How Giving Back Can Help You Get Ahead

By Tory Johnson, CEO of Women for Hire

Besides giving back to your community, volunteering offers yet another way to connect with potential employers or networking contacts and to build your resume.

And there's nothing like a dose of reality to keep your own work woes in perspective. Volunteer opportunities are endless and exist everywhere. From spending one Saturday a month cleaning up a public park to volunteering your accounting skills to balance the books of a day care center, nonprofit organizations offer numerous ways to contribute your time. It's perfectly acceptable (encouraged, in fact) to list volunteer work on your resume, and non-profit managers can serve as great professional and personal references.

When choosing a volunteer organization, remember the following:

• Be up front about your commitment level. Many nonprofit organizations "rely on the kindness of strangers" as Blanche Dubois might say, so they understand that you have other commitments and they are usually willing to take as much time as you can comfortably give. Be clear about the time you have and that you may cut back your commitment when you find a full-time job. This will help the organization give you tasks that can fit into your schedule.

• Share your goals. It's okay to tell a volunteer organization that you are there to help your career and job search. As long as you are genuine in your desire to help, they will more than likely be happy to give you tasks that will advance your skills or allow you to meet more people in your industry. For instance, you can volunteer to work on a fund-raiser attended by executives in your field if you want an inside route to a media company, or you can volunteer at an animal shelter if you aspire to be a vet. Often your industry association can match you with a volunteer organization looking for help.

• Volunteer at a company. There's no rule saying that only nonprofits can accept volunteers. Why not donate a few hours a week to the company you would most like as an employee? If you can spare a few unpaid hours, this could be a great way to get a foot in the door, particularly if you are just starting out in your career or changing careers. This is a great tip for working your way into a small or midsized company.

• Volunteer for your industry's association. This is a good way for recent college grads or career switchers looking to break into a new field. Call the local chapter of the industry's association and offer yourself as a volunteer. Many associations are non-profit and run by people with full-time jobs, so they are thrilled for any assistance, particularly from a motivated job seeker. Volunteer for a position in which you'll meet the most association members--manage the database, work the registration table at an event, or make fund-raising phone calls.

• Volunteer in politics. Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Green, political candidates are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers, especially with the coming elections this year. Working on a political campaign is exciting, interesting, and often exhausting! Campaign staff will often give you as much responsibility as you can handle, so be prepared to work hard, especially as a campaign nears its conclusion. But the long hours put in by many volunteers can have a nice payoff. When candidates are elected, they often hire campaign workers to serve as fully paid members of their staff.

Tory Johnson is the CEO of Women For Hire and the Workplace Contributor on ABC's Good Morning America. She co-authored Take This Book to Work: How to Ask For (and Get) Money, Fulfillment and Advancement, which was released in paperback in September 2007. Connect with her at www.womenforhire.com