Recent graduates of high schools and even universities face something of a conundrum when they go to apply for jobs. Even the assistance of the Canadian Resume Service isn't enough to secure a position if you don't have any experience, but how can you get experience when no one will give you a job? If you find yourself in this type of situation, there is one sure fire way to get out: gain experience through volunteering your time. This article should tell you all about it and help you develop a plan of action to fix your lack of experience.
Not all volunteer work will help you secure the job that you want. For instance, if you had your eye on real estate jobs, going and doing volunteer work at an animal shelter will not impress them. You need to match your volunteer work with the type of job you're applying for. If you want to be a carpenter, volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. If you want to be a doctor, volunteer to be a first aider at a public event. It doesn't have to be directly related, but you have to be able to wring some relevance out of it on your resume.
Keep in mind that sometimes volunteer work has conditions too, so don't expect to be immediately accepted into every organization that you apply to. Working with patients going through anger management can be dangerous, so they might require you to have first aid or non-violent conflict resolution training, for example. This is especially true of any volunteer work you may want to do with children. Every volunteer with a children's organization must have a number of references who will vouch for them and be able to pass a criminal record check.
While non profit groups and charities are the most obvious source of volunteer work, sometimes you can secure a volunteer position at a company you're interested in working for on a trial basis. For instance, if Landscaping Toronto has doubts about your ability to look after gardens, you might offer to do an unpaid internship so they can test you out. Even if they don't hire you at the end of the volunteer period, you can still put it on your resume as work experience.
Volunteer work doesn't just help you prove to potential employers that you can do the job. It also provides evidence to college review boards and registrars that you're a dedicated, well rounded person. This is the sort of thing they look for when handing out acceptances and scholarships (particularly at the more prestigious schools and in the higher level programs), so not doing volunteer work can actually hurt your chances of becoming a lawyer who tries suits of class action in Canada.
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