The power of volunteering – part 2

Posted by Sarah Hobbs

Previously we looked at the importance of volunteering and the opportunities it gives you to develop yourself and progress your career. But what are the skills of volunteering in a way that helps your career?

Here are our six top tips –

1. Start small. You don’t have to start by volunteering for massive projects. Volunteer for something quick and easy, such as taking the minutes in a team meeting.
   
   
2. Pick the right people to volunteer for. Helping your manager or their manager can be good for your career. Helping the HR department will build your reputation, and gain support for finding wider career opportunities. Volunteering for a project team can get you contacts across the business. Volunteering to help another department can make it easier to make a career move there at a later date. Also consider the individual – volunteer for people who are generous in sharing credit for good work done.
   
   
3. Don’t volunteer for everything. There will be lots of opportunities to volunteer. Before raising your hand, consider which opportunities are best for you and your development. Will they showcase your best talents? Will they give you experience you need for your career? Will they drive your development?
   
   
4. Keep an eye on the horizon. Don’t just look for opportunities currently available; try to spot where really good projects are coming up – and express your interest in helping early on.
   
   
5. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Don’t just volunteer for things you think will be easy. Volunteering for a difficult task is a great way to build respect and trust; if you set up a mentor to keep you on track, you might find that you’ve built a relationship for life!
   
   
6. Make 100% sure you deliver.
It’s a no-brainer, but make sure you at least meet people’s expectations when you have put yourself forward for a piece of work. Delivering on voluntary commitments is just as important for your reputation as delivering on your work deadlines.

EXPERIMENT
This week, consider 3 questions and see where they take you.

• What small task could you volunteer for, that would raise your profile?
• What good projects are coming up, that you could express interest in?
• Who would you like to volunteer to work with?