It is becoming more and more apparent to graduates that a good degree from a good university is just not enough anymore to make finding a job easy! Gone are the days when graduates walked straight into their dream position because they had a few letters after their name. So you’re thinking you might as well give up and not bother applying? Wrong! Volunteering is a great way to show your commitment and drive to prospective future employers so read on to find out more about event volunteering – whether it is purely for your enjoyment or to help boost your job prospects.
The range of volunteering positions available out there is incredibly vast: one option available to you budding volunteers is event volunteering. Thanks to the London 2012 Olympics, event volunteering is booming in popularity and why shouldn’t it?! It is a great way to meet new people, experience exciting events for free whilst helping out your community and if that’s not enough as we mentioned before it doesn’t do any harm to put it on your CV.
Your first step should be a bit of research into local events in your community. There are some great companies out there, like vInspired, who list vacancies for volunteering positions. You can search in your local area so you don’t even have to venture far from home if you don’t want to. Even if you don’t fancy any of the ones on their lists, it is a good place to see what sorts of positions are available and might give you some ideas for your preferred event to volunteer at.
Events that often are recruiting volunteers include all sorts of sporting events like marathons and other races, charity races and coaching. If sport isn’t your thing, other options cover music festivals and gigs – you even get to hear a bit of live music for free whilst volunteering, a great option for music lovers! There are also more unusual events that sometimes require volunteers like various workshops. If this isn’t enough to convince you that volunteering is the way forward, have a look at the other articles in our Voluntary Experience section.