EVER FOUND yourself in this situation: you apply for a job, you’re unsuccessful and feedback says you lack the necessary experience for the role? It can feel like a ‘chicken and egg’ situation, leaving you wondering how to get the experience in the first place. That’s just one way that volunteering can help.
Improving your job prospects
Many employers appreciate the benefits of recruiting graduates with voluntary experience. Hannah Slaney, Graduate Programme Manager at The Co-Operative Group believes candidates with voluntary experience stand out because “they can demonstrate more easily that they are able to balance priorities, share resources and are willing to work towards the common good of the team, rather than for their own personal gain”.
Enhancing your study
The experience gained volunteering, and the people you come into contact with, can also provide fresh perspectives which enhance your academic study. Postgraduate Claire Sexton, who graduated with a first in Neuroscience in 2006, volunteered at the Stockport Day Centre throughout her degree. Claire says that working with adults with mental health illnesses aided her academic studies by providing her with a more holistic understanding of the subject, contact with service users and new perspectives; all of which confirmed her passion for the subject.
Travel
Many people consider overseas voluntary work to be an enriching experience, providing a framework for world travel, insights into different cultures, enhancing language skills and giving you a chance to do something meaningful whilst having fun in a responsible and sustainable way. Marion Williams, World Youth & Global Xchange Programme Manager at VSO: “Volunteering is a great way for people to learn more about other people and themselves. Volunteers can undertake work which is of practical value to people in the UK and developing countries, and cultivate attitudes that will help them to play a positive role in society.”
Community and Active Citizenship
As a student, your university experience often focuses on your immediate environment, the university campus and a few good bars. Local people and their issues can pass you by. Volunteering can help you get to know the community you live in and feel more included through involvement with local projects.
How to get involved
Whether you’re interested in the environment, young people, tackling crime, education, mental health, finance or politics, there’s a voluntary opportunity for you. Manchester University’s Manchester Student Volunteers (MSV) link students with a range of opportunities. MSV also organise one-off community events, such as the annual North West Student Beach Clean, bringing together students from across the region to give something back to the local community. Go to www.manchester.ac.uk/volunteers for details.
MSV also run Information Sessions every Wednesday 1.30-3pm (G16 Newman Building, Booth Street East). This semester’s sessions include international volunteering (10 October), learning disabilities (17 October), health and youth work (24 October), environment (31 October), and crime and offending (7 November). You can also book yourself in a for a MSV Quick Query & Answer session: a 15-minute appointment to discuss your volunteering questions by calling 0161 275 2829. MSV registrants are entitled to a free First Aid course.
Manchester Leadership Programme (MLP)
The Manchester Leadership Programme (MLP) is an excellent way of accrediting your volunteering. The programme offers a unique blend of an academic unit plus 60 hours of volunteering and is primarily aimed at second years from any discipline. Students who complete both elements will receive the prestigious Manchester Leadership Award. To secure a place for semester two register now on www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/careers/improveyourjobprospects/mlp
For more information about Manchester Student Volunteers or the Manchester Leadership Programme, please contact Andrea Rannard, Manchester Student Volunteers Manager, at Andrea.Rannard@manchester.ac.uk, or call 0161 275 2828.
Andrea Grace Rannard
Manager of the University of Manchester’s ‘Manchester Student Volunteers’ (MSV)
Comment
Have your say, tell us what you think...