Volunteering: The Top Five Benefits

Volunteering is not just good for the people and communities that volunteers help, it is good for the depths of the soul. When an individual volunteers, they experience a significant amount of personal benefits that will have a positive impact on the rest of their life. They get to meet new people, will begin to feel better overall, and experience a personal growth that they will not find anywhere else.

Meet new people

When a person volunteers, they are often in a group of other volunteers. This may seem awkward at first, but in the long run, many volunteers can become lifelong friends. Volunteers that work abroad may share a room and be thrust into a new world, giving them an instant connection with each other. Individuals that volunteer with a CRO (contract research organization) may have the same illness and wind up with a great support system. Wherever a person volunteers, there is an opportunity for friendship.

Feel better

When a person does something good for another person, it can make them feel warm and cozy inside, even if it is simply delivering a hot meal to a homeless person. When a person volunteers with an organization that has an impact on an entire community or the world, it can multiply this feeling times one hundred. Volunteering can make you feel better, boost your self-confidence and reduce your stress level.

Help the world

Volunteering at organizations that have a global impact, such as a CRO (contract research organization), give volunteers the chance to have a positive impact on the entire world. Many CRO's (contract research organizations) work closely with companies to design clinical trials. They then help them make their plans, ensuring that trials are carried out successfully. CROs (contract research organizations) are often responsible for the discover of new drugs and vaccines that help save lives all over the world.

Boost your resume

This sounds a bit self-serving, which is the opposite of what volunteering is supposed to be about, but the truth is: volunteering looks great on a resume. If you are in between jobs and want to fill that gap, volunteering can do that. It will look great on a resume, job application and college application, boosting your chances of landing a higher paid position.

Candidates that volunteer are believed to have a higher emotional IQ than other job candidates, typically have more empathy, which makes them excellent at customer service positions, and often have better social skills. If an employer has to choose between two equally qualified candidates, and one has volunteered while the other has not, the one that volunteered will more than likely get the job.

Better social skills

Individuals that choose to volunteer often experience more personal growth than people that do not. This is due to them being thrust into new situations, new environments and meeting more people. In short, they are not inside of their comfort zones.

When people leave their comfort zones, they overcome obstacles and begin to grow more as a person. This is what results in a higher emotional IQ, better social skills and a more mature attitude.

Volunteering can provide several benefits to the people who are receiving services and the volunteers themselves. Local volunteer opportunities, such as volunteering to pick up trash at a local park, are a great way to get started. If an individual would like to have a larger impact on the world, CRO (contract research organizations) are a great place to start. After that, volunteers can look into volunteer vacations and other great opportunities that will allow them to see the world.

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