Why volunteering is great for your CV

INTO UEA student helping at a BBC children’s event

Studying abroad can do wonders for your CV but it’s not the only way to get yourself noticed. In our last post, we talked about how joining campus societies can boost your employability. But there’s another way to stand out to employers – by doing voluntary work in your host country.

Here are three reasons why volunteering adds that extra bit of “glitter” to your CV:

Reason 1: Volunteering shows that you’re caring, compassionate and considerate – who wouldn’t want to hire you?

Reason 2: It also demonstrates good time management skills – if you can juggle classes, studying, socialising AND volunteering, then you’re super organised.

Reason 3: Finally, it proves that you’re a team player – most voluntary work is done collaboratively, so it means that you know how to work well with others.

Aside from the obvious benefits to your CV, volunteering builds your confidence, helps you to make new friends and gives you a chance to contribute to the local community (plus there’s also that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you do something nice for someone else).

Making Cromer Beach more beautiful

Interested? We thought so. We’ve asked INTO’s Rachel Watkins to write about what’s going on in her centre…

Rachel: Here at INTO University of East Anglia we have over 500 participants in our INTO Volunteers programme. INTO Volunteers support new students by showing them around, answering questions, and leading tours. Everyone gets a certificate and the best of the bunch are promoted to being INTO Senior Volunteers (meaning they help train new recruits).

Tang Qianqian (Sissi), a former Pre-sessional English student at INTO UEA, says: “When I first arrived at my study centre I didn’t know what to do, but then an INTO volunteer came to help me. That made me decide to get involved so I joined the programme. Though I made lots of new friends and improved my language skills, the most rewarding part was making people smile”.

INTO UEA students have also been involved in other volunteer activities, including helping out at a BBC children’s TV event and with the Big Beach Clean at Cromer.

If you’re interested in volunteering, then good news – several INTO centres run volunteer schemes. Speak to your Student Services team for more information (it’s important to make sure that you don’t break any of your visa rules).

Want more CV development tips? Read about how part-time work, extra-curricular activities and joining clubs and societies can all make you more employable.

Follow your career dreams by studying at INTO University of East Anglia or at one of our other INTO centres in the UK, US or China.