When it comes to volunteering, I suggest that you aim for something within the same field in which you wish to get a job in. That seems pretty obvious right? Well apparently not considering the most amount of volunteering I've been doing is surf lifesaving for the past 7 years...
Where do I start?
So you have decided what you want to do, but how do you do it? There are some really great websites
In Australia;
The by far best one for environmental volunteering is http://www.conservationvolunteers.com.au/
And these are some general ones which are also good which I have had friends use:
In the United States (I included this because I noticed I have quite a few people checking this out via the US)
And ask around at your university, mine has a protected grassland on site that we can volunteer through. Also ask some of the honours/masters/PhD students if they need any assistance with field/lab work - it's another great way to get into further education too! I am currently doing lab work for one of my co-supervisors.
So how long do I have to do this before I get a job?
Well I am still unemployed so you tell me. From advice I have gotten from people within the industry there is no such thing as too much volunteer experience. In ecology they are going to look at volunteering experience before work experience. Do any extra events that you can. I did a conference called "Sharing the Love" which involved all the marine conservation friends groups coming together to have discussions. Wow I learned a lot and met some really interesting people. It also confirmed that no matter how upsetting it is to get rejected from a job application, in the end it will all be totally worth it.
Volunteering is also a great way to suss out whereabouts you want your career going. This doesn't just apply for ecology by the way. A friend of mine was applying for jobs left right and centre in marketing after she finished uni and was getting nothing. She signed up for volunteering her marketing services for a non-profit organisation and she ended up beating hundreds of applicants for a intern-ship a few months later. Now she works there full time and all because she volunteered.
Not only can volunteering help further your career, but it can enrich your education. It shows your employers/lecturers that you are passionate and enthusiastic about your field, which is always going to get you brownie points.
Now here's a photo of ridiculous surf lifesavers at my surf club practising IRB roll overs
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