Rebecca finished an internship and was about to start job hunting when COVID-19 hit. After finding a great volunteering role to keep her busy through lockdown she credits her success in landing a job just a few months later with her experiences and volunteering in general.
How does volunteering fit into your life?
My family always encouraged an environment of helping other people so volunteering felt natural for me from a young age. This then continued at University. I attended Royal Holloway, where there was a really strong volunteering culture which I joined in with. All students were able to work towards gaining a ‘volunteering passport’ and we earned points for every voluntary task that we took part in. I actually won a Gold Passport Award and that’s when I realised I am a bit of a serial volunteer.
I left University in 2018 with a 2.1 in BA Geography degree.
In my second year I opted to travel to Thailand to work as a volunteer English teacher, teaching children in the villages and hill tribes of northern Thailand, it was one of the most memorable of all my volunteering experiences, it was amazing.
I really think that I was successful in all my job interviews (my internship too) because of my volunteering experiences. I currently volunteer with SwopItUp and GoodGym. (just for your context, GoodGym is a running group that I am part of. We run to community tasks such as leafleting, litter picking, gardening etc and then run back).
How has volunteering helped you in your career?
Without a doubt my volunteering roles helped me get the two jobs I have had in my life.
I had got voluntary experience with SCC during my third year at university because I knew it would give me experience of working with vulnerable young people. I helped to run training sessions for a term and shadowed senior youth practitioners at appointments with young people, which was invaluable knowledge. Additionally during the summer of my second year I undertook a voluntary work placement with StreetInvest, a charity working with street-connected children internationally.
So my first job straight out of Uni was as a Placement Officer in children's services at Surrey County Council (SCC), finding homes for looked after children and care leavers and it’s clear to see how my volunteering experiences set me up well for my first job.
Has it given you experiences to talk about in an interview?
I think it’s important to have real experiences to talk about in interviews which is difficult if you have no work experience. Having done so much volunteering, I was able to speak easily about all the different roles I had done, the skills I developed and used and how much I enjoyed contributing in different environments.
When you are fresh out of university with a degree trying to get your first job its natural not to have any work history yet. You can really stand out from other graduates at this early stage by having real voluntary experiences to talk about. It shows motivation, passion and is also much more interesting to draw on skills that you have actually gained in a volunteering role rather than just talking about your studying experiences.
Tell us about how you started the year
After deciding that I wanted to start my career, I completed an internship in Health Public Affairs and Communications from January to March 2020, assisting with organising parliamentary events for MPs, monitoring for a FTSE100 client and researching for a range of clients and colleagues.
My internship finished just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit and it became clear that it was going to be much more difficult to get a full-time job and start my career than I had anticipated.
So I decided to look at volunteering again to carry me through lockdown. I knew this would help me further develop my skills, keep me occupied and maintain a sense of purpose whilst job searching that I would get involved with some volunteering. I immediately searched on the Team London Website for a project to get involved in.
I saw the social media marketing role at SwopItUp immediately and thought it really suited to me and loved the energy they were demonstrating for environmental causes. During my internship I had learnt all about the importance of understanding audiences to create change and this allowed me to continue to develop these skills. I didn't have any experience in social media marketing but knew this was the place to learn.
Volunteering with SwopItUp has really allowed me to continue learning and developing my skills which has been fantastic. I was also able to start looking for a job at the same time, which they supported. I am happy to say I applied for and was successful in getting a job whilst in lockdown.
I started my new job as Partner Executive at Nectar in June.
There is no doubt at all that the skills I used and learned during my volunteering role helped me get my current job. At my interview I was so pleased to be able to talk about all the exciting things I had been doing as part of SwopItUp and I feel this really made an impact.
What other benefits are there to volunteering?
My SwopItUp role really gave me purpose whilst we were in lockdown, so think it really contributed to my mental health. The role gave me structure and kept me busy (I do like to be busy!!). I also think the social aspect to volunteering is a key benefit. It allows you to meet interesting people from all sorts of backgrounds!
My first job at the Council, my internship role and now my current role at Nectar are all thanks to what I have been able to offer through volunteering. Volunteering has been amazing and it gives back so much, as well as just being so enjoyable.
What do you think is your main inspiration for volunteering?
I think that I love being busy and getting involved in different things, learning new skills and about new environments. Volunteering is so good for that. But also of course it is just fantastic to know that I am making a positive impact, that my skills are actually helping a team or organisation achieve really great results – it’s great to be a part of that, many times over.