Have you ever volunteered?
Did you know that, according to LinkedIn research, 1 in 5 hiring managers prefers to hire candidates with volunteer experience? This question is an excellent opportunity to discuss how you are involved in your community and that you commit time to help others. If you have volunteer experience, you have a leg-up on other candidates.
Many non-profit organizations have a long onboarding process with background checks and references required so if you need to gain volunteer experience pronto, here are some options for a quick turnaround:
- Raise money for a cause, like the Red Cross
- Donate blood on a regular rotation or organize a blood drive
- Have a craft or bake sale to raise funds for a charity close to your heart
- Run in a charity race where financial pledges are required
- Advise high-school and University students on a crowd-sourced advice platform like CareerVillage
- Write articles for non-profit organizations, for free
- Sponsor a business owner in a third world country using a platform like Kiva.org
- Volunteer at your church camp
- Clean up a local park
- Volunteer to tutor a student
- Foster animals for a rescue society
"I currently volunteer every Saturday at the local animal shelter. I help to organize adoption applications and also screen the applicants. It feels great to help out, and it melts my heart when we make a perfect pet-parent match."
"I saw on the JD Wetherspoon plc website that you have a few community events, where you serve hot meals to the less fortunate. I am very interested in becoming involved in these efforts. I agree that volunteer work is vital to my growth as a professional and as a person."
