Volunteering provides opportunities to build your personal and professional character. It helps you learn to work with people from different backgrounds and abilities while developing valuable knowledge to grow your career. Because you become more educated about the world while improving it, volunteering provides a win-win opportunity for everyone.

Why Volunteer?

1. Develop Wisdom

Volunteering develops wisdom. Connecting with more experiences develops your unique perspective on things. Working on projects with organizations of limited resources encourages creativity to do more with less while achieving impactful results. Serving those who are less fortunate also reminds you to appreciate what you have. Working with multicultural volunteers improves your cultural awareness.

2. Build Empathy

Volunteering builds empathy. Working with others in need enhances your happiness and feeling loved. Spending time working with others to improve the world develops compassion and kindness. Helping those who cannot help themselves is both a humbling and rewarding experience. You develop both patience and tolerance while helping other people.

3. Transcend

Volunteering helps you transcend. You learn to be grateful for what you have and appreciate the beauty in life. You also look for humor and optimism in situations. Additionally, you have an impact on social and environmental causes that make the world a better place.

4. Network

Volunteering provides networking opportunities. You meet new people, including community leaders, who may influence your career path. Developing relationships, especially with people in your industry, provides additional opportunities to learn about job openings, gather inside employer information, develop professional references, or gain a mentor. Be sure you offer to help your connections whenever possible.

5. Gain and Sharpen Skills

Volunteering lets you gain and sharpen skills. For instance, if your job duties change and you no longer are performing certain tasks, you may be able to complete similar work for a not-for-profit organization to maintain those skills. Or, you could take on tasks to develop new skills that you can transfer to a work setting and advance your career. For instance, you may serve on a volunteer committee or board of directors to learn about group dynamics and teamwork. You might serve as a committee chair to develop facilitation skills. You could plan and implement a fundraising event to cultivate goal-setting, planning, and budgeting skills. Or, you could supervise and train volunteers to develop managerial skills.

6. Explore Career Options

Volunteering provides career options. You may open yourself up to an opportunity, skill set, or interest you did not previously know about. You also demonstrate your strong work ethic, commitment to reaching goals, and ability to collaborate. You may be able to share ideas, be innovative, and lead others. You could assist with strategic planning, change management, or conflict resolution. You can learn about trends, issues, people, and resources in your community to make you a more informed citizen.

7. Develop Your Character with a New Accounting or Finance Position

Develop your character with a new accounting or finance position through Mercer Bradley. We place candidates with Canadian not-for-profit organizations. Contact us today!  You can explore these current accounting and finance careers and apply today.