relate to people who come from diverse backgrounds, bringing new perspectives to your work through this exposure.

“In summary, volunteerism can positively affect your career path by helping you to learn and develop new ‘soft’ skills, such as people skills, as well as technical skills, while providing valuable networking opportunities. It can also contribute to your personal growth, making you a more well-rounded individual, all of which will help you succeed in the working environment.”

 Sono says ultimately, volunteerism is a valuable investment in both your professional and personal development.

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Skills to help you in your career

In Momentum Metropolitan’s Volunteerism Report 2022, those surveyed said that volunteerism helped them learn valuable skills that would help them in their career, such as teamwork (61%), planning (40%), leadership skills (40%) and compassion (57%).

“In terms of teaching teamwork, volunteerism is one of the most effective ways of bringing people together to achieve a common goal. As part of Momentum Metropolitan’s Staff Volunteer Programme, we once had to cook 2 000 meals and plant veggie gardens for a preschool and an old age home.

“Everyone, including our leaders, was out there digging holes or adding the potting soil to ensure everything was completed and ready for harvest time. This demonstrates the true power of teamwork in action.”

One of Metropolitan’s business leaders always says that building a cohesive and motivated team is crucial for project success. Sono says through volunteerism you can learn how to identify individual strengths, delegate tasks accordingly and foster a sense of teamwork and collaboration among diverse group members.

“As a team leader, you must communicate goals, tasks and instructions clearly to your team members. You must also listen to their feedback and concerns. Through this experience, you develop effective communication skills, both in conveying your ideas and actively listening to others.”

Sono says volunteering also teaches planning and organising. “Depending on the nature of the volunteer act, you might be required to plan an event, such as a soup kitchen. This might involve creating an agenda with allocated tasks for each person and ensuring that you have the required resources to execute it according to plan. In a workplace setting, almost any job requires some degree of planning and therefore this experience will help you better execute according to schedule.”

In the end it also encourages a deep compassion for others. “Yes, to volunteer in the first place you are likely already a compassionate individual, but I believe that volunteering teaches us the true meaning of the word. In a work environment, this form of care for others can make you a much admired and respected colleague or leader.”