Volunteering is an essential tool for personal and professional development. Volunteering opens up a new world for you in which you can try on new “hats”. Hats are meant to be understood as “roles”. In business, people are required to wear many different hats all at once. Often it is by wearing different hats that we are able to learn the most about ourselves and our personal interests and capabilities. You may also find that the skills you develop while volunteering help you to engage in better coping and adaptive behaviors in your day-to-day life.

Whether you are in high school or in post-secondary education, volunteering can provide you with a means for learning more about a particular topic. This can range from learning about the day-to-day work in a hospital, learning about how a fitness centre runs from the inside or learning about a particular job in more depth. These practical details can often help you to sketch out a more realistic picture of your dream job or to give you the insider information that will help you to land a job in the future.

Volunteering is a great way to develop yourself personally and professionally and I recommend doing more than just the bare minimum required in high school. If you have time, try experimenting with different volunteer placements or stay somewhere for a few years. There is a lot to be learned by volunteering your time and there are always benefits to volunteering that you can take advantage of. Without volunteering there would be no access to many areas of our social world that are of interest. Take advantage of your free access to the places that interest you and best of luck on your journey to self development and professional success!