Don’t ignore opportunity to volunteer

When an excellent opportunity to start your career, build skills and grow your network through internship or volunteering at a company presents itself, jump on it as experts say, this could be the key to starting your career.

It takes patience and perseverance for one to get a position after working as a volunteer for an organisation but most times it pays off, says Sharon Taaka, a finance officer at ABC bank, in Kampala. During her field placement, she worked at the bank for two years and was given the position as a permanent staff upon her graduation.

“When the position was advertised, I applied for it and got it. As a volunteer, I ensured that I took my work seriously. I did not look at myself as an intern, I worked like permanent staff,” says Taaka.

Yet for Solomon Erem, a graduate of Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies from Makerere University, not even waiting for the job can make him change his mind about volunteering. He has been volunteering at Youth for Peace Uganda as the youth leadership officer for the last two years but says he finds fulfillment in what he does and is optimistic it will grow his career someday. “I am aware there are not many jobs available out there. I am working here and I am sure this is going to help me grow and achieve my dream of serving humanity and fellow youth -a passion I have had my entire life,” says Erem.

The serving opportunities
Evelyn Zalwango, the president of Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), says there are many volunteering and internship opportunities in organisation but because people know they do not pay salaries, they never try them out.

“We have many interns at YALI and we recruit every year. People should take up the opportunities because out of these you grow and become real professionals,” says Zalwango.

Ian Waiswa, the director and founder of EUNISCA Uganda Ltd in Wandegeya, Kampala, says during recruitment for new positions, most of the employers and human resource managers look around the company first for that volunteer or intern who has been doing a good job to give priority.

“As budding organisations, we cannot sustain employees on a salary basis, so we scout for possible internship positions, but eventually as the organisation grows, the intern’s career grows too,” says Waiswa.

In most organisations, there would be no use of looking anywhere else for a new person to take up an opportunity if there is a hardworking intern or volunteer at their disposal.

Tips
1. Manage your time wisely and take on multiple tasks as this will make people in the organisation rely on you.
2. Meet your coworkers and make yourself known to the people in the company such that you can fit in and be part of them. This will make you confortable and you never know who will have a task and come to grow interest in you when you make yourself available.
3. Set goals after knowing the company’s expectations of you, it is good to set targets for yourself and keep evaluating yourself to see if the targets have been achieved or not.

You stand a big chance

Most human resource managers advise that taking your job seriously as a volunteer makes you kill two birds with one stone.
“As an intern you will understand and grow your career academically as you get good comments from you supervisors but also, you will get favour from your bosses in case there is an opening within the organisation,” says Patrick Mulumba, the human resource manager at Wall Investments Company in Nalukolongo.