Volunteering

So I'm thinking about volunteering in a charity shop to get some experience. How much do employers value work experience that was gained through volunteering? Is it worth it? How many hours per week should you do to make it count?

Reply 1

La Trampa

well in a world where no work experience means no work,and no company really wants to hire anyone without any form of work experience,i'd say it's valuable. plus you working for no pay looks good to them. doesn't matter how many hours you work and long as you do some sort of work experience.

Reply 2

Sephiroth

Thanks for the response. I think I'll go into the local SCOPE shop tomorrow and enquire. They seem to be wanting some staff.

Reply 3

JennLlama

I'd definitely recommend it for work experience - and it's usually good fun as well! I've volunteered in a couple of Oxfam shops on and off over a few years and really enjoyed it. It was also really useful when I came to applying for jobs as it gave me something to talk about in interviews - charity shops are often run by just a small team of people so you'll probably get the chance to do lots of different tasks, rather than just being stuck behind the till the whole time like you might if you worked in a high street store. They usually seem to prefer you to work for about 2 hours at a time, but only really expect you in once a week so it's not really very much at all (of course, you can do more if you want!) and the regular commitment will be something employers appreciate.
Good luck!
Jenn xx

Reply 4

Sephiroth

Well I can only commit until mid-September as I'm off to university then. But that's a fair reason for quitting anyway. My parents seem to think there are companies who I could get better work experience with, but as I live in the north-east that's easier said than done. By better I mean relevant towards future career. (I'll be studying a computing course)

Reply 5

Ghost Grey

Volunteering Sub-forum in Careers section ftw!

Reply 6

Sephiroth

I agree, there should be one. I wasn't sure where to put this thread, it doesn't really fit in Careers but it's the next best.

Update on my situation while I'm here: Got too distracted designing my website to visit Scope. I'm going to try get there tomorrow, failing that Monday. But I intend to go for sure.

Reply 7

Ghost Grey

They'll have you whenever.
Most charity shops are desperate to have an energetic and enthusiastic young person helping out, even if it's for a couple of hours a week.

If you are really interested in volunteering try your local Volunteer Center which has a database of most (if not all) the volunteering opportunities around your area.

Reply 8

Sephiroth

Yeah, I've been on Do-it.org.uk and seen all the available opportunities. This is where I applied for Scope, but they e-mailed me saying just to go in and ask.

Reply 9

JennLlama

Some charity shops have started selling stuff on eBay now (I know Oxfam do) so if you wanted to make the job a little more relevant to your course, maybe you could offer to either help out with that if they do it already or if the shop owns a computer with internet access offer to help them set it up? If it's mainly run by people with no computer skills then possibly they won't be as keen as if there's a reasonable supply of computer-literate people working in the shop but it could be worth a try... I believe registered charities are able to list things for free, though I'm not totally sure, but could be worth checking if they're worried about the money.
Jenn xx

Reply 10

Sephiroth

That's a good idea, didn't know some sell things on eBay. I'd be surprised if my local does however, it's a tiny shop in a small town.

Reply 11

Ghost Grey

Volunteer, Enrichment sub-forum i.e. Student plus stuff e.g. extra-curricular stuff, extra courses taken, work experience, and all that in one sub-forum ftw.

K thanx love u

Reply 12

Sephiroth

I went into Scope today. It was a hard thing to do, even though that may sound silly to some. The manager says to come in tomorrow 1pm with some proof of where I live and they'll fill in my form and show me around. I hope the shop isn't busy tomorrow as it's market day in my town.

Reply 13

danni_bella

I do some volunteer work for The Wilderness Society about twice a year, sometimes more if I get time.

It makes me feel all warm inside. No but seriously it's good I'm a big fan of the organisation.