Before you say that there's no place you can volunteer that would be applicable to your degree, I want you to stop what you're doing, minimize this tab, go to the VolunteerMatch website, make a profile including your experience and education and THEN tell me there isn't anywhere that would work for you.
Even if the matches aren't something you can see yourself dedicating your free time to, you can always create your own opportunities.
Did you major in accounting or finance? Offer to help community organizations and small nonprofits with their taxes or budgetary needs. How about teaching? Take a tutoring job, help the neighbor kids with their homework or take a year to teach English abroad!
Communications, journalism or public relations? If VolunteerMatch doesn't match you, I say offer to create content for local community organizations, get involved with the marketing side of your current job.
Something to do with cooking or plants? Cook and grow things in your free time. Start a community garden! Start an Instagram specifically to show off how you're still using your degree.
Engineering? Well, I guess it depends on your specialty, but I am positive that there are ways you can utilize the knowledge and skills you earned while in school through volunteering.
The best part about volunteering is, of course, that you are giving back to your community, but beyond that, you can use the experience on your resume. You can even network and get connections that may lead to employment down the line.
Employers are aware of the job market that young people with Bachelor's degrees are heading into after graduation. They know because they have to wade through zillions of qualified applicants to get the right one.
Unfortunately, a Bachelor's degree isn't enough to impress employers anymore, you've gotta demonstrate that you have been using and expanding upon the skills and knowledge that you paid to gain in college. And a great way to show that is through volunteering. It shows initiative.
Tenacity. It shows that you are not letting the lack of opportunities stop you from doing your thing. And that's a big deal.
And employers know that after college you probably had a day job or two that had nothing to do with your degree, they know that you have to keep the lights on somehow. But by volunteering and utilizing your degree on the side you demonstrate that you're a go-getter.
With all my super helpful suggestions are you still not finding a way to volunteer to use your degree? Well, I suggest you check out AmeriCorps. They have hundreds of programs, some that involve travel and some you can do from your hometown. The program offers opportunities for pretty much every major you or I can think of. And you don't even need a degree to sign up.
PLUS, for completing the program they give you money for education that you can put towards tuition, loan payments, supplies and more.
Sounds too good to be true right? Well, let me sweeten it even more for those of you hit with loans while basically still in the cap and gown, you can put your loan payments on forbearance while you are in the program and while you save money.
I know what you're thinking...this girl MUST be joking, this sounds unbelievable. Believe it. I would never kid about such things.
If doing something that uses your degree is important to you, but for whatever reason, you aren't getting the jobs you want, there are ways to keep your hand in. You may have to get a little creative with it, but a little creativity never hurt anyone, right? Well, maybe Van Gogh, but I don't actually think it was his art, but perhaps the lead in the paint he used that caused problems.
Anyway...
Don't let the employment search slump stop you from achieving your dreams. Don't wait for employers to come to you, because honey, it, unfortunately, doesn't matter if you were valedictorian with internships and teaching assistant hours, you are still one of many, floating along in a job market flooded with bachelor's degrees.
So, in between the quality time dedicated to job hunting websites, take some time to use your degree for the good of mankind.
Trust me, even if it doesn't actually pay now, it will pay off later in more ways than one.
