How Volunteering Could Help you Enter a Career in Foreign Policy

How Volunteering Has Helped Me

Author: lara brett

Lara Brett studies Contemporary European Studies at the University of Bath in the UK. After working abroad in Vienna during her undergraduate degree, she became interested in European politics and foreign policy journalism. She is also a co-founder of the Reclaim the Campus campaign. This aims to tackle the issue of sexual violence in UK Higher Education by raising awareness of the issue and seeing what measures education providers currently have in place to protect their students. Lara also loves travelling, reading, and Netflix.

Click here to read her other Zig Zag piece.

During my undergraduate degree, I got involved with STAR Conversation Club, a network across various UK universities dedicated to helping refugees and asylum seekers integrate into their local communities. Once a week, I would get on the bus with other volunteers and spend a few hours in a local church hall or community centre, helping refugees to learn English. We had worksheets based on various themes, such as food or family, but we also spent a lot of time chatting. I worked with people from Iraq, Syria and South Sudan. Some knew just a few words of English and others were near fluent. I got to know some of them as the weeks went by. I learned what TV shows they watched, what food they ate and what their hopes for the future were. They taught me so much. 

This was one of the highlights of my time at university. It helped me push myself to try something new, after spending far too much time watching Netflix. I started volunteering in 2017, two years after the peak of the crisis in Europe, I was concerned by the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the UK, particularly around Brexit. Volunteering gave me an opportunity to make a small contribution towards tackling such a large issue. 

I really enjoyed volunteering and want to use this blog post to discuss why volunteering is so valuable and how you could get involved in something similar. Volunteering can be mutually beneficial and doesn’t need to be entirely selfless. 

How Volunteering Can Help You:

Doing Something Nice for Others:

Putting your spare time and skills to good use is an excellent way to give back to your local community or get more involved in it. There are so many worthy causes out there. Of course, you can’t help them all, but giving a few hours of your time to a cause you’re passionate about can go a long way towards helping others. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether it's people, pets, or the planet you want to help. Without volunteers, many small-scale community projects wouldn’t be able to run. 

Meeting New People:

Volunteering can be a great way to network, or simply expand your social circle. I got very lucky and met my best friend at my very first STAR session. I also got to meet students taking other degrees and connect with members of my local community outside my university bubble. Volunteering is a great opportunity to hang out with a different group of people that share your interests. 

Gaining New Experiences:

While volunteering, you get used to meeting new people from different walks of life, something you’ll do all the time in the workplace. It’s a great way of boosting your confidence and communications skills. 

It could also make your CV stand out. In an increasingly competitive job market, recruiters are always looking for ways to choose between candidates and volunteering could be your ‘something different.’ Employers value “soft” skills. Qualifications are important, but recruiters also want people with a proven record of working in a team, communicating effectively with others and problem-solving. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to develop these skills, alongside initiative, time management, interpersonal skills… The list is endless. 

Finally, it could be a good talking point at interviews, something to weave into those ‘tell me about a time you did xyz’ questions. Drawing on your volunteering experience can help you tailor questions to highlight your abilities, making the interview more memorable. For instance, talking about my experience recently helped me get an internship, as I was able to demonstrate previous leadership, research and teamwork experience.

Learning More About a Potential Career:

You could volunteer and find that it’s not for you, which is actually a good thing. It means you haven’t spent significant time and money on a qualification or job applications or even end up in a role you aren’t suited for. Or you could love it. In which case, you gain work experience, which is often invaluable for competitive entry-level roles. As a student, I know that finding an internship can seem near impossible, and volunteering is a fantastic opportunity to dip your toe into something without completing endless job applications and psychometric tests. 

How to Find Opportunities:

If you’re still a student, look at what societies your university has or if it has links to community groups. Alternatively, there might be projects you can get involved with on campus. Social media is also a great tool here. I would recommend joining the Girls in Policy Facebook group, which is how I got involved in my current project, Reclaim the Campus. Look for local groups or ask family or friends. People in the UK have recommended the DoIt website and The Learning Station Project. Women in Foreign Policy are also often on the lookout for volunteers, for example. Send organisations speculative messages. They might not have an opening now but might keep you in mind for next time. 

And remember that volunteering can take on many different forms. It can be helping out in person, but there are currently lots of opportunities to work remotely. Organisations may need help with running their websites or social media or be looking for coordinators. 

It’s also important to note that volunteering isn’t open to everyone. Unpaid work (and unpaid internships, a subject for another piece) often benefits those who have the financial means to give up their time for others, excluding those from marginalised socioeconomic backgrounds. It’s worth seeing if your university can supplement your volunteering travel costs, if the project is off-campus, or if there are any virtual projects you can work on from home. Again, that may only be applicable to those who can afford Wi-Fi. Ironically, the unpaid nature of volunteering can make it somewhat inaccessible. Moreover, be careful not to work with people who take advantage of you. If they’re constantly asking you to do overtime, taking credit for your hard work or not offering you adequate training and support, it may be time to look elsewhere. Overall, it should be fun, not a source of stress. 

Concluding Thoughts:

I loved volunteering with STAR Conversation Club. I hope this blog helps you and that you can find something you’re passionate about too!

Edited by Ashvini Rae

Published 13th April 2021