- build a professional online presence
- leverage your personal assets
- maximize your social impact
- customize your strategy to stand out
If you're worried about the impact AI is having on the entry-level job market, the value of your degree, or your hopes for an internship, you're not alone. There's a lot you can't control in this turbulent time, but there is something you can. Research shows that students who engage in meaningful volunteer work gain a measurable employment advantage.
Turning volunteer work into an advantage isn't as simple as earning service hours. You need concrete examples of building skills employers value and a strategy for showcasing it effectively to increase your visibilty.
Volunteers have 27% higher odds of employment, and the employment boost is even stronger for individuals early in their careers. AmeriCorps, Volunteering as a Pathway to Employment
41% of hiring managers consider volunteer experience equal to paid work experience. LinkedIn, Global Recruiting Trends
82% of hiring managers are more likely to choose a candidate with volunteer experience.
85% of hiring managers are more inclined to look past resume flaws when the candidate includes volunteer work, yet only 30% list it on their resumes.
92% of employers agree that volunteering improves leadership and professional skills.
Volunteer leadership signals:
• Initiative
• Work ethic
• Accountability
• Civic engagement
• Emotional intelligence
When GPA and internships look similar, service-driven leadership becomes your differentiator. In a competitive entry-level job market, that difference matters.
Use your e-workbook or our free online offce hours to execute your strategy to:
Use our live or recorded Zoom events with guest HR leaders to help you reflect and:
Share life stories and information with younger students you share a connection with through school or student activities to help them see how their choices and student engagement today can help or hurt their education, employment, and lifestyle opportunities in the future.
Soft Skills: empathy leadership, emotional intelligence, communication, motivation, networking, interpersonal skills
Support efforts to launch or improve student support services by aligning class projects or collaborating with campus members to help education and workforce development leaders or any student support program engage more students and better serve them.
Soft Skills: leadership, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, networking, teamwork, communication, work ethic
Create your own internship or learn how to use technology, labor market data, workforce development initiatives, or resume and interview strategies to become a stronger job candidate and then create opportunities to engage and teach other students how to do the same.
Soft Skills: adaptability, empathy leadership, teamwork, motivation, problem solving, critical thinking, interpersonal skills
Sharing the valuable insight you possess can help younger students avoid pitfalls and find success. Serving students you share a connection with is highly rewarding. It motivates you to stay engaged in volunteer work that builds evidence of soft skills employers are seeking. It's the perfect space to start growing your network and social capital.
Increasing student engagement and success is one of our country's greatest challenges. It's the same challenge employers face with employees. Working on projects that signal engagement is one of your core values helps shape your employability-focused personal brand. It's the ultimate space to maximize your impact on society and your resume.
Gaining real world experience and building your network while in school helps you overcome the anxiety and self-doubt that comes with being a first-time job candidate. Creating quality volunteer work is also a way to practice creating your own gig work. Your education matters. But experience, leadership, and initiative are what set you apart.
Employer's use their AI to look for AI generated resumes and interview responses that don't seem authentic or line up. You need real stories to tell and evidence to back it.
That's why our focus is the ongoing proactive coaching you'll need after your leadership training. We make it easy to regularly connect with opportunities that are designed to fit into your busy schedule and grow with your education.
Waiting until senior year to add experience will leave you with a disadvantage that is hard to overcome. By consistently aligning skill development with volunteer work throughout your time in school, you'll graduate with:
We make it easy to build the employability-focused personal brand you'll want to showcase on your resume and in interviews. Because employers don’t just ask, “What did you study?” They ask, "give me an example of exercising this skill you listed" or tell
We want you to have good answers.
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