9 Ways Volunteering Can Be a Step Toward Changing Careers

By Jessica Howington, Senior Content Manager

When considering a career change, it can feel like there are more questions than answers. You may wonder if you’ll like the new career or how you can gain experience in the field.

While volunteering may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a career change, it is a great way to support you through the transition. Volunteering helps you change careers by allowing you to learn new skills, expand your professional network, and so much more.

Nine Ways Volunteering Helps You Change Careers

1. Gives You Experience

One of the most significant ways volunteering helps you change careers is that it can give you much-needed experience in your new field. But wait, you’re thinking—it’s not a paid experience, so it doesn’t really count.

Thankfully, that’s not the case. A LinkedIn survey found that 41% of professionals consider volunteer experience just as important as paid experience. The same survey also found that 20% of hiring managers have offered jobs to applicants thanks to their volunteer experience.

2. Expands Your Network

In addition to gaining professional experience, volunteering also helps you expand your professional network. When you volunteer in your new field, you’ll connect with professionals that do the same work as you and work at companies you might want to apply to.

Additionally, you can tap into this expanded network for informational interviews or to connect with a mentor so you can learn about what life is really like in your new field.

3. Get the Inside Scoop

Beyond your expanded professional network, volunteering gives you the inside scoop on job openings where you volunteer. Who knows? You may turn that volunteer gig into a full-time job!

4. Expands Your Skill Set

Volunteering not only helps you change careers, but it can also help you improve at your current job. How? When you volunteer, you are likely expanding your skill set.

For example, if you’re volunteering in social media, while you’re learning the ins and outs of hashtags, you’re also improving your written skills, along with community engagement skills, and maybe even learning how to adjust and filter images. These hard and soft skills become a part of your skill set and are often transferable to your current job or a new one.

5. Take a Test Drive

One of the reasons career changers might hesitate is that they aren’t sure that a new field is right for them. To be sure, if you’re making a major switch—say accountant to nurse—you might question if what you’re doing is a good idea.

However, volunteering in your new field before you commit to a career change lets you test drive the new job before investing a lot of time and money into the shift. And it gives you a chance to confirm you’re making the right choice.

6. Lets You Keep Your Day Job

Another reason career changers hold back on taking the leap is because they worry about how a career change might impact their finances. They might have to take a pay cut to move into their new field or even quit work to return to school.

Because volunteering is flexible, career changers don’t have to quit their current job to test out something new. They can keep their day job with their paychecks and benefits before starting down the career change path.

7. Confidence Booster

While you know you want to work in your new career and are certain you can do the job, you may still feel a little concerned about changing careers. Can you really do the job? And, will employers believe you can do it?

Volunteering can provide you and hiring managers with on-the-job proof that, yes, you can do the job. And this may be just the confidence booster you need to pursue your career change.

8. Demonstrates You Can Commit

Another way volunteering helps you change careers is that it demonstrates to employers you are committed to the work and won’t bail after a few months because the career change isn’t what you thought it would be.

By volunteering in your new field and sticking with it, you’re showing that you love what you do and will keep doing it for a long time.

9. Can Help You Avoid Burnout

Though the average job search takes three to six months, sometimes a job search takes longer than you anticipate. When that happens, you might get frustrated or even burned out on your job search, and possibly your career change.

Volunteering in your new field can help alleviate some of the negative feelings you may experience during an extended job search. It gives you something positive to focus on as well as helping you sharpen your new skills, which can help you through a prolonged search.

Volunteer to Change

Volunteering is a win-win for everyone. In addition to answering some of your unanswered questions, volunteering helps you change careers by keeping your motivation up while keeping you (and others) inspired!

Whether you’re a career changer or looking for a remote job, FlexJobs can help. From career coaches to exclusive webinars, FlexJobs has you and your job search covered. Take the tour and learn more about all the advantages of a FlexJobs membership.

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