Feeling anxious about life after graduation?

If you're worried about the impact AI is having on the entry-level job market, the value of your degree, or your chances of a paid 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.

Let Us Help You

Why it Matters

Employers Are Paying Attention

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.

Deloitte, Impact Survey

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.

How It Works

Step 1: Make yourself Visible

Use e-workbooks and our online office hours to form and execute your strategy to:

jump start building your personal brand
build a professional online presence
grow your network and gain references

Step 2: Grow Your Resume

Use e-workbooks and our online office hours to form and execute your strategy to:

seize quality volunteer opportunities
turn class projects into work experience
Add online credentials to your resume

Step 3: Practice Telling Your Story

Use e-workbooks and our online offce hours to form and execute your strategy to:

effectively translate skills to your resume
build impact stories for your interviews
stay current on best job search practices

Leverage Your Assets

PeerTakes

Help Younger Students Connect Why Engagement Matters

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

Impact Collabs

Support Efforts to Engage and Better Serve Students

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

Teach It Back

Help Other Students become Stronger Job Candidates

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

Volunteer Now

The Ultimate Experience

Meaningful

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.

Impactful

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.

Personal Value

Gainmong 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.

What Makes Us Different

Waiting until senior year to start building your professional brand and gaining experience will leave you with a disadvantage that is hard to overcome. Unfortunately, building your advantage involves the type of tasks students often procrastinate or lose engagement in and many will wind up in that boat. Research points to motivation, perception, and psychological factors as the root cause, so we are striving to help students overcome them.

Our comprehensive approach and proactive coaching is designed to hold you accountable for doing a just a little bit every week, month and year to build up your career advantage.

By consistently aligning skill and brand development with volunteer work throughout your time in school, you'll graduate with:

Demonstrated leadership and other soft skills
Real-world problem-solving experience
Professional references
Clear interview narratives
A measurable competitive edge

Our mission is to help you gain that advantage.