The Southern California Job Market : Making It Work : One Way to Get a Foot in the Door: Volunteer to Go in Free
Three years ago, Marc Silverman knew he wanted a job in the music business, but the hard-to-crack industry didn’t exactly have this recent liberal arts grad from UC Berkeley at the top of its hiring list.
So Silverman, whose sole career credential was being an avid fan of “experimental” bands, became one of a growing number of volunteers who contribute their time in exchange for experience they can later parlay into a paying job.
Silverman, 25, finally got that job at Alternative Distribution Alliance, a music company in Burbank. Not only did the unpaid internships he held for two years dress up his resume and give him the contacts he needed to land the job, it helped Silverman home in on areas of the music business he wanted to work in.
There are no firm figures on the use of volunteering as a deliberate career path, but consultants say the route has become a popular one with savvy job-seekers--especially in today’s highly competitive employment market.
Not even top college and university graduates can count on finding jobs in their fields, according to Susan W. Miller, a Los Angeles-based career counselor. Cost-conscious employers have cut down on campus interviewing and in-house training programs, turning instead to experienced applicants or those who have worked in a similar setting.
For a new entrant into the job market, volunteering or unpaid internships may be the only ways to amass those credentials.
“Having volunteer work differentiates these applicants from their peers,” says Patty Oertel, executive director of the Center for Non-Profit Management in Los Angeles. “It says to an employer, ‘Here is someone who at least knows something about working in an organizational setting.’ ”
The volunteer option is not just for new graduates. Alison Berka, 36, a Manhattan Beach mother of two, closed her mail-order business when her son, Max, was born in 1988. But even while she stays home to care for Max and his younger sister, Berka is planning her second career.
Building on the MBA degree and marketing skills she used in her mail-order business, she is using these years at home to add credentials in environmental work, a longtime interest. As a board member of Volunteers and Organizations Improving the Community’s Environment, Berka writes a regular column on environmental issues for a local newspaper serving the beach communities south of Los Angeles.
“My goal is to build my portfolio and improve my writing skills,” she says. Through her volunteer work and a course on solid-waste management at UCLA, Berka is also making valuable contacts who may be helpful in a few years when her children enter school and she re-enters the job market.
“As a mother, you do lots of demanding things that require creativity and management skills,” Berka says. “But you can’t just walk into an employer’s office and say, ‘Look at the great job I’ve done with my child; hire me. My work with VOICE gives me something that works better on a resume.”
If, like Berka, your goal is to translate volunteer experience into paid employment, experts recommend that you carefully research the organization you are offering your time to and the assignments available to volunteers.
“If you are going to lick envelopes as a volunteer, that is not going to prepare you for much,” warns Miller, the career counselor. “If you want to go into public relations, make sure your volunteer position is at a level that lets you author a brochure or write press releases.”
Nonprofit organizations in particular rely on volunteers for work that other organizations and businesses pay for. Among the highly marketable experiences available to volunteers in nonprofits are public relations, fund raising, event planning, program administration, bookkeeping, grant writing, publishing and paralegal work.
There are even organizations that exist to match the skills and interests of a potential volunteer with the needs of a particular business, government agency or community organization. The Volunteer Center of Los Angeles and its counterparts in the San Fernando Valley and Orange County provide this service.
“We will work with the person to custom-design something if they have a particular career interest” and are looking for experience in the field, says Janet Harrison of Los Angeles’ Volunteer Center.
In communities without such a center, the local United Way or city government can help direct you to specific volunteer opportunities.
But don’t assume organizations will give you these opportunities just because you’re willing to work for free. Like paying employers, volunteer-dependent businesses and nonprofit organizations have become highly selective, favoring people with a genuine interest in the field and useful skills.
Experts suggest learning as much as you can about the organization before applying for a volunteer position, in order to highlight the skills of yours that the organization needs.
And when you land the position, treat it like a real job. Otherwise, says Silverman, the plum assignments that look good on a resume and the job recommendations will go to someone else.
“You have to prove that you are a capable worker; you have to show up on time and you have to take responsibility,” he says. “You don’t want to be wasting your time.”
Resources for Volunteers
These Southern California volunteer centers will match prospective volunteers with organizations that need help.
* Volunteer Center of Los Angeles, 2117 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, (213) 484-2849
* Volunteer Center of San Fernando Valley, 8134 Van Nuys Blvd., Panorama City, (818) 908-5066
* Volunteer Center of San Gabriel Valley, 3301 Thorndale Road, Pasadena, (818) 792-6118
* Volunteer Center of Victor Valley, 15561 7th St., Victorville, (619) 245-8592
* Volunteer Center Newhall Court Office, 23747 Valencia Blvd., Valencia, (805) 253-7247
* La Mirada Volunteer Center, 12900 Bluefield Ave., La Mirada, (310) 943-0131
* Volunteer Center, South Bay-Harbor-Long Beach, 1230 Cravens Ave., Torrance, (310) 212-5009
* Volunteer Center of Greater Pomona Valley, 436 W. 4th St., Pomona, (909) 629-1187
* Volunteer Center of Greater Riverside, Riverside, (909) 686-4402
* Volunteer Center of Greater Orange County, 1000 E. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana, (714) 953-5757
* Volunteer Center Orange County West, 16168 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, (714) 375-7755
* Volunteer Center of the Inland Empire, 1481 N. Waterman, San Bernardino, (909) 884-2556
* Volunteer Center, United Way of San Diego County, San Diego, (619) 492-2090
