Choosing a volunteering role Step 1: Identifying your Goals

With so many volunteering roles available, we understand that it can be hard to decide which roles to apply to! If you are not sure where to start, we hope that this series of news articles can help. 

The first step is identify your goals.

Volunteering is a great way to achieve your goals - whether they are smaller, day to day goals or longer-term life goals. That is why figuring out what you want to get out of volunteering is a good first step.

For example, if you want to be more active, you could volunteer at a sports club.

Or, if you would like to develop experience to work in the creative industries, you could volunteer as an events steward for a community arts organisation.

If you don’t have a specific goal in mind, think about what you hope to get out of volunteering, or look at some of the benefits of volunteering and identify what resonates with you or inspires you.

Making sure your volunteering is aligned with goals that are meaningful to you will make it easier to justify spending time volunteering.

It is important to eliminate any roles which would not be able to help you achieve your goals. For example, if you are looking for work experience, you should check if the organisation if able to offer you a reference and if there is any criteria.