Volunteering

Volunteering is a great way to develop your skills and help your community while you are looking for work. Almost all employers respect people who have shown they are prepared to "put something back" and time spent volunteering can enhance your CV or application form and make it more likely you will get a job in the future.

You can gain new experiences, get some great training, build/re-build your confidence, increase the number of contacts you have who may be useful in the future, and, equally importantly, it can be great fun working with similarly committed volunteers on something that really matters to you and them.

Community Service Volunteers is one of many organisations who can help you. Volunteer Scotland can also give you information on what you might do and also has details of volunteering opportunities available.

My World of Work, which is managed by Skills Development Scotland, also helps with information on all the different types of voluntary work and allows you to search for volunteering opportunities across Scotland.

Finally, the website do-it.org is another good place to look for volunteering opportunities. It puts local people in touch with local volunteering opportunities.