As a young adult and student, university years can be some of the best of your life! You gain lifelong friends, partying, discounts at stores and so much more. But what happens after you graduate?
A struggle many graduates have is trying to find a job immediately after their studies, this becomes a daunting task because many applicants get rejected on the basis of having no experience. The image above, although funny, is the truth. Many companies today want to hire graduates that have years of experience and expertise, but the question many students have is: How can you gain experience as a full-time student?
There is a solution.
Get involved in various institutions and volunteer programmes at your university and outside of university. Examples of these programmes would be, Varsity newspaper society, United Nations Association of SA, Amnesty International, Film society, Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and so much more. There will be a blog update specifically on the programmes you can get involved in. It seems time consuming and requires commitment but these are things you can manage within your student life.
Before indulging in how to get involved, let’s pose the question why get involved? How does this benefit me?
Benefits
Here are some of the many benefits of volunteering or getting involved:
- You learn a lot, which aids you in being a well-rounded person
- Boosts self-esteem and confidence
- Builds and strengthens community
- Promotes personal growth
- Helps you gain professional experience
- Helps build your resume (which can count as ‘experience’ for job applications)
- Allows you to discover your own strengths and weaknesses
- Can ultimately lead to you finding what your passion is, hence helping you choose a future career.
Being involved is a continuous process. Remember, volunteering and getting involved doesn’t have to start in your university life and is also not limited to campus involvement. Start getting involved as a high school learner already and join various organisations. Also get involved in institutions that are outside university and in the community. All these involvements allow you to gain the necessary skills and experience you need for a work environment and will push you to the front of the line when applying for jobs as a graduate. So get out there, get involved, and start building yourself to your fullest potential!
Involve to Evolve 