Volunteering

Why volunteer? In a world where educational credits are not always enough to land your first job, volunteering provides a way to gain experience and prove to potential employers that you are capable of doing the work.

What it can do for you:

• find out if you would really enjoy the work that interests you before making a permanent commitment,
• find out if a company is good to work for,
• give you a perspective on how other people work and live,
• get to know people who may prove valuable contacts when job openings occur,
• beat boredom by breaking up old routines and getting you involved,
• discover hidden talents such as listening and organizational skills,
• doing something helpful and productive can give your self-esteem a tremendous boost.

Throughout a volunteer placement; a work experience placement, and/or a part-time job, keep in mind that self evaluation of your placement, your career plans, your performance, and feedback from others is important. An individual is often the best judge of his or her progress and can more easily identify obvious and subtle personal changes. Changes in attitude or ways of thinking are not easily measured and sometimes are not easy to talk about. Learning to judge yourself fairly, and determining ways to improve are valuable skills.

Reflecting on and evaluating your experiences will help you to do the following:

• Summarize the information and concepts you are learning.
• Recognize the changes in your attitude.
• Determine how well you apply your knowledge, skills and attitudes to real-life workplace circumstances.
• Determine your strengths and weaknesses.
• Reconsider the direction of future education and career plans.

Reflective Journal - Reflecting on Self-Evaluation

The questions below will help to guide your self-evaluation.

• What are the reasons that people hesitate when asked to talk about themselves?
• How do I feel when I am asked to talk about myself?
• What are the advantages of being able to express my strengths and weaknesses?
• How can I help others to self-evaluate?
• How can I help my own self-evaluation?

This form will help you to evaluate the volunteer experience: View form

Career Connection - Evaluating Yourself

1. On a sheet of paper, respond to the questions that follow to evaluate yourself in a workplace setting.

• Are you happy with your tasks?
• Are you reporting to work dressed for the position?
• Are you practising the workplace safety code?
• Are your job skills improving?
• Are you a useful team member?
• Do you communicate well with your co-workers?
• Do you display confidence when fulfilling your tasks?
• Have you developed and maintained a positive work attitude?
• Is the quality of your work high?
• Do you have open communication with your supervisor?
• Are you meeting the responsibilities of your job with minimum supervision?
• Are you receiving and giving positive feedback?

2. Ask five employees at a workplace what they consider to be the three characteristics that young people need most to be successful during their initial experience in the workplace. Review the list in Question 1. Make any necessary additions.

You may wish to file this evaluation in your portfolio.

Courtesy of McGray-Hill Ryerson, Ltd. Expanding Your Horizons, 2/e (1999), Judi Misener and Susan Butler

How and Where to Volunteer