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Succeed in the workplace
Succeed in the workplace

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7.1 Is it the right time to volunteer?

This activity asks you to assess how well voluntary work fits with your needs and objectives.

Activity 6 Voluntary work ‘fit’ for me

Timing: Allow approximately 15 minutes

Part 1

Take a few moments to reflect on the information in this last section.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 is ‘this is the perfect option for me’ and 1 is ‘cannot see how this helps me at all’) where do you score yourself in relation to volunteering now?

Comment

If you have scored below 5 ask yourself whether or not your answer might be different in the future. Does your answer depend on practicalities which might change over time, or do you just not see this as something which appeals to you at all? If you score 5 or above, then you might want to think about what actions you can take to explore voluntary work options.

If you did score more than 5 for volunteering try Part 2 of this activity.

Part 2

In your notebook answer the following questions about volunteering and any actions you might need to take to do this.

  1. In what time frame might I consider voluntary work?
  2. What kind of voluntary work might I apply to do?
  3. I am keen to consider voluntary work, what research do I need to do?
  4. What do I want to do in the next month?
  5. What do I want to do after this course ends?

Comment

Voluntary work may not be for everybody but it can be very rewarding on a personal level, as well as having the added benefit of helping with your career development. Whatever you decide to do, it should be what you feel reasonably comfortable with undertaking. Think about starting small, with a local charity and working your way up.

This week has focused on how work experience or voluntary work might help you to develop the kind of career you want, now or in the future.

It adds to the understanding you have developed over the past four weeks about:

  • your motivations
  • the contributions you can make (and want to make).

You may be feeling impatient to move on to actively pursuing work options. The second half of the course focuses on this but, before you move on, it is important to reflect on your conclusions, so far. The final section in this week provides a structure for doing this.