Career Reinvention &
Personal Brand Strategist

Volunteering and Internships Can Help You Change Careers

February 04, 2008
By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist
 

Volunteering and Internships Can Help You Change Careers

Once you have started exploring your skills, interests, and motivations and you begin to get a better sense of what you want to do for a new career, you might want to consider volunteering to get a real taste for that new profession or organization.

You could be lucky, and land a volunteer position on a significant board or committee, and immediately make an impact on the organization. This type of position also will allow you to see how the organization operates from an executive or managerial level, offering great insight to help you determine if this is the right direction for you for a possible career switch.

But, don't reject the opportunity to volunteer for a ground-level position. This type of work can give you a unique perspective on how an organization operates, how employees feel about their organization, and how, and at what level, you might best fit in. Volunteering also can give you the chance to try out several positions within one opportunity. This will allow you to test yourself with different responsibilities, using different skills sets to see what appeals to you the most and what job duties you perform the best.

If you are unsure of whether you would like to do certain work, or if you are uncertain as to whether you have the skills to efficiently perform a certain job or individual tasks, then volunteering is a great way to find out. You have invested nothing financial in the venture, and the time you have expended in determining if this type of opportunity is a good match for you will still be time well spent.

Another possibility for gaining the same experience and insight into a potential new career and/or company is through an internship. Some internships pay money, many don't. Some internships are long term, but many others aren't. You might be able to keep your present job, but still find a limited internship (one or two weeks in length or nights or weekends only) that will give you the same opportunities and insight as would a volunteer position.

©2012, Randi Bussin, Aspire!

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