In a competitive job market it’s no longer enough to just have the grades. Employers are increasingly focusing on the extras that make a candidate stand out.

As well as making a genuine contribution to a cause or a community, volunteering can be a great way of acquiring skills and experiences that directly transfer into a professional environment and to catch the eye of employers looking for someone willing to go the extra mile.

In short, volunteering means donating your time for free in order to help others. There are a surprisingly wide range of opportunities, ranging from helping run community sports projects, through to office or warehouse work, or campaigning for better local services.

Developing skills

Community spirit: There are limitless opportunities. (Photo: Crisis)

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the choice, but there are various schemes that will give you a bit more focus. Millennium Volunteers (MV), launched by the Department for Education and Skills, gives young people a chance to build on their existing skills or interests, and to develop themselves and help their community at the same time. Anyone aged 16 to 24 can participate, whatever their backgrounds or abilities.

MV currently supports over 130 projects around England. As well as developing skills such as team building and management, participating in a formal scheme can also help build your confidence before entering the workplace.

The award element of the scheme means that anyone who has contributed over 100 hours of work receives a formal award certificate. Those who give over 200 hours receive an Award of Excellence, signed by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.

Testing knowledge and skills

Gayathriy Santhikumaran joined the MV scheme and did voluntary work at a local nursing home. “I’d like to become a doctor and found that working in a nursing home tested my emotional strength as well as my medical knowledge,” she said.

A new scheme run by volunteering charity TimeBank is Mind the Gap, a joint venture with the Black Neighbourhood Renewal and Regeneration Network, and Greater London Volunteering. It aims to encourage more people in London to volunteer. The project hopes to match gaps in volunteer’s CVs or lifestyles with suitable projects or placements in their local community.

TimeBank also runs a variety of volunteer programmes that help match people’s skills with community action. One TimeBank volunteer, Selina Chooramun, found volunteering helped her pursue a career as a photographer.

Influencing careers

“I received a grant of £500 and decided to spend the money organising an exhibition to reflect faith communities in Croydon where I live,” she said. Selina worked for six weeks as a volunteer putting the event together. “I’m a Hindu but working on the exhibition really helped me learn about other faiths. I went out and took photos myself, and gathered photos and artwork from people in and around Croydon.”

Help the homeless: Just one way of working in your own community. (Photo: Crisis)

  “Since the exhibition I have been able to get work as a freelance photographer,” she said. “It’s really added to my CV and I would definitely consider doing something in my community again.”

Volunteers are the lifeblood of charities and community groups. Office-based skills such as IT, marketing and finance are in huge demand and are one way of making a real difference to the way an organisation is run.

Long-term volunteering

Volunteering within an organisation is also one way of gaining a slug of office experience and also widening your understanding of important social and global issues. More long-term volunteering opportunities are also available for those wanting to gain sustained experience. Community Service Volunteers (CSV), the UK’s largest volunteering charity, places 2,000 people in full-time, away from home volunteering placements every year.

Claire Reed, 18, from Fife in Scotland, is currently taking a gap year and became a CSV volunteer in February. CSV placed her on the Student Independent Living Project at Coventry University. She provides one-to-one care for Richard Currie, a final year politics student with cerebral palsy. Claire is one of several CSV volunteers who provide around-the-clock support for Richard, helping him to get dressed in the mornings, taking lecture notes for him, and cooking his meals.

Claire said: “I volunteer with CSV because it is a great opportunity to do something good for someone else and to help make a difference to a person’s life. I got a sense of achievement from having done something unselfish for someone else, and the skills it has taught me, like effective communication and team work, will be useful for any kind of career, and particularly if I decide to pursue a career in social care.”

Top tips for volunteers:

• Think about what you want from volunteering. New skills, a chance to contribute to a cause?
• Do you have a particular passion or interest? Or do you want to volunteer in an area you have never tried before?
• Think about what you have to offer. Enthusiasm, work skills, life skills?
• How much time do you have to give? How many times a week or month?
• Be honest, open and organised.
• Ask questions as you go through the process of applying for an opportunity.
• Be brave. Often the most difficult part of volunteering is making the first move.

Community Service Volunteers

www.csv.org.uk

Millennium Volunteers

www.millenniumvolunteers.gov.uk

www.timebank.org.uk