Skills and experience

If you like ‘hands-on’ work, it’s likely you prefer to be kept busy. Often this type of volunteering role is offered as project work, with a limited time and energy commitment requirement. If you’re interested in any of the activities below, it’s likely a hands-on role would suit you best.

• Helping out at the entry gate at an event e.g. at a vintage car fair or local show
• Helping with clean up e.g. tree planting, cleaning local properties
• Exercise-related fundraising e.g. fun-run
• Shift work e.g. café assistant, transport driver, kitchen hand, fundraising
• Outdoor work e.g field volunteer, conservation
• Manual labour e.g. cleaning, gardening
• Working with children, individuals with high needs, or older people e.g. classroom reading assistant, shopping assistant, activity assistant
• Emergency relief and response
• Working with animals or the environment

If you’re a knowledge-sharer, you’ll probably have skill or experience that you can see others would benefit from. These are just some of the knowledge areas in that you may identify with.

• Computer, internet, software, social media knowledge e.g. computer tutor
• Mentoring
• Coaching e.g. Athletics coach
• Specific health knowledge e.g. mental health, diversional therapy, occupational therapy
• Trade knowledge e.g. carpentry, mechanics, plumbing, landscaping
• Language-related e.g. English tutor
• Sector related knowledge e.g. governance, accounting, management, strategic planning, marketing and communications

If you’re a natural leader, chances are you prefer to be in the driver’s seat: knowing what’s going on first; offering recommendations or making decisions. If these any of these activities appeals, you have a strong leaning toward leadership roles.

• Board or committee member
• Organising an event
• Strategic planning
• Project managing
• Networking and connecting people with opportunities
• Creating opportunities for the organisation you’re volunteering with
• Solving problems for others
• Leveraging results by building teams and using their combined skills/work
• Mentoring
• Ambassador
• Volunteer coordination
• Group facilitation

Over the past few years, the term skills-based volunteering has been used to describe how organisations can make the most of what you know, and what you can offer. Areas your skills might have include personal talents, core business skills, experience, or education. Matching your skills to a role has great benefits, not just for you, but also the organisation you’re volunteering for. When you use your skills and abilities in a volunteering role, you’ll going to feel more valued, be more engaged and innovative, and likely you’re going to stay volunteering longer.  So knowing what skills and experience you have, and matching these to a volunteering role is incredibly important. 

In fact, this experience, what the organisation gets from it as well as the volunteer is the reason why many corporate organisations are also creating and supporting employee volunteering programmes. In a 2016 Australian volunteer survey, 92% of volunteers felt that we’re provided with the right opportunities that match their interested in needs, which is why they kept volunteering, and good news for us. To make sure that you have a great experience, think about the skills that you have, and how they can be used by the organisation you’re volunteering for. Don’t hesitate to ask them if you want to help out more, or if you think you have a skill you’d like to use that they aren’t asking you to contribute. 

A lot of member application forms actually don’t ask what skills their members have, or if they can volunteer time. So being proactive here can help the organisation and bring you a sense of accomplishment. You can also complete a skills analysis to identify skills you could offer as a volunteer. This might help you discover whether you’re more of a hands-on person, you’re more a knowledge sharer, or you’re more of a managerial leader.