While the idea of volunteering has been around for quite some time, it wasalways received with disapproving looks from parents and seen as an additional
chore by the students. However, with times swiftly changing, volunteering has
grown to be immensely popular and will soon become a trend among the
students.
The million dollar question to ponder over is, WHY. Why is there a sudden rise in
volunteering by students? We believe that the desire to create something
meaningful and to give back to the society is the top reason for any student to
volunteer, but that is just the tip of the iceberg! At a much deeper level, it is
because of the benefits a student reaps that volunteeering has become sought
after.
Below is a list of 5 reasons why we think every student must volunteer atleast
once in their life! Take a look!
1) DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS
Volunteering exposes you to a whole new world of opportunities and at the same
time helps you in honing your existing skills. It teaches you things that can’t be
taught in classrooms. Take for instance, the ability to work in teams – we can’t
stress enough how important that is in today’s job market and volunteering
more often than not, involves working in teams. It brings out new hobbies,
interests, and helps form opinions. You’ll be surprised at how good you’re at
things you have never done and volunteering can give you opportunities to try
all of them out. A volunteering experience can actually help you take a step
forward towards deciding your career!
2) BOOST YOUR CAREER
According to a survey (http://www.chronicle.com/items/biz/pdf/Employers%20Survey.pdf ) conducted
by Chronicle of Higher Education and Public Media’s ‘Marketplace’, “Employers
place more weight on experience, particularly internships, volunteering and
employment during school vs. academic credentials including GPA and college
major when evaluating a recent graduate for employment.”
.
While applying for a position, without much prior work experience to show to
your employer, volunteering stints could vouch for your all-round abilities;your
ability to organize events, make optimum utilization of the scant resources
available, handling operations, managing people to name a few. Even while
applying for higher studies in foreign countries, we believe these experiences
will surely help you boost your CV.
3) REDISCOVER YOURSELF – GET OUT OF THE “COMFORT
ZONE”
Volunteering widens your personality horizon by exposing you to different kinds
of situations and environments that will make you “uncomfortable”. It is a
exceptional process that pushes you to your breaking point and helps you
unlearn and discover yourself. Travelling in hard conditions and developing a
resilience, living on meagre resources and discovering your sense of empathy for
people, all these will give you a new and appreciative perspective in life and help
build character.
4) MEET DIVERSE GROUPS
Volunteering brings together people from diverse fields. Interaction with co-
workers presents an excellent networking scope. It enhances cross-cultural
understanding and develops people skills. We have often heard that lack of
communication skills during interviews and in work places is a common pain
point of most employers, so a volunteering stint might do wonders in this regard!
In the end we’d like to add that when we interact with diverse groups, it helps
widen our own thoughts and ideologies, and so can you.
5) TRAVEL
Going on vacation during some time off is all well and good for a while, but if
you're looking for something adventurous, fulfilling and productive, it would be
an excellent idea to go down the voluntourism route. This allows you to travel to
a hill,a forest or a beach and volunteer for a cause! It's a good way to get to see
your country from a completely different point of view, meet some interesting
people, be independent and assist those who are less fortunate.
So remember, the next time you feel the urge to be productive and contribute to
the ehancement of the society and yourself, just pack your bags and go volunteer.
The longer, the better!
This Blog is written by Anjani Grover , an intern with ComMutiny The Youth Collective. Anjani is a Political Science graduate from Delhi University and aspires to make a career in the development sector. she loves volunteering and therefore is passionate about writing on it.
Leave a Reply