One of the challenges workers face while they're beached between jobs is keeping their portfolios, skills, and passion for their profession current. Hiring managers tend to lean toward folks who are engaged in, and excited about, something that they're currently working on.
So, what do you do if you're unemployed? Should you create a project for the heck of it?
That's certainly one option; but there's a better one.
You can offer your talent to a not-for-profit organization pro bono.
Why would you do this when you could be sleeping-in and hanging out on the couch playing with your Wii?
Please don't tell me that you don't know.
But just in case, I'll clue you in.
- Your skill set can be fresh, or it can be stale. Fresh is better, and a little volunteer work can give you that.
- When you go to an interview and you're asked what you're working on, you'll have something other than unemployment to talk about.
- You'll appear as a generous human being, the kind who pitches-in when the need arises.
- You'll make new connections. Most not-for-profits have powerful, influential executives on their Boards of Directors and chances are good that your gratis gesture will be made known to them. Who knows, if they can't use you at their own companies, they might just tell their friends about you or something you did.
- Karma, or at least you'll sleep better knowing that you did something to better the world today.
If you need help finding a place to volunteer, Idealist.org can lead you to 83,761 not-for-profits. Find the ones near your home, or those that you care about, and give them a call.
