Volunteering to Improve Your Career

Cathy Yeulet/123RF.com

Volunteering and your career: Having a plan in place can help set you in the right direction

When it comes to building your career as a healthcare professional, you are always looking for your next opportunity to gain new information and expand your network. What if there was a way that you could grow your professional network and expedite the career growth process - one that also includes meeting new people, building your resume, and learning new skills all at the same time? There is a way that these are all possible, and it is through volunteering.

Volunteering is one of the most vital tools when it comes to progressing your healthcare career to the next step. When you think about it, you are getting direct hands-on experience in your field, which in many cases can help you get noticed by potential employers, and in some cases, volunteer gigs can lead to actual paid employment. The golden rule of volunteering is to volunteer for something in which you are interested. Large organizations in both the non-profit, public, and private healthcare sector are often looking for volunteers to run existing and new programs. When it comes to volunteering, having a strategy in place with a well-thought-out plan can help your career progress in ways that you might not have thought possible.

Let’s look at an ideal goal plan to follow when using volunteering to help build your expertise and career.

Setting out a goal – As with anything career or project related, it is always a good idea to have a set plan in place. Before setting up and searching for any volunteer opportunities, you first need to determine what it is that you want to gain from this venture, aside from your desire to help others. Is it networking, filling in an employment gap, or gaining more work experience? Once you have determined your reasons for volunteering, you can then determine what kind of organization you want to help.

During the beginning stages, it is important to determine what aspects of your career you want to grow. For example, as a medical professional, you might want to expand into geriatrics. At this point, seeking out opportunities that will give you exposure to these types of clients or patients will help you build your resume and connections in the direction in which you are interested. Another thing volunteering can help you realize is the reality of what it is like to work in certain sectors, and this could help in deciding if you want to move your career in that direction.

Determining the program - Before contacting your ideal organizations, you need to determine what program you want to run. When I was starting my career, I often found it helpful to approach an organization about volunteering with an idea already in place. You can also offer to run programs that the organization already has in place. Consider what skills you want to use and then create a program. Perhaps you want to be more efficient with public speaking and have a passion for healthy living. You could always put together a small PowerPoint presentation and contact local health care centers about the possibility of providing free seminars for the clinic’s clients. Another idea is to create a short proposal for the organization to review the type of service you want to provide. Being prepared in this aspect will help you look more professional and could help you to be viewed as an expert.

Contacting the organization – When it comes to contacting the organization about your offer, ensure that you have done your research and can tell the contact how your program would be of benefit for them. Always treat a volunteer meet-and-greet as you would any other professional meeting.

After the volunteering program begins – Treat your volunteer experience as a real job. Make connections and contribute to the success of the people you serve. Ensure that you are seeking regular feedback and are looking for ways to improve your performance. If you are working for a non-profit and feel that your program could be of help to the clients, perhaps on a longer-term basis with more hours contributing to the cause, consider speaking to your supervisor about seeking out funding and offer to write a grant proposal – this could lead to a potential employment opportunity. This approach is most common in the non-profit sector, but it could also be a strategy that could work in other sectors if funding is available.

Volunteering is a great way to also help build up your community while helping to build your experience in your chosen profession. The thing to remember when it comes to volunteering is that it is like the job market in that there are tons of opportunities available in all sectors, but you need to network and reach out to the places that you feel are of greatest interest to you.