February 9, 2021

The Joy of Volunteering & Impact on Your Career

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of presenting for an organization that is near and dear to my heart. If you know me, you know my passion for Alpha Phi Fraternity (I joined this sorority during my college years at Washington State University) and how it has been a part of my life since I graduated from college. Every year around this time, I am usually headed to a destination to gather with many other Alpha Phi’s and newly elected leaders from campuses all over the US and Canada to engage in leadership development and social engagement. Of course, this year proved to be a little different as we met virtually for the first time. Even though things felt a little different and I missed the face-to-face interaction, I am reinvigorated and inspired by the volunteer work I get to do for this organization. As I reflect on the past weekend, I am able to draw the correlation of how much volunteering has provided to me in my career thus far and how it continues to do so.

One of my many roles at Alpha Phi is Co-Chair for the Strategy Committee. Our committee mission is to recruit women for our chapters who are living by the values our founders set forth, keeping our members safe and enriching the collegiate experience. At JeffreyM Consulting, we focus on recruiting the best talent in marketing to help our client’s push their business objectives forward and at the same time we strive to enhance our consultants experience. Within my role at JeffreyM, I am able to draw from both my experiences with my volunteer work as well as from my professional experience to give back to young women across the country. I believe that one of the gifts that volunteering gives me, among others, is the opportunity to get a fresh perspective. Being immersed within the collegiate culture exposes me to young women who are eager, who push the limits and provide new ideas and insights that aren’t bogged down with office politic undertones. Hearing these insights allows me to keep a fresh lens on my daily job and to have a grasp on the mindset of the newest generation of candidates.

With volunteering, I also draw insights from my fellow volunteer colleagues, who all work within a variety of professions. These intelligent women are pushing the boundaries in all areas, not just within marketing and consulting. This allows me to interact with a diverse group I normally wouldn’t have access to, where I learn and apply skills and thought leadership to my own professional development. As we navigated several topics relating to Alpha Phi during our conference, I realize leadership, perception and compromise happen in all aspects of life. Understanding that when we work with people these fundamentals are at the forefront allows us to best navigate any situation.

A lot of the time, people are baffled at how much of my time I dedicate to my organization. Though it is times like these, where I am fresh from an inspiring leadership conference, where I see how much my professional growth, development and contributions are impacted. I am to draw from my experiences working at Alpha Phi and apply them professionally, as well as the other way around. Both in my volunteer world and at JeffreyM, there are always a lot of things happening in the background that help drive the organization forward that most from the outside don’t see. I like being the silent one behind the scenes to allow for growth and opportunity for others.

I also feel very grateful that JeffreyM sees the value in my volunteer work and supports my dedication to my outside organization. I am reminded every January when I support our local chapter with their recruitment, and then attending this conference to give time to young women getting ready to start their careers. The future is upon us and I feel if there is any way I can make an impact to our future leaders, I have done my part.

To summarize the ways in which I have experienced volunteering can help with your professional development:

  1. Opportunity to meet new people
  2. Challenged in a different way
  3. Develop new skills
  4. Determine your career goals
  5. Improve your hard and soft skills
  6. Impact a community
  7. Make impactful connections and builds your network
  8. Relieve stress and anxiety
  9. Increase self confidence
  10. Face new experiences and challenge yourself

So – if you are feeling stuck or stagnate in your career, I say look around you to see what you are passionate about and see if they have volunteer opportunities. I strongly believe that through giving your time to others, it will help you grow, develop and recharge your career – as it has for me.

With that being said, as Lead of our Community: Volunteerism & Philanthropy sub-committee within our JeffreyM CSR Committee, if you are looking for volunteer resources, or would like the opportunity to highlight the efforts you are already making, or have ideas on how JeffreyM and/or our employees can be involved in important community efforts, reach out to me at [email protected].

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