The employability of volunteering
Declan Heather, who studied Politics and Social Policy BA at Swansea, and is now Student Activities Coordinator at Imperial College Union, tells us how volunteering with Discovery has had an impact on his working life
Declan back in 2017 volunteering for Discovery
“Every role
that I’ve held since University has relied almost wholly on the confidence
and passion for the not-for-profit sector that I developed while volunteering
at Discovery. Despite numerous roles held since University, the experiences
gained through volunteering with Discovery always feature heavily in every
application or interview. This is a direct result of the breadth of experiences
Discovery offered me, from strategic planning, financial
responsibility and an often overlook but invaluable skill of being able to
work with a diverse range of teams within a range of situations. I’ve no doubt
that without my volunteering experiences gained at Discovery I wouldn’t have
got to an interview for my current role, nevermind be offered the
role.
Discovery offered me a whole range of experiences from
delivering training, supporting other volunteers and working on the
Finance subgroup as trustee, to name a few. All of these experiences led to me
experiencing with imposter syndrome, which was common for me throughout
University. With the support and encouragement from the incredible Discovery
staff team, and fellow volunteers I was able to overcome this time and time
again. My increased confidence as a result of this, along with feeling
comfortable enough to apply for and hold roles has led me to be in the role I
am in now. During lockdown this has helped considerably as I’m often having to
make decisions, develop processes and troubleshoot without my team physically
around me to offer support and guidance.
In lockdown I’ve been volunteering with my old colleagues at Crisis, helping to resource, sort and distribute supplies to various temporary homelessness shelters across London. I believe that volunteering has never been more important, communities need to come together to provide support for one another. If you can volunteer, reach out to your local volunteering centre or service and ask what help they need. They’ll appreciate it and I’m almost certain you will to.”