Posted on: Monday, August 30, 2004

Charity work can further your career

By Mary Ellen Slayter
The Washington Post

I know you're busy — between job and family, friends, and maybe school, you barely have a moment to yourself. And yet I suggest you add one more obligation to the list: charity.

Many of us feel so overwhelmed by the demands of modern life that we can't imagine finding time to volunteer. But volunteering can help further your ambitions.

I'm not denying the warm and fuzzy feeling we can get when we share our resources with those less fortunate. But your motive need not be purely altruism. It's fine to get something in return for your contribution, even if it's just an opportunity to meet new people. Call it selfish volunteering.

The nonprofit organization doesn't care about your motivation, and you will still reap the benefits. In particular, volunteering can help your career. Here's how:

• A sense of perspective. Not a week passes when I don't receive at least one e-mail from an overachieving Ivy League type who thinks she's a failure because she hasn't found her "calling," as well as a way to translate it into the big bucks and accolades that she imagines her peers are enjoying. The complainers usually have perfectly nice jobs, cars and apartments but are miserable with their perception that everyone else is better off.

Average age of these malcontents: about 25.

Usually the wisdom that comes with age fixes this, but one way to accelerate the process is by working for a group such as Habitat for Humanity, which provides money, materials and some of the labor to build affordable housing. Spend some time alongside such hardworking folks and you'll get an attitude adjustment.

• A chance to develop leadership skills. Many larger organizations even have training programs for their most motivated volunteers, improving their skills in such crucial areas as project planning, meeting facilitation and event coordination. In most cases, it will be as simple as observing the current crop of leaders in the organization you work with and choosing a mentor with whom you click. Unlike in the paid work environment, the competition for the attention of the group's leaders isn't as fierce, and your interest will more likely be welcomed as a way to offload some of their work, as opposed to a threat to their power. If you eventually become a team leader or a committee member, include this on your résumé.

• A networking tool. This is perhaps the biggest career-related advantage of volunteering. It pulls you out of your limited work and social circles. You will meet new people as you work on projects and at fund-raising parties or dinners. If you're shy, volunteering at a fund-raiser could give you the low-key prop you need to mingle. Who knows? Perhaps while you're cooing over the silent-auction items, you will bump into your future boss.