By Alex Mula

It can be tough trying to find your place in the world. Even if you know what you want to do for a living and you have qualifications coming out of your ears, it can be hard to bag a job without the corresponding experience.

The best way to get a job is with experience. I know many graduates who can't find a job simply because they have no experience in their degree subject/chosen field. They are all very talented but it's very hard to convince someone of your skills if you cannot demonstrate your successful application of those skills.

A fun, enjoyable and often very rewarding way of gaining experience and applying your skills is through volunteering. If you've just finished uni, the prospect of volunteering might seem bleak, compared to earning mega-bucks straightaway. You have big student debts and you're tired of living like a student.

But sometimes the only way to start earning the bucks is to carry on living like a student and gain some experience. Show your initiative and doors will open. Volunteering can offer the opportunity to practice your chosen profession or even to explore new possibilities.

Emma's story

I spoke to Emma Saunders of  the Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit (RAGU) at London Metropolitan University about her experiences volunteering and how it helped her find employment.

AM: Do you think you'd be in your current job had you not had the experience you gained volunteering?

ES: Probably not; I learned some valuable new skills while I was a volunteer that are vital to my present job. And because I had volunteered in the refugee field it showed that I was committed to the sector.

AM: But you already had paid experience working with refugees, wasn't that enough?

ES: The paid experience was very useful, but the volunteering was a definite bonus. My previous paid work was working directly with refugee clients. My current job is very different.

When I volunteered with the Refugee Women's Association (RWA) I was involved in producing the bi-monthly newsletter. This involved a lot of print management and editorial skills, skills I did not have at the time but which I learned volunteering.

The skills I developed through volunteering at RWA I put directly into my current paid employment.

AM: So do you produce a newsletter for RAGU?

ES: I look after the website Information for asylum seekers and this involves liaising between my colleagues and the web designer, and writing on matters relating to refugees. That's a skill that I developed whilst volunteering with RWA.

AM: So volunteering helped you out enormously. What advice would you offer to people looking for voluntary experience?

ES: Volunteering is a great way of learning new skills, or developing those you already have. This can be really useful if you are thinking about changing career direction, or if you want to break into an area for the first time.

You can tell an employer about the transferable skills that you have developed as a volunteer. It also gives you something interesting and positive to talk about at an interview and if you are a graduate with little work experience this will set you out from the crowd. It's up to you what you get out of volunteering. As with any job, if you have a positive attitude you will be more likely to have a positive experience.

Next steps

If you want volunteering to help boost your career think carefully about the skills and experience you need. Don't be afraid to be upfront about this when you apply for opportunities. As long as you are willing to show commitment to your voluntary work, most organisations will welcome the fact that it could have knock-on benefits for you.

Search the do-it database for volunteering opportunities in your local area.

If you can't find an opportunity on the database that fits your requirements try approaching a Volunteer Centre for help or go straight to an organisation that interests you, letting them know the skills you have to offer. You might have to persevere - it's not always easy to find an exact match that suits both you and the organisation.

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