The great philosopher Aristotle once said: “What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.”

Don’t believe Aristotle? Recent studies show that dedicating your time to serving others is good for your soul – and your career:

• You will be able to connect with others. Meeting new people will give you new perspectives, and it will help you get comfortable with networking, which will be useful when you are looking for a job.
• You will improve your mental health. A person that volunteers is usually giving back to the community and helping others. This brings joy, increases your self-confidence and helps relieve stress.
• You will develop workplace skills. Volunteering gives you the chance to practise important skills used in the workplace, such as problem-solving, communication, teamwork and organization.
• You will advance your career. Once you become a volunteer, you will be someone who gives back, has experience, is able to learn new things and communicate. Those skills look great on a resumé.

Living proof

Aastha Joshi was a Marketing student at Douglas who graduated in September. Her first volunteering experience was teaching personality development and English to young offenders in rehab. But ever since she was a little girl, she has loved animals. So, when she discovered an organization called “Delhi the Street Dog Foundation,” Aastha began offering her time to help find homes for street dogs from India. She says she recommends volunteering as a great way to expand your horizons and prepare for employment.

“Volunteering gives you a lot of scope, the room to make mistakes, and opportunities to amend those mistakes at the same time – something you won’t usually get from a paid job!”

Want to start volunteering? Check out the Volunteer Fair Sept. 24 (Coquitlam) and 26 (New West).