Skills for Work | 3 Ways Volunteering Empowers your Career

Skills for Work | Volunteering Can Get You a Dream Job

As a charity Zetetick relies on our volunteers to help us with our important work delivering quality homes to adults at risk.

We believe that everyone should have a choice about how and where they live, and that people should be able to live near friends and family and be included in their local communities.

We are so grateful to our volunteers who bring varied skills and work experiences to their roles, and in return the experience of working with us has led to at least one social media volunteer getting their dream job!

Having this rewarding volunteer work with Zetetick on my CV has allowed me to secure my dream job in the marketing sector, therefore it has been an invaluable experience for me. (Sian)

It’s never too late to learn

Whether we have many years of work experience or just a few, no matter what skills we have already acquired we can always benefit from learning new skills for work. 

Learning new skills in a voluntary role demonstrates a flexible approach to work that employers value, as they can easily see how people might cope with learning new systems in their own organisation.

Sometimes just working in a different sector can be educational as we gain new insights into how different industries operate, so we become more aware of what opportunities exist and whether they are ones we want to work towards. For example, some of Zetetick’s volunteers had not worked for a charity before, so for those who wanted to pursue a career in the charity sector, to be able to put experience of working for a charity on their CV has been really helpful.

Supporting your professional development

At Zetetick we do all we can to support and teach our volunteers to learn new skills. That could mean learning new software and IT systems they might not have come across before, and these are skills they can take to their next paid role.

Things are always changing in the workplace, most recently due to Covid-19 or perhaps technology constantly moving forward. For people between jobs, fulfilling a volunteering role and being part of a professional team allows them to keep their existing skills up to date as well as learning new systems.

I have loved every second of working for Zetetick- the team are extremely welcoming and hugely passionate about what they do. Volunteering with Zetetick has offered me a great opportunity to develop my current skills and learn more about the charity sector, but most importantly it is rewarding as I know I am making a difference. (Grace, volunteer)

Make a difference and make yourself more employable

It’s a bit of a cliche, but volunteering for a charity or organisation whose values you share can really give you that ‘warm glow’ of knowing you have helped to make a real difference to people’s lives. At Zetetick that means that everything our volunteers do help us to provide good homes to adults at risk who need varying amounts of support to live in their own home. 

For many of our tenants a Zetetick home is their first move away out of the family home, and the pathway to independence that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to follow. Quite a few of our tenants have been long term hospital inpatients because the support had not been there to allow them to live in the community. 

Volunteering with Zetetick or any charity will give you the satisfaction of knowing you have done something to help others.

Just having voluntary experience on your CV makes you more employable. As well as developing your skills for work it speaks volumes about the kind of person you are, both personally and professionally, and it can make your CV stand out.

According to Deloitte:

82% of hiring managers are more likely to choose a candidate with volunteering experience.

https://www.charityjob.co.uk/careeradvice/what-volunteering-reveals-about-you/

Could you help Zetetick stand out on social media?

Zetetick is always looking for volunteers to help out with our social media posts. We are present on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

We also need people to help with writing articles for our website – on general subjects as well as things related to what we do.

Have you used one or all social media platforms? Do you have a way with words? Or are you good at creating images? 

Do you like contributing your ideas, and do you enjoy communicating ideas to others?

Having heaps of experience isn’t vital – a willingness to learn and enjoyment in taking on new things is also appreciated.

If you would like to learn new skills for work, have at least a few hours a week to spare, and can commit to a minimum of 3 months, we would love to hear from you: Contact Us