The Benefits of Internships & Volunteer Experiences
I've get the opportunity to work with undergraduate and graduate level interns in the mental health field on a regular basis, and one of the things that I hear repeatedly, is the opportunity provides them with hands on skills that they can put on their resume to use as part of their way to sell their skills and experience at interviews.
In addition, I work with many volunteers who facilitate groups and add these skills to their resume as they search for work or want to go on to graduate school.
As you think about your career experience, any internships or volunteer experience you have throughout your life, what skills and benefits have you received that you can add to your resume to enhance a better description of your capability to sell your skills to potential employers?
If you've done an internship or volunteered somewhere that allowed you to get experience in your career field, how has this extended your experience with your interviews for employment?
Heya @HopeLives23
Hope you're having a lovely day!!!
Firstly, I wanna be clear here, I do not have experience volunteering in the mental health field outside of 7 Cups.
Now, that being said, I do have some amount of volunteering experience in the computer science field. Career-wise I'm hoping to get into software development once I'm done with my education. I have an immense interest in the field and I am very passionate about it.
My interest has also brought me way ahead of my peers in this field. As most of my classmates and friends learn how to write basic HTML, I'm making websites, because I took the initiative of taking programming courses even before high school.
Being one step forward then made me stand out when I applied to companies for internships while still in high school. So as most of my fellow interns were in or even past bachelor programs, I was/am still in high school and working alongside them, doing exactly the level of work they are.
Now I can't see the future but it seems plausible to me that if I keep this up, I will be better off when I step into the workforce because I will have at least double the experience my fellows will have. I will be aware of common industry practices and tools when my peers start experimenting with them to figure out what works. I will be ready to join a team as soon as I graduate instead of having to be taught everything from scratch.
And to top it all off, my CV would have a decent amount of work experience listed.
Again, I haven't yet tested my luck in the workforce but I think most factors are in my favor here. I think my volunteering and interning will make a difference, in both making my CV stand out to an employer, and in my own career and professional life.
This is just my two-cents worth, provided to you for a sum total of zero cents.
Hope this helps!