We all know volunteering has the obvious benefit of assisting others, but for those who have been out of the workforce, being a volunteer can be helpful in more ways than one!
When re-entering the workforce, perhaps one of the biggest advantages that volunteering can give you is providing you with a recent or current link to the labour market.
Let’s say you have not worked for a year (or more). When it comes time to apply for jobs and you know that Employers will be looking at your resume, how do you explain the gap??
The answer is volunteering!
So where can we go to find these volunteer opportunities?
Go Volunteer
Go Volunteer is an online job board dedicated to connecting organisations with suitable volunteers. https://govolunteer.com.au/ The best feature of this site is the ability to enter parameters such as duration of commitment (from a few hours per week to an open-ended placement), day and times you can work, specific classifications such as Family Based volunteering, Working with People with Disabilities, Experienced Volunteer and Remote Volunteering (i.e. working from home).
SEEK
Seek have a section on their website that is dedicated to volunteering. Go to https://seek.com.au and look at the very top of the home page.
On Seek you can enter the type of volunteer work you are looking for, along with your suburb and radius you can travel.
Seek have the added feature of being able to create a profile and add a Resume so when this is set up, applying for volunteer roles is quick and easy.
State and Community based initiatives
Volunteering QLD provides opportunities for volunteers in Queensland.
https://volunteeringqld.org.au/
https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/community/volunteering
New South Wales also have a few websites dedicated to finding volunteers:
https://makeadifference.volunteering.nsw.gov.au/
https://www.volunteering.com.au/
Those in Victoria can head to the following sites for volunteering opportunities:
http://volunteeringvictoria.org.au/
http://www.volunteer.vic.gov.au/
Across the country, there are all sorts of opportunities to get involved in organisations and initiatives. Volunteering is also an excellent way to build a community network and find out about things you never knew existed!
But perhaps the biggest benefit of all is how you will feel when you have the opportunity to make a positive impact on someone else, and all it has cost you is a bit of your time.