Volunteering expands your knowledge of doing a particular job. Our organization operate exclusively with volunteers, but most use a core of them to supplement the regular staff. Selecting a quality volunteer experience means the difference between passing out fliers or picking up trash and helping to design organization policy. Look for key posting terms, including “recruit,” “develop,” “train” and “conduct,” to select a quality volunteer position providing you valuable career experience Internships of any kind (paid or unpaid, full or part-time; even volunteer work) are absolutely considered legitimate work experience for jobs and for other internships.

Internships allow you to experience a company’s real-time operations. Interns see management styles and organization transactions on a personal level. A quality internship treats you the same as an employee and provides an opportunity to explore the organization from several different jobs. Many colleges give credit for internships. Some schools and Universities local and international allow you to design your own internship for college credit. This allows you to work with an organization or business to create a semester or yearlong position. The value of internship isn’t counted in how much money you get but in how much you learn.

Experience gives you an insight into prospective job duties. Shadowing a professional at work allows a view of the career position, but many times the experience is an idealized view of the workday. Volunteering and internships offer a candid look at your prospective employer without the veneer of a guest experience. Selecting quality experiences includes careful examination of the position announcements and talking to the organization to determine what is involved in the volunteer position or internship.