March 28, 2024

5 Self-made volunteer opportunities for business students

5 Self-made volunteer opportunities for business students

The biggest worry that many soon-to-be college graduates often have is their lack of relevant work experience to put on their resume and discuss in job interviews.

Employers want to see previous experience because they want to know that your skills have been proven and tested. By having previous experience when they ask you, “Why should I hire you?” you can go beyond just telling them about your GPA or the classes you took in school; you can show them how you applied what you learned in the real world situation.

That is why it’s important to gain experience before graduating and pursuing your first job so you can set yourself apart from the competition.

To help you get started, here are 5 ways that you can create volunteer opportunities that will give you the chance to test your skills in the real world. These opportunities can give you valuable work experience that could give you the jump-start you need to get started on your career path as a business professional.

1. Get Involved in Community Events

While many people don’t necessarily participate in charity events as a way to gain experience, volunteering at local community events is a great way to gain experience that you can discuss during a job interview. From calling residents, to collect donations, to registering runners at a 5K, you can use this experience to exhibit your sales or business administration skills. Talk about a win-win situation.

2. Help Small Business Owners

Many small business owners struggle with new trends and technologies. As a way for you to gain business experience, try connecting with a business owner and offer to assist them with their social media marketing activities. This way you can offer to help them in an area that they may not know much about while you get to experience that you can show off to your potential future employer.

3. Volunteer at a Church

A lot like small businesses, churches are often also in need of assistance in different activities. From helping out with things like social media to even coordinating events there are great opportunities to gain experience. This way you can show employers that you have more than just experience in a classroom.

4. Find Opportunities Online

Finding volunteer opportunities that go beyond packaging food or picking up trash on the highway can sometimes be difficult. Try using sites like Volunteer Match or Serve where you can search based on keywords such as business administration, marketing, or sales. This makes it much easier to find specific places to volunteer that can provide you with in-person or online business experience opportunities for starting your career.

5. Start Your Own Business

As unrealistic as it may seem, remember that you are not expecting to become the next Mark Zuckerburg. You could start your own blog, sell direct-to-consumer products, or maybe you actually have your own business idea that you would like to try to get off the ground. The opportunities here are truly all endless and the experiences that you have and gain will be priceless, impressive, and extremely beneficial.

About Grant Tilus – Grant Tilus works for Rasmussen College. He believes that with hard work and determination anything is possible. He enjoys writing about higher education to assist individuals on choosing a college and seeing the benefits of how earning a degree can help them change their lives for the better.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *