Link it to LinkedIn

We have been told a million times over and it has been proved beyond dispute that volunteering benefits a volunteer! Volunteering leads to meeting new people, growing your network, polishing your soft skills and even acquiring diverse skill sets.

In today’s social media savvy environment however, it is almost imperative to showcase these skills you have acquired if you want them to fuel your career growth and progression.

Thanks to LinkedIn this is easily doable. Here’s how you can showcase the skills and experiences you picked up while volunteering:

1. Start by completing your LinkedIn profile:                                     Simply begin by clicking on ‘Complete your profile’ button. LinkedIn guides you through the process (with examples!)                            Linkled In Insights also has some really great ideas to help you create a great profile.
2. Add your volunteering projects: 
   1. Once you are done with adding professional details, add your volunteering projects too. Here you have the option of adding a specific date for projects of short duration or date range for long term and ongoing voluntary assignments.
   2. The ‘Description’ box is great place to add details about the Non-Profit you volunteered with, details of your volunteering project and even why you took it up.                      The ‘Volunteering Experience & Causes’ tab also allocates additional space to highlight: what kinds of volunteering opportunities you are looking for; details of causes you care about; organisations you support and would like to volunteer with.                                                              If you are looking to share more than a description of your project then this next tip is for you… 🙂                
   3. Add Volunteering assignments to the Projects section : 
      1. Another great way to showcase your voluntary work is to add volunteering assignments to the ‘Projects’ section. Here you can add a link / URL to share and show first hand what your voluntary assignment was about. This could be a link to the NGOs website or social media platforms or a link to your own blog or Facebook page.
      2. Space has also been provided to add collaborators to your project. Here you may tag a fellow volunteer or project team member if they have LinkedIn profiles or simply type in their names if they do not have profiles.

      Adding collaborators is a great way to share credit and thank fellow volunteers and project team members from the NGO!

   4. Add Skills that you picked up:                                                      If there’s one or more skills that you believe you picked up while volunteering then don’t forget to add it to the Skills and Endorsements section as well. You can reorder your skills to highlight the ones you want.
   5. Recommend a contact:                Volunteering projects are a great opportunity to meet and work with new people; from people who mentored you and helped with assignments to those who are simply great to work! Just like you would recommend a business/ professional contact extend the courtesy and recommend a fellow volunteer or Non-Profit team member and show them that you value their contribution too.

Lastly while revamping your profile be mindful of whether or not you want each update/ change made to your profile to be broadcast to all your contacts. As LinkedIn is a professional networking site it is important to ensure that you are aware of your account/ profile settings regardless of the choice you make.

Link your volunteering journeys to your growth as a professional and add new dimensions to your career!! 

P.S.: Stay active on LinkedIn by commenting, sharing  and joining in the conversation on topics you care about, including volunteering! Let’s stay connected!

Follow iVolunteer to share stories of fellow volunteers and receive updates on skill based volunteering opportunities 🙂