Corporate impact careers – Volunteering as a path to your impact career
Becoming a leader through volunteering
Sometimes we can feel stuck in our careers. Feeling stuck from a career pivot that just isn’t happening as fast as you want it to. Feeling stuck from a leadership opportunity that just isn’t available through your current role. Feeling stuck that your impact potential is being held back.
In these moments when we feel stuck, it’s important to remember that we can make an impact from anywhere. Sometimes we just have to think outside the box and seek that impact beyond our current position in our job, and volunteering is a great solution.
After deciding to pivot to a corporate impact career, I was feeling a little stuck in my career and I was unsure about how I could actually land a new role in a new field. I asked myself how could I get the experience I needed on my resume without it being my current job, and I turned to volunteering. I quickly recognized there were so many volunteer organizations I could get involved with to develop new skills, enhance my leadership experience, explore new passions, and meet new people at the same time!
Volunteering as a doorway to impact
Volunteering is a great path to explore your passions while making an impact in your community. Volunteer leadership roles can also help develop skills beyond those you may encounter directly in your job.
Volunteering has been my doorway to impact, giving me unique leadership experiences and learning opportunities that have helped me grow outside of my “day jobs” and become the leader I want to be. It’s great experience. It goes on the resume. It comes up in job interviews. It expands your network. It challenges you. It changes your world.
Some of my volunteer leadership experiences have included:
- Working with a team of volunteers from across the country and learning about disaster relief support and emergency response operations with the American Red Cross.
- Getting involved with my local chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA and connecting with local organizations to support the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Starting a Sustainability Careers webinar series with my local chapter of The Climate Reality Project.
- Building my global mindset and volunteer skills with International Volunteer HQ.
- And, becoming a part of the Net Impact community through Climate Interactive’s Climate Ambassadors program, leading to the opportunity to write this blog series as a guest blog writer and contributor to the Climate Editorial Project!
These are just a few examples of how I have developed as a leader by giving back to my community, where I live and beyond. If you’re feeling stuck in your career, your doorway to impact is waiting – consider volunteering as one step in your journey to a corporate impact career and check out the opportunities to get started below!
Begin Your Volunteer Opportunity Search
- Get Involved with Net Impact
- Explore Skills-Based Volunteering with Taproot Foundation
- Check Out Volunteer Opportunities with Points of Light
- Find a United Way Near You
Find Your Impact Career
Visit Net Impact’s Career Resources page for tips and tricks for your impact jobs search. View the Jobs Board to use your career for good.
About this series
This series of articles about corporate impact careers explores the path to a career where doing well is doing good, getting there by networking, professional development, graduate school, and volunteer opportunities.
About the author
Madeline Stanton is a sustainable business leader and ESG educator with experience leading social and environmental impact initiatives in corporate, nonprofit, and academic settings. She currently manages the Baumhart Scholars MBA at Loyola University Chicago, preparing impact leaders to leverage their business skills to advance the greater good. Connect with her on LinkedIn here.
