Social Business Success

Volunteering can springboard your career.  Sounds crazy?  Think again.  What better way to get experience and network with people in your industry?  If you’re not having success finding that new position, volunteering is just the ticket.  In an article written by Kelley DiNardo in The Washington Post called Volunteering Serves as Springboard for Professional Jobs, Kelley writes Millions of volunteers have learned that by giving, they can get a boost with their careers.

Volunteering has numerous benefits.  As I mentioned earlier, it gives the job seeker experience in his/her field, an opportunity to network with people in their field (which is an awesome opportunity in itself) and it gives that person an opportunity to show others what he/she can do.  What happens if that organization needs to fill a paid position?  Where do you think one of the first places that organization will look to fill that role?

Let’s take a look at volunteering from the LinkedIn perspective.  Hiring managers and recruiters will search LinkedIn to fill specific positions.  Let’s say the job seeker is not working nor volunteering.  The experience section in LinkedIn will show that the individual isn’t doing currently doing anything.  This is a red flag.  Hiring manager or recruiters will not contact a person that doesn’t that they have a current position, paid or other wise.

What I teach in my LinikedIn classes is that job seekers need to volunteer.  I call this activity Strategic Volunteering.  The job seeker is volunteering for an organization and working in the field where he/she wants to be.  This should be the goal of every person that is not having success finding a new position.  Another benefit this has for the person’s LinkedIn profile is that the person can ask employees in that organization for a recommendation.  Recommendations are excellent for one’s profile.

I firmly believe in volunteering.  For the past 17 months I have been a volunteer at my local library training individuals how to market themselves or their business using social media.  My volunteer activities have helped me land numerous speaking engagements.

I believe that volunteering can lead to networking, networking can lead to volunteering and both networking and volunteering can lead a person to something grand.  The old adage is truer today then it ever has been.  It’s not what you know it’s who you know.