19.03.2024 Today’s Insights from Harvard Business Review: Looking for a Sense of Purpose? Volunteer.
Dear Students,
As summer approaches, and ambitious international students like you often have extra time on your hands, it’s understandable to take the opportunity to travel and hang out with friends after a long academic year. Whether or not you perform a summer internship, your schedule is likely to be a bit lighter.
How else can aspiring professionals (like you and your friends) leverage this time, to serve you in both the short and long-term? You may want to consider volunteering. “Volunteering?” A student like you may ask. “Why would I want to do that, when I can just relax, play video games or go the gym more often?”
Volunteering (which research shows is conducted by some 25% of Americans, and 1B people globally!) can serve a number of different – and perhaps surprising – purposes for a current student or new grad like you. These include (but are not limited to):
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An opportunity to reflect on your personal values and contribute to enacting them with others who share these
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A chance to meet other individuals (outside of the Chinese community “bubble,” as one of our coaches likes to call it) to broaden your perspective and knowledge
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A great excuse to continue to hone your spoken English skills, in a “real-time” environment, (and within a safe setting to make mistakes and be corrected!)
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An opportunity to add value to the “greater good” of the community, the environment or the world, which is something Western and global companies view favorably
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The “warm glow” (documented positive feelings) that accompanies/accompany such actions, knowing that you are helping to improve the state of someone’s life or health, the environment, etc.
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A chance to have fun and share laughs with individuals you might not meet otherwise
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A low-stakes environment to build power skills like creativity, curiosity, initiative, risk-taking, organizational skills, possibly time management and others
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The opportunity to make one or more contacts that could change your life, through sharing valuable information, insight, contacts or opportunities (research shows that those who volunteer regularly “have a 27% higher chance of finding employment”)
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Providing a backdrop for powerful interview STAR stories and commercial awareness comments during interviews (and to include on resumes/CVs)
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As if these reasons were not enough, the attached article also highlights “the added meaning and positivity [volunteering contributes] to [volunteers’] lives—not to mention the added benefits of improved physical and mental health“
This activity, in fact, is considered so important that “60% of companies offer paid time-off to volunteer!” International students (like you and your friends) may also be glad to know that, based on the latest data, there is no concern about your volunteering for non-profits impacting your CPT or OPT eligibility.
So why not dip a toe into the warm waters of a volunteer activity, whether for an hour or a day? You may be surprised at how fulfilling you find it to be. If nothing else, its inclusion in HBR indicates that this pursuit (begun in Medieval Britain-based volunteer hospitals in the 12th century) is worth your consideration, among your choice of activities.
Fortunately, in the 21st century, though, there are many other places to volunteer (besides hospitals) as well!
Best,
Amy-Louise
P.S. If you’d like to share a “proud mom” moment with me, please feel free to check out this article from a few years back, about my elder son’s 17 years of volunteering experience, published in his college’s global alumni magazine. https://www.binghamton.edu/alumni/news-and-learning/alumni-connect/september-2022/joshua-goldberg.html