Volunteering may lead to a permanent job

It’s as valuable as paid work experience

In this rough-andtumble economy, employers are quick to note that anything that sets a job seeker apart from the rest of the employment-seeking pack helps.

That includes volunteering.

Not only is it good for the community, but career coaches say volunteering is also a great way for job seekers to get their foot in the door, do some networking and boost their skills, thereby making them more attractive to hiring managers.

“Your volunteer activities have as much to do with you and your passion . . . and your skill set as it has to do with your professional expertise,” said Adriana Llames, a career consultant. “Employers want to see that you’re not just another candidate that’s all about me, me, me. Volunteering is a representation of how well you work on a team.”

Linkedin made it easy to highlight those connections by giving users the option this fall to boast their community service and causes on the site, although the company declined to say how many of its 135 million users are using the tool.

Linkedin did say, however, that of the nearly 2,000 professionals in the U.S. it surveyed, 89 per cent had experience volunteering, but only 45 per cent include their volunteer experience on their resume.

At the same time, 41 per cent of employers reported that they consider volunteer work as valuable as paid work experience when considering potential hires.

Still, volunteering with a hidden “hire-me” agenda is not a good strategy.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which tracks U.S. volunteer rates, said it’s not clear how many volunteering gigs have turned into full-time jobs.

But for Tiffany Jones, volunteering was less about a hard-charging job hunt than about finally doing what she believed she was meant to do.

Her previous job was project manager in the telecommunications industry. She now works as a program manager at the All Stars Project of Chicago.

Some people find a vintage sofa or maybe even a future husband on Craigslist. Tiffany Jones found her life’s work.

When Jones was laid off in 2005, her first inclination was to jump back on the corporate track. Then it dawned on her: “I thought, ‘I’m 30 years old; I have no kids. I’m at a fork in the road,’ ” she said.

She decided it was time to do what really inspired her — work with young people.

Jones struggled to speak up in school, to shine. Traditional learning methods never worked for her, but a theatre program her mom discovered for her did. There, she felt confident, smart, capable. She thought about helping kids who faced similar challenges, but came from less-solid backgrounds.

Her initial plan was to start her own non-profit. But that took more money than she had.

So she seriously downsized her life. She gave up her apartment and moved in with roommates. She took a part-time job at a retail store and moonlighted by helping people organize their homes and offices.

But the years passed, and she hadn’t raised the money to start her own charity.

Then, in 2009, she learned about the All Stars Project, a national youth-outreach organization that provides extracurricular internships and performance opportunities for poor and minority children. She decided that she would do whatever it took to help out.

“I was in it for the long haul, even if it meant volunteering for the rest of my life,” Jones said.

Volunteering with

I was in it for the long haul, even if it meant volunteering for the rest of my life

TIFFANY JONES

All Stars, which is managed by a full-time staff of three and hundreds of volunteers, gave Jones the opportunity to make her mark. She came in early and stayed late, doing everything from stuffing folders to researching phone systems. She took ownership of every project, said the group’s director, David Cherry.

“If we had a special event coming up, she’d work extra hours,” Cherry said. “Here was someone who started out working with no expectation that it would lead to a job.”

After a few months, Jones was hired part time, and last month, nearly two years after she started volunteering, she was hired full time as program manager, which entails planning fundraisers, training volunteers and managing the office.