Volunteering as a tool for Career Advancement

Many people will tell you that networking is a good way to find
a new job. However, networking often seems like a vague term. In
this job searching tip, we will discuss a specific way you can
put networking to use to advance in your career. The approach
discussed involves volunteering with specific organizations that
can help you in the business world. Volunteering probably won't
produce instant results. But it is a good long-term strategy to
maximize your options. 

VOLUNTEERING AS A WAY TO INCREASE NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

Seasoned networkers will tell you it's not the quantity of the
people in your network that matters, it's the quality. This is
why executives and top producing sales people seek out targeted
networking opportunities. They often find them in the form of
volunteer positions. Aside from giving you an opportunity to
give back, volunteering provides an extraordinary forum for
networking. Most networking situations only give people a chance
to get to know each other superficially. However, when
volunteering on a long-term project, people can see each other
in action and really get a feel for each others' personalities
and talents.

BOARD MEMBERSHIPS

Many executives and top sales people find not-for-profit boards
of directors and advisory boards to be especially valuable.
These forums are primarily structured as a tool to provide
management guidance to non-profit organizations. But in addition
to giving the people who volunteer for them a sense of having
done something worthwhile, they also provide very high quality
networking opportunities. If you believe you could provide
advice to a non-profit organization that they could benefit
from, such as management advice, IT advice or marketing advice,
try contacting some local organizations to find out if they
could use another person on their board.

PROFESSIONAL AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

Professional and trade associations can almost always use more
help. If you're willing to volunteer for the association focused
on your industry or profession, it could be a good way to meet
some high-profile people who can open doors for you. If you're
not sure which associations are relevant for you, check the ASAE
web site:

http://www.jobsearchinfo.com/asaefind.htm

VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES RELEVANT TO SPECIFIC PROFESSIONS

If you don't think you would be right for a position on a
non-profit board or in a role volunteering for your professional
or trade association, there are other ways you can volunteer and
still get networking benefits. In fact, there are some
non-profit organizations you can volunteer with that may be a
very good fit for your background and provide a high likelihood
that you will meet someone who can open some doors for you. Here
are some suggestions:

Real Estate and Construction Careers: Habitat for Humanity and
other housing organizations

Sports and Entertainment: Make-A-Wish Foundation

Media, Government Agencies and Legal Professions: Political
Campaigns. In today's era of highly litigious political
campaigns, lawyers make up a big portion of a political
campaign's volunteer staff. This also provides a good
opportunity for legal assistants and paralegals to spend time
with successful attorneys. Media and advertising are also a big
part of political campaigns.

Legal Professions: Legal Assistance centers - such as those for
non-English speaking people

Human Resources: Job training and career resource centers

Media/Communications: Media organizations such as those that
focus on bringing awareness to certain issues

The Idealist.org web site provides an extensive directory of
non-profit organizations and also lists specific volunteering
opportunities.