The life of a college student characteristically features house parties, Saturday football games and cramming for exams. If you’re attending a university and have free time, there are compelling reasons to be a volunteer, too. Even with a full schedule now, you might consider rearranging it to accommodate volunteering.
1. Volunteering helps a resume stand out
A 2016 Deloitte survey found 86 percent of people who influence the hiring process say volunteering makes candidates more competitive. However, that same poll revealed only 30 percent of resumes mention volunteering.
People looking for work know they should discuss where they’ve worked and what roles they held, but stay strangely silent when it comes to volunteering. However, the data shows that volunteering and mentioning that activity could make you a more appealing candidate.
2. It contributes to expanded or enhanced skillsets
By being a volunteer, you’ll naturally learn to do new things. Some may fit with your future career path while others don’t seem applicable. The fact is, all volunteering responsibilities will probably help you during future paid opportunities. During volunteer time, you’ll improve the skills you already possess and add to things you knew before. Even dull duties strengthen your diligence and patience.
3. Being a volunteer makes people broaden their perspectives
College students and individuals associated with them often bring up the phenomenon of a bubble that insulates scholars from reality. It happens because today’s college campuses are like miniature cities, so students hardly have to venture into the wider community to get what they need. Then, they think the social interactions they had at college will continue into the rest of adulthood, but it doesn’t usually turn out that way.
As a volunteer, you can fight the effects of the bubble and thereby make it easier to transition into the real world after graduating. By being exposed to hardships like poverty, domestic violence, and discrimination while volunteering, you’ll get reminders that the world is much larger than a college campus suggests.
4. Volunteering mutually benefits volunteers and community members
Many people start volunteering because they want to positively impact the lives of others. By spending time with seniors, you could ease the harmful effects of loneliness, and by giving up your Saturday to serve at a soup kitchen, you help ensure sustenance for some of the most vulnerable members of society.
So, it’s easy to see how volunteering is a great thing for people who receive help. Don’t overlook how it’s benefitting you, too. Studies show that volunteering is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, so think of it as a complement to your efforts to eat healthily during visits to the dining hall, keep healthy mental perspectives and make good use of your university gym membership.
5. Volunteer coordinators can act as references
You’ve already learned that volunteering makes your resume stand out. Besides including volunteer work among activities listed on employment documents, you can reach out to the people who coordinated your voluntary efforts and ask them to vouch for your hard work and outstanding traits.
A worthy volunteer typically shows characteristics including reliability, dedication to tasks, effective communication skills and a willingness to go outside of a comfort zone. All those aspects — as well as any others relevant to your volunteerism — look great on a reference letter.
Don’t forget that after your resume wows a person in charge of hiring, he or she often checks references as a next step. Make sure the individuals who write reference letters for you don’t mind potentially being contacted by phone or email to give more details.
6. Being a volunteer expands your social network
As you help the community as a volunteer, you may make friendships that last far beyond your college years. You’ll spend time with like-minded individuals, which should make it easier to identify shared interests. Volunteering lets you branch out by making more friends. It could also increase the number of people you know who could provide leads for landing a job.
A resume is important, but people frequently want to see how an individual who’s currently in the job market behaves while in the public eye. That means you get chances to prove you’re a person worth knowing whether as a friend or a future employee.
7. Volunteering reduces stress
If there’s one thing most every college student experiences regardless of the subjects a person studies, it’s stress. Whether caused by pop quizzes or inconsiderate roommates, stress tends to crop up quite a bit. However, a 2017 investigation of U.S. adult volunteers found 79 percent reported lower stress levels, along with other benefits including boosted moods and improved self-esteem.
If you’re still on the fence about giving your time as a volunteer, this list should make you take prospects more seriously. By doing so, you could enjoy perks that change your life as well as the lives of others.
