As we approach the end of National Volunteer Week, this article in the Guardian caught my eye about how volunteering can have such a positive impact on your employability. And it's something that is so very accessible to get involved in. 

Volunteering is something that you can get involved in at any time during your career, as well as at University. Societies such as Enactus help students to get involved with charities and projects, and they can also help get your foot in the door at large organisations that are affiliated with them. Some large organisations such as Unilever have a good awareness of and links with Enactus, and they will recognise these commitments on your CV and LinkedIn profile favourably. 

On that note, LinkedIn has an entire section dedicated to volunteering, where you can list all the organisations you have volunteered for and got involved in. LinkedIn know a thing or two about what companies look for when seeking candidates, so this is a strong indication of how valued it is. So it's really worthwhile completing this section, and if you have nothing to complete, then start to build this section now. 

Volunteer work, whether it's on your doorstep, or thousands of miles away, shows your willingness to help others with no monetary reward. It shows your passion and ability to commit to projects, work in teams, and crucially quite frequently engage with those very different from yourself. Perhaps you won't speak the same language fluently, or you'll come from very different backgrounds, and have to find common ground to get on with mutual respect. You'll probably have to do some problem solving, and work to a tight budget. All these skills are hopefully ringing some bells with those skills and strengths that employers seek at interview. 

If you work at a large organisation, it's very likely that you'll be able to volunteer through the company's CSR schemes. Not only are you often able to do this during working hours, meaning it opens up many opportunities, but you'll be able to network with other areas of the business, often with a variety of levels of seniority. My first volunteering experience whilst working at Deloitte in London was volunteering at a senior school in Tower Hamlets, helping students with their reading and English. Not only did it open my eyes to a very different neighbourhood just a stone's throw away from the Square Mile, but it made me even more grateful for the opportunities I had had and the job that I was doing, as well as allowing me to channel some of my skills in a different way, and network with people from other areas of the business. 

Finally, volunteering is a very useful topic of conversation when meeting new people and networking, or at a job interview. If you engage in volunteering, you are likely to be interested in it and passionate, and this will come across to a potential employer or business partner. If you're interviewing at an organisation, it's worth finding out who the charities are that they support. There might even be something on their social media channels or blog that tell you about what they have recently got involved in. 

The genuine desire and willingness to volunteer speaks volumes about someone's personality and it goes without saying that this is an attractive quality to employers. It's also a great way for an employer to differentiate two candidates that have pretty much identical qualifications and experience. 

So how can you get involved? If you're a student, check out your societies such as Enactus and university volunteering society, or look into the local charities in your area.  Have a think about whether you can offer a skill. You might be able to volunteer in a local school to help students with Maths or English. Or you could get involved in a sports event, and raise money. Or if you've got some creative skills, you could make something for charity, or perhaps you're a musician and could give a concert.

And whatever way that volunteering might boost your employability, you're pretty much guaranteed to make some new friends and learn some new skills.