Does charity ever pay?

Since leaving University I’ve been in and out of work. I struggled to get a permanent job role, so I end up as a white collar mercenary. The issue is that I will probably be doing this for the next three years of my life until I’ve gained enough experience to be trusted for a full time position. Before my first job I did a large amount of voluntary work to help my CV and feel a bit useful. I did one year at an RSCPA charity shop, seven months at my local council and a bit data entry for a charity. I loved it and got a load of stories to tell from my days there.

Many people are now asking why people on job seekers and long term unemployment don’t do more voluntary work if nothing else up to ‘earn’ their pay. I loved doing my work, but I found that there were many traps in doing this work when it comes to applying for jobs. So here is my list of issues that arise when you have voluntary experience.

Getting (relevant) experience is very hard

 

I did a philosophy degree and I wanted to get a quick admin role before doing a Masters in either Philosophy or teachers. I couldn’t find one so I thought working in a super market chain would be easy. Shame that I had no experience and degree was more of a deterrent to the cause. My first role was working in a charity shop was just to show I could work a till and be a normal human being. The issue with working in a charity shop… stock. Most shops deal with orders and stock lists, something that just doesn’t apply to a charity shop. The work load is a tenth of what it should be as is the personality. I had no experience with irate customers. Let’s face it the guy who call you a ‘twat’ for no giving you a refund on a shirt in a charity shop can frankly piss off, but in place like Primark you take in on the chin. The point is to employers it’s the equivalent of someone who on neighbourhood watch wanting to walk into a police role. ‘Yeah it’s sort of like that… but no.’

 

You have no risk (so you get no reward and therefore no authority)

 

At my council job I was free to show up when I liked, take off holidays when I wanted and if I was sick just to forget about coming in. All my tasks were non-priority, milling exercises that didn’t really impact on the day to day activities. It took a month before I was given something reasonable and that was more out of necessity than convenience. The responsibilities you get are a moot point and nothing you say or do is going to change that. The truth is you can’t even access more courses or go for training because it takes funds away from permanent staff members. They won’t invest in you if they don’t plan on keeping you. You are just a ghost in the machine, existing yet immaterial to the team. This is not realistic to any work environment. You live without consequences, but the consequence of that is no stranger will trust you. If that was the case maybe the kid that’s played Call of Duty should go out on patrol in Iraq or we can leave agriculture in charge of the Farmville community. Unless your neck on the line, no one going to trust you. In a face off against someone with six months experience and year and half of voluntary… yeah screw of Mr Volunteer. Your golden halo does not get converted into cash.

 

You are not equal to the people who are paid to be there

 

At times you are a blessing to the employed staff. You can go on errands, help during busy hours, provide support or spare pair of hands or just be a wall to bounce off ideas. They become more your friends than your colleagues. That is a problem in itself. You see as you become friends you become more vocal about your frustrations about working without reward and being able to do a job that someone else just messed up. There was a girl who was hired to the communication department, though she couldn’t use email. I could have done that post, but they gave it someone less qualified. I discussed the matter with my manager, but nothing came of it. So when a work issue arose and ideas were suggested, even if my idea was better or I could have been more effective acting on it, the support had to go toward a staff member. You do not get a vote and you can’t be on the ballot. The best way to see is it is to imagine if you worked with a multi-millionaire in an office. They screw about when they’re bored and point out issues, but he’s completely secure because if he is asked to leave he’s lost nothing.  As a volunteer you chose to be there, but most people hate their job and do it because they have to. You remind them of that fact every day you’re there.

 

The job centre resents you for it

 

The British unemployment office remains one of the greatest enigmas of our life time. An entire building full of useless aphetic people who are trying to find other people jobs (while openly looking for a new job and telling you about it. Seriously the majority of recruiters hate their jobs and are trying to get the hell out of there. It is easier for them to think you’re just a lazy slob and dismiss you. So when you do voluntary work and show you’re capable of working it sort of points out they’re failing at their jobs. They have all these eager hardworking people that they can’t do shit with. They panic as they struggle to do the thing they should be doing like finding you a job, finding you an interview or being helpful in any given fucking way. If you don’t believe me, the government keeps ‘threating’ to make all people on job seeker benefits to do community work. It’s just to cover the arses of the ineffective system. When it’s compulsory it doesn’t sound like an achievement or someone showing initiative.  Most people already do it to break up the boredom, so it only pissed off everyone as it makes unemployment criminalised. In fact if you do too much they criticise you for not putting the same time and effort into job hunting. They can even pull you out a volunteer job you’re enjoying to do work experience somewhere as a form of slave labour (See Poundlandgate.)  In short tell them you’re doing it, but in the same way as your learning a language (it a lot more work than they think it is.)

 

It’s not all doom and gloom though

 

So am I saying volunteer work is for chums? No, it’s personally rewarding and just gets you away from day time TV shit or being an internet troll. It gave me something to say in interviews and made the gamble a recruitment agency would use my CV a bit better. What I’m saying is don’t be surprised if you feel like it’s going nowhere when you hand in CV’s. What needs to change is the employer’s attitude to people who do volunteer work and make laws that give people who work hard the fair opportunity as someone with similar yet paid experience. I would say a 2:3 ration would be fine (2 years paid=3 years volunteer) We have laws based on disability, race and even rehabilitating criminals, so why not give the good Samaritan a push up?