When Anita Lussetti’s parents were dying, the family was supported by volunteers at Mercy Palliative Care.<\/p>\n
The IT worker, then in her 40s, took six months off from her job to care for her parents, and was considering a career change at the same time.<\/p>\n
“I decided that I needed something that gave me more purpose,” she says.<\/p>\n
She began volunteering with Uniting Care, visiting socially isolated people, and decided to enrol in a degree in counselling.<\/p>\n
“The volunteering just assured me that I was on the right path doing the right things,” she says.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Anita was working in IT for a bank before she started volunteering to try out a career change. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Anita now works as a trauma counsellor and hasn’t looked back.<\/p>\n
“I’m in the best job of my life,” she says.<\/p>\n
Why volunteer<\/p>\n
In Australia, an estimated 5 million people volunteer for various reasons.<\/p>\n
A survey of employers found that 85 per cent valued volunteering as work experience when hiring.<\/p>\n
Volunteering Australia CEO Mark Pearce says it can help build connections and help get a foot in the door in industries you may be new to.<\/p>\n
“It provides the opportunity for people to develop skills, to build networks, to gain experience.”<\/p>\n
Volunteering can include many different activities, such as working in kitchens.\u00a0 (ABC News: Rachael Lucas)<\/p>\n
Rachel Hannam, a psychologist specialising in career counselling, says it can be a great way to get into a role, or get a better view of an industry or organisation.<\/p>\n
“I’ve certainly sent clients to volunteering and they’ve found plenty of organisations which love having volunteers and it’s often been a stepping stone for them, either psychologically or materially because they’ve ended up with paid work,” she says.<\/p>\n
“It’s what we call a realistic job preview. So you give yourself a preview of what it might be like to work in a particular industry or organisation,” Dr Hannam says.<\/p>\n
Mr Pearce says it can be a beneficial stepping stone for a number of different industries.<\/p>\n
“We’ve certainly seen it a lot in industries like health and aged care, things to do with environment and animal welfare and also with organisations and industries involved in things like disaster recovery preparedness and relief.<\/p>\n
“People will often get involved with the SES, which does a remarkable job in communities, they love it, they build experience, they become conversant with the language of the organisation and the sector, and then they may well look to gain employment in that sector.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An SES volunteer helping out after ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper tore through Cairns. (
\n ABC News: Michael Lloyd
\n )<\/p>\n
Volunteering is not just free labour<\/p>\n
While valuable for experience, it’s important to note that volunteering is not just free labour.<\/p>\n
Volunteering Australia notes that the definition<\/a> of volunteering is, “time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain.”<\/p>\n “This is a really important definition,” Mr Pearce says.<\/p>\n Volunteering is distinct from unpaid internships or work experience.<\/p>\n Volunteering shouldn\u2019t be a sacrifice, but an expression of belonging<\/a><\/p>\n Australia can no longer afford to treat volunteering as a nostalgic value. It is a priority that must evolve with the society it\u2019s meant to serve. But guilt won\u2019t fix the current volunteer shortfall.<\/p>\n Mr Pearce says volunteering has positive impacts on community, and can include animal welfare, arts, heritage, business, unions, emergency services, health, religion, law and welfare.<\/p>\n “It’s time willingly given for the common good. And this speaks for things like, for example, causes and others.”<\/p>\n Dispersing the fantasy<\/p>\n Volunteering can also help you understand how suitable an organisation is for you and how aligned it is with your values.<\/p>\n Sometimes, it can remove a misconception about a job.<\/p>\n Has volunteering helped you with a career change or decision? Share with us here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Dr Hannam says she’s had clients who volunteered at an animal rescue and chose not to pursue it.<\/p>\n “It could have been other people, or it could have been the work was really not what they thought \u2014 [for example] It was monotonous and boring.<\/p>\n “Sometimes we have this idealised and fantasy idea of volunteering and working in this kind of an organisation, and so often in life, our fantasies are blown up by reality.”<\/p>\n Dr Hannam herself had a “fantasy” of working as a school teacher.<\/p>\n “I remember I wanted to be a primary school teacher, had a fantasy of it, idealised the idea of being this awesome school teacher and I actually became a teacher \u2014 and it was a shock to the system of how different in reality it was to my fantasy,” she says.<\/p>\n Some people have volunteered with the SES and it has led to paid work.\u00a0 (Supplied: NSW SES\u00a0)<\/p>\n If volunteering doesn’t feel like an option<\/p>\n Volunteering may not be suitable for a number of reasons. If you’re time-poor, or the locations don’t work, or the type of job you want to move into simply doesn’t facilitate voluntary work.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n