Volunteering can make you more employable. Getting out there in the community can help you build the sorts of skills that you’re going to need in a fast-changing and competitive jobs market, such as:
- Problem Solving
- Creativity
- Collaboration
- Cognitive flexibility
- Emotional Intelligence
Pick the right role and boost your employability
Step 1: Think about your strengths and weaknesses, using the above five skills areas as a starting point. If you want to go even further, use our Key Skills Grid.
Step 2: Now identify a handful of areas you’d like to work on – both strengths and weaknesses.
Step 3: Also think about whether there are any technical skills or types of experiences you’ll need for your chosen career. If you’ve not already spoken to UCL Careers, now would be a good time to do so!
Step 4: Now have a look at what’s on offer and see what will help you get the skills and experiences you need. Or just drop us an email and we’ll send you some suggestions from our current vacancies list.
What have other students done?
Emma Bunting (Phd Neuroscience) volunteered with Empathy Action as part of the UCL Consultancy Challenge. "Volunteering has provided me with skillsets and contacts I wouldn’t have if I’d just spent the last 3 years glued to my lab bench."
Lou Baigneres (Economics) volunteered as a Sports Coach with Keen London. "It helped me develop my communication, leadership, and teamwork skills, which will all be invaluable for my personal development and future career."
Shiqi Li (Msc Translation and Technology) volunteered with Training Link as an Adult Literacy Volunteer. " It gives me a lot of English teaching experience, teaching non-native speakers English ...I am working with people from Bangladesh and Ukraine, and I always feel like I can learn about cultures and ways of life that are different from my upbringing. "
Kaito Mizukoshi (BSc Management Sciences) was a leader of a Student-led Project, UCLef. "I've been able to learn project management, as well as leadership skills at the same time."
Also, read our Alumni Stories to see how volunteering has propelled former UCL students into their careers.
Once you’ve starting volunteering
Employers love people who are prepared to do something extra. But what do you really want them to know about you?
When you sit down to write your CV, take a bit of time to think about how volunteering shaped you as a person. What skills have you gained? What stories could you tell to show how you’ve developed?
If you’d like some help with CV writing, or with talking through how to best present your volunteering to employers, do speak to UCL Careers.
Come to a workshop
We run workshops about the best way to present your experience to prospective employers
Find out how to talk about the skills you’ve learnt and identify areas for personal development. It’s also great for identifying the volunteering opportunities that will help you develop the key skills that employers are looking for. Find out how to ensure that your volunteering can give your CV and job applications a boost, and how to improve your chances of getting your dream job.
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