When you’re between jobs, lots of people will encourage you to volunteer to fill the gap. This can be a solid, helpful step, but beware of the traps!
- Trap #1: Overcommitting
This is really the biggest danger. It’s alarmingly easy to get sucked into giving away all your time because you believe in a cause or you like the people at the organization or simply because it fills your days. But don’t do it! Your time is valuable, and you need some of it to apply for things that pay! Strive for a balance: free labor (and good networking), time to apply for interesting roles, and time for friends, family, relaxation, etc. - Trap #2: Doing irrelevant things
Because you want your volunteering to feel meaningful, you might be tempted to do something that isn’t going to be helpful to you in your job search. Avoid this! Make sure that whatever you choose, there are valuable people in the org that you’ll get to build connections with, skills you want to sharpen for your next role, prestige points you can gain from spending time there. I know this sounds a little mercenary, but part of why you should be giving away your skills and abilities is to help you find a new job. (You can commit some of your free time to the org afterwards, in a way that doesn’t feel quite so transactional if you want.) - Trap #3: Being unclear what you’re volunteering for
Make sure the location, tasks, settings, and so forth are things that make you feel good. You don’t want to feel stuck doing something you hate, or commuting for hours, so be choosy. - Trap #4: Failing to ask questions
This is much the same as the job search, so it’s a great way to get some practice. Ask the things you wonder about: what’s the expected time commitment? What’s the schedule? Who would your supervisor be? What happens if you need to call in sick or take a vacation? What’s the volunteer culture like? Do people ever move from volunteer to paid staff? How (and how often)does that happen? Think about the things you really want to know so you can feel confident about making a good decision about how you spend your time. - Trap #5: Not taking it seriously
Since you’re going to be using this community service, at least in part, to help you move forward, your reputation matters a lot. If they see you as a lazy slacker, you aren’t likely to get asked to do many hours, and you’re unlikely to be given the appealing tasks that could really help you out. Furthermore, people will talk about you, and the very people who might otherwise help you launch your next big thing might decide they don’t want to help you. You may even get fired from the role, which feels like quite a blow since they’re not paying you anything!
That said, doing some form of community service is often very gratifying, and it can add structure to days that might otherwise feel formless and overwhelming. Volunteering can also be a great way to meet people and sharpen your skills, so just be thoughtful before you decide to commit your time and energy.
