Is volunteering at a charity shop a good way to get on the CV ladder?

Emilylarkin

Hello! I'm emilylarkin (not real name). I am a mental health service user. I have never been employed, and live with family. I would like to start a life of my own - I plan to move out early next year once I have my benefits sorted.

My mental health services have arranged for me to volunteer at a charity shop. I've been to the interview, and I'm confident that I got the position. It'll be a combination of point-of-sale work and working behind the scenes. I don't know the hours yet, but as I'm off school for the foreseeable future I can do most anything. Is this a good way of getting on the ladder of things to put on my CV, or should I ask about another placement? Could I have multiple volunteering gigs at once?

asajj

I have been volunteering for a charity for about 4 years and I found that it has been useful for me - now it is not related to my actual job but I found that employers liked the idea that I did give my time for something I believed in.

Also it helped me to gain some good skills in communicating with others, serving clients etc.

So I'd say it would definitely

Emilylarkin

asajj wrote: »

I have been volunteering for a charity for about 4 years and I found that it has been useful for me - now it is not related to my actual job but I found that employers liked the idea that I did give my time for something I believed in.

Also it helped me to gain some good skills in communicating with others, serving clients etc.

So I'd say it would definitely

Thank you! I'll stick at the idea. I appreciate the advice.

topaztiger1983

I volunteered at a charity shop before I got my current job & I believe that it helped me to get my current job (although not in the same industry as my job)

So stick at it as at the very least shows that you have the capacity to work & can also give you a reference too, also employers will look favourably on voluntary work as they can see that you have not just sat on you butt waiting for work to come to you

Good luck

Londonsu

I am a paid manager in a charity shop, I volunteered in one when I lost my job in printing it was that volunteering experience that got me this job at age 59 in an unemployment black spot.


My assistant manager was also a volunteer before she got this job
she started off on workfare working for her benefits in another charity shop liked it so much she became a regular volunteer and now she has paid work

TELLIT01

Absolutely, working as a volunteer will be a great start for your CV. It shows a determination to work as it clearly isn't driven by the money :-)
As for doing more than one volunteer job at a time, you can certainly do that but my advice would be to take on one to start with and see how that goes. If you haven't been working I suspect that you will be pretty tired at the end of the week with just one job. Good luck.

noelphobic

I currently volunteer for 6 charities, although I didn't start with all of them at once! I have just started a paid job and think my voluntary work really helped.

I haven't as yet dropped any of my volunteer roles (my paid work is only for 15 hours a week) but will do so if it starts to become a problem.

buckle

Before doing voluntary work make sure you can get a detailed work reference. If the charity shop owner has a policy saying they don't do references then you don't want to work there for free.

scooby088

Now I dont want to sound like a stick in the mud but I had applied for many voluntary positions and was turned down for all. If anyone thinks its easy to get into volunteering its not, its just as hard as getting a paid position.

noelphobic

scooby088 wrote: »

Now I dont want to sound like a stick in the mud but I had applied for many voluntary positions and was turned down for all. If anyone thinks its easy to get into volunteering its not, its just as hard as getting a paid position.

It does seem to be getting more competitive but I've never been turned down for any of the voluntary roles I've applied for. Were you given any reasons for being turned down?

scooby088

noelphobic wrote: »

It does seem to be getting more competitive but I've never been turned down for any of the voluntary roles I've applied for. Were you given any reasons for being turned down?

r

No reason, just like with applying for non volunary roles. But I guess it also came down to the hours I could do too.