Voluntary work

By becoming a volunteer, not only can you help your community but you can help yourself in the process. You can do all sorts of things as a volunteer, from cleaning up at the local animal shelter to working as a public relations officer for a charity.

What are the benefits of volunteering?

You develop experience

The skills and experience you gain can prove invaluable when it comes to job hunting. For example, if you need to show you have good people skills you might demonstrate this through your voluntary work in a local Citizen Advice Bureau or Youth Club. You can then add this to your CV!

You learn what the job is really like

Voluntary work can also help you find out what it is like working in a career that interests you. You will get a feel for what people do in the job and the type of working conditions they have. Even if you find don’t like the job, you've learned something useful!

"I'd suggest that people do some volunteer ski field patrol work first. It's a good way to do it because you're in the working environment and you get to find out whether it really is the job for you."

Nurani Holland, Ski Field Patroller

You learn something about yourself

Through voluntary work you may help develop a better picture of yourself. For example, you may find out how you work within a team, how you deal with customers or whether you really like working with animals.

You demonstrate your interest

By volunteering, you show your interest and enthusiasm for a type of work or organisation. Some employers might even expect you to have done this. For example, it is unlikely you will be able to get a job as a zookeeper without having done some volunteer work at a local zoo or animal shelter.

Voluntary work can also put you into contact with the right people. They can see firsthand what you are like on the job, while you are showing them you can make a commitment to something over time.

"My advice to young people is to get involved and volunteer. The main thing that helped me was that I had done quite a bit of work in my spare time around media. For instance, I was a commentator on TV for tennis and softball. I also did radio updates for softball, just volunteering."

Jeremy Lambert, Communication Manager

Where can I do voluntary work?

There's a wide variety of organisations where you can do voluntary work. These include:

• school boards and committees
• youth organisations
• professional interest groups
• not-for-profit enterprises
• cultural and creative groups.

• Find out about volunteer opportunities in New Zealand and overseas

Real-life stories

Read about people who found work or added to their skills by doing volunteer work.

• Hotel porter Sonny Davis began volunteering when he was just 13
• After becoming a volunteer firefighter, Marina Burling realised she wanted to change careers
• Mike Harold became a radio operator after retiring
• Park manager Paul Rushworth started out by volunteering at the wildlife reserve where he now works