How engaging with volunteering activities help you in your career
Finding time to volunteer when all of us are working is quite difficult. However, volunteering for a cause out of one’s natural instinct can be rewarding.
Let us take you through a story.
Aware of Shantanu Naidu and his startup ‘GoodFellows’ in which Ratan Tata made an investment? If NO! Then you should. Today, Shantanu is the General Manager of Mr Ratan Tata’s office.
The story started when Shantanu worked as an automobile design engineer at Tata Elxsi and started an initiative to save stray dogs from accidents with glowing dog collars. Running short of funding, Shantanu wrote a letter to Mr Tata for help, on his father’s advice. To his surprise, Mr Tata responded, and the bonding between the two began.
Volunteering helps
Shantanu volunteered for a cause, not for any favour but out of instinct. Volunteering is like assisting those in need, working for a deserving cause, and for the community. The advantages of volunteering are not limited to the beneficiaries only but can also extend to you.
You may discover friends, become involved in the community, pick up new skills, and even improve your profession with the perfect match.
Giving to others and working for social causes also help in protecting your mental and physical health. Such activities reduce stress, help combat depression, provide you with a sense of purpose, and keep you mentally stimulated in your life. While it’s true that volunteering helps, it never means involving a long-term commitment or taking a huge amount of time or money out.
For thousands of businesses out there, social responsibility is a core value. To that end, your charitable or helping side might turn out to be a good cultural fit. Volunteering makes candidates stand out as it shows their commitment to and involvement in the community. Your CV can gain dimension and help you stand out.
Similarly, your confidence and self-esteem may witness an upward trend as a result of volunteering. When you take certain actions that, as per you, are meaningful and beneficial for the community, it may help you feel more fulfilled about your life and future ambitions because of the sense of accomplishment you experience.
In the process, you might meet people who could end up being your mentors, or they will become a part of your professional social network, in additional to gaining valuable experience and skills from them.
Start yours
It’s not vague, but numerous studies have linked volunteering as one of the ways to maintain a healthy mental balance. In fact, volunteering has been employed as a treatment for adolescent depression. To conclude, if you desire to work for a cause, you should start working out a plan of action. The satisfaction and the kind of help volunteering to bring a change in society will help you grow along with the community.
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