Anyone else volunteering?

[SilentAndShy]

To help myself find a job in administration, I decided to volunteer after hearing about a tutor on a training course who got a job after volunteering at his place.

I went to a voluntary company to register and they had opportunities available and I decided to go with them.

It's my third week and I do two days a week and I'm really enjoying it! The job duties are good: data entry, responding to phone/email messages, and social media work which I enjoy but also interviewing fellow volunteers which I did my first one today and it was daunting but tried to use humour to relax myself and my supervisor really praised me.

All in all, I find myself to have boosted my confidence in three weeks than in three months! On a professional level, I feel slightly more optimistic and the experiences are helping me in my covering letters when applying for work.

I would definitely recommend to volunteer just to get one out of the house and practicing communication and body language and eye contact.

 

[chatterbox71]

I'm so happy for you! I began volunteering at our local crisis center in June. There are a handful of paid staff, but otherwise, it's run by volunteers--primarily a food bank and a crisis hotline/chat room, but also many other amazing services that are made possible via donations and food rescue. I don't think we receive any government funding, which makes the place all the more amazing.

I'm loving my experience, too. I went from bagging groceries to stocking shelves to working reception--and will soon be conducting interviews with new clients. I like the "direct action", and I like working with people who give a damn about the tough stuff many of us face. I think this is what most people find from being involved in their place of worship. I've been looking for it for a long time--but I think in the wrong places.

Since your screen name is what it is, I'm especially happy for you that you feel more at ease communicating with others--and that your supervisor noticed this talent!

 

[jaim38]

That's good! I volunteer too but spent much time doing administrative stuff. I've since learnt much about email etiquette. Sometimes I do interviews on skype or phone. It has definitely contributed to decreasing my phone fear. Sometimes I get to try out my IT skills with website admin and other stuff. I still have eye contact issues though.

 

[chatterbox71]

It has definitely contributed to decreasing my phone fear. I still have eye contact issues though.

--Hi. I've also found that the work I do at an internship (also volunteer/unpaid) has helped me immensely with phone fear--but with me, it's just at that position. In my other volunteer work, I'm scared to death to pick up the phone! I think this is in part because I don't understand how to transfer calls, if I need to--and that is easily remedied with a "cheat sheet" I just need to get around to creating. Do you find that your phone fear has decreased in your personal life, as a result of your volunteer work? Mine persists, but I sure wish it wouldn't. Drives me crazy.

I have eye contact problems, too--though only with people with whom I feel inadequate.

 

[jaim38]

--Hi. I've also found that the work I do at an internship (also volunteer/unpaid) has helped me immensely with phone fear--but with me, it's just at that position. In my other volunteer work, I'm scared to death to pick up the phone! I think this is in part because I don't understand how to transfer calls, if I need to--and that is easily remedied with a "cheat sheet" I just need to get around to creating. Do you find that your phone fear has decreased in your personal life, as a result of your volunteer work? Mine persists, but I sure wish it wouldn't. Drives me crazy.

I have eye contact problems, too--though only with people with whom I feel inadequate.

Yes, I think my phone fear has certainly decreased due to volunteer work, as long as I have a script/outline/cheat sheet with me. Otherwise, I'd be lost for words. Many years ago when I had my first job at an office, I was horrible at customer support. People would call the front desk but I wouldn't know who to transfer calls to. I didn't know about cheat sheets. One customer was so frustrated by my incompetence that she spoke to my supervisor about it. I feel so embarassed.

 

[Draconess25]

I'd love to volunteer at an animal shelter or something, but my SA is a bit too severe right now....:/

 

[dandriv25]

To help myself find a job in administration, I decided to volunteer after hearing about a tutor on a training course who got a job after volunteering at his place.

I went to a voluntary company to register and they had opportunities available and I decided to go with them.

It's my third week and I do two days a week and I'm really enjoying it! The job duties are good: data entry, responding to phone/email messages, and social media work which I enjoy but also interviewing fellow volunteers which I did my first one today and it was daunting but tried to use humour to relax myself and my supervisor really praised me.

All in all, I find myself to have boosted my confidence in three weeks than in three months! On a professional level, I feel slightly more optimistic and the experiences are helping me in my covering letters when applying for work.

I would definitely recommend to volunteer just to get one out of the house and practicing communication and body language and eye contact.

That's great! Volunteering really helped me and gave me a confidence boost. It was unpaid and so became too expensive to travel there and pay room/board. I was a volunteer in a theater running sound desk for concerts. Gave me a sense of responsibility and feeling of worth. I might go back again soon though.

Volunteering is great to boost your confidence. I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

 

[Silatuyok]

I've done a lot of volunteering and I highly recommend it to anyone. Most of the time you don't need any special skills (including social skills), and it's a great way to meet other nice people who have the same interests as you. And people are always very appreciative of volunteers. I volunteered with lots of animal-related organizations, and slowly built up a network within my city's animal welfare scene. It helped me get my foot in the door and now I have an awesome job that I love, working with animals. Everyone should try it! It's also a great way to expand your horizons, find new interests, and broaden your skill sets. It's win win win for everybody.

 

[SilentAndShy]

I still have eye contact issues though.

Me too! I work downstairs on reception most times and I'm ok with eye contact as it's normally the receptionist I say hi to. But sometimes I work upstairs where there are more people and I just tend to say hi to someone that I know but not make wider eye contact. But hopefully I can improve that by reminding myself to look around as I walk in.

In my other volunteer work, I'm scared to death to pick up the phone! I think this is in part because I don't understand how to transfer calls, if I need to--and that is easily remedied with a "cheat sheet" I just need to get around to creating. Do you find that your phone fear has decreased in your personal life, as a result of your volunteer work? Mine persists, but I sure wish it wouldn't. Drives me crazy.

I have eye contact problems, too--though only with people with whom I feel inadequate.

I'm OK answering the phone I'm supposed to use and making outbound calls but sometimes the reception phone rings and even though I've been told I don't need to pick it up - I get panicky when it rings and no-ones there due to me thinking I might be forced to pick it up and I'll not know who the person wants me to transfer them too and it'll be look bad on the company.

Main thing this volunteering is helping me with is routine, just being out of the house and into two days of work. The people there have helped me to identify new employment goals with my skills and that's really appreciated.

 

[SilentAndShy]

OK. So this is my fourth week of volunteering and had a weird situation with a colleague.

We have a small team of four and I've met 1 of them, one of them I haven't and one I met today.

The latter one I met today, well, let's say we had a poor introduction. I was sat on a computer I've been on since I've started, there's another computer also next to it but I didn't realise it mattered where I sat. This morning, I caught the lady coming in and I turned my body to smile (what I've been trying to do more of) and introduce myself. I didn't get the chance.

She just said: "Would you mind moving to that computer as I sit here". First thing she said, not even Good Morning so I thought, no point causing a fuss so I moved. It unnerved me abit because then I didn't have the confidence to introduce myself and just did my work. I assume she knows I'm a new starter as I'm the only Asian guy there and my name's on the rota. I mentioned about having appointments in the morning to which she quickly replied "Yeah I know" which was my way of creating conversation.

So, the morning unfolded and I sat in on one of her interviews. I can sense I'm going to find it difficult to engage with her as she seems blunt at times. Do I really push the boat out or do I just do my work and speak to her when necessary? I'd do the latter as everyone else is fine and I only work with her one morning.

Secondly, I had abit of a nervous moment. I did some filing and went to my supervisor who was having a group conversation with some other colleagues - about what music they had at their funeral - and I just went over after my filing and I just stood there, smiling to show them I was finding the conversation humorous (which I was abit) but I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say. I became abit hot and fidgety. Any advice on that?

Thank you.

 

[MikeyC]

She just said: "Would you mind moving to that computer as I sit here". First thing she said, not even Good Morning so I thought, no point causing a fuss so I moved. It unnerved me abit because then I didn't have the confidence to introduce myself and just did my work. I assume she knows I'm a new starter as I'm the only Asian guy there and my name's on the rota. I mentioned about having appointments in the morning to which she quickly replied "Yeah I know" which was my way of creating conversation.

So, the morning unfolded and I sat in on one of her interviews. I can sense I'm going to find it difficult to engage with her as she seems blunt at times. Do I really push the boat out or do I just do my work and speak to her when necessary? I'd do the latter as everyone else is fine and I only work with her one morning.

She sounds like trouble, although you are both new to each other. She might warm up to you in time.

Good on you for volunteering, mate. Helping others is a rewarding experience, and can even make you happier and lower stress levels. You're doing a good thing for more than just other people.

 

[SilentAndShy]

She sounds like trouble, although you are both new to each other. She might warm up to you in time.

Good on you for volunteering, mate. Helping others is a rewarding experience, and can even make you happier and lower stress levels. You're doing a good thing for more than just other people.

I don't want to tag her as trouble yet but I think she comes from an education background (think she worked at a college) so I'm assuming that bluntness comes from that but going to be polite etc, and see if I can break her down! (Not literally obviously! lol).

Thanks mate, already enjoying it and regret I didn't do it sooner. Just brings abit of routine to my week and it's a highlight of it.

 

[SilentAndShy]

Just finished my volunteering for this year and been doing it for 6 weeks and have to recommend it to anyone.

I'm shy, with bit of anxiety and it's been a fantastic platform to overcome some shyness by doing the things I'm good and doing things that I might not have dared do (engaging with members of the public, speaking up in meetings, going to a Xmas party and talking to people at a smaller event).

For those who are shy, maybe requiring a boost in confidence, maybe give it a try