Page 92 - Marky Stein - Fearless Career Change_ The Fast Track to Success in a New Field (2004)

Fearless Career Change

Strategy 6. Volunteering
Volunteer work is usually less formal than an internship, and, of
course, it is unpaid. It means that you donate your labor to a busi-
ness or organization either for your own philanthropic satisfaction
or to learn and practice new skills.
When Nancy went from being a public health administrator to
a book editor, she cleverly repositioned herself in the world of pub-
lishing by taking a volunteer position as a proofreader at a free
weekly entertainment newspaper. Then she was able to combine
that experience with the strategic education she also utilized. The
result: Nancy had a new job as an editor at a public health book
publishing house in less than four months.
Gary became a volunteer at a local public access television sta-
tion by calling the station manager and asking for an interview.
After going through mandatory orientation and training, he
became a volunteer camera operator and later went on to work as
a professional lighting designer in the television industry.
Becoming a volunteer is much the same process as becoming
an intern. Find the person in charge, introduce yourself, briefly
state your background and what you’d like to accomplish there, go
to an interview, and join the team. You’ll not only get a lot of prac-
tice (as well as the letter of recommendation) but you’ll also begin
taking your first steps toward being a professional.
When you’re finished with your volunteer position (which can
last from just a couple of days to a year or more), you’re going to
want to get paid for the new skills you’ve mastered.

It is absolutely acceptable to list a volunteer or
internship position just as you would recount
a real paying job on your résumé. (See Chapter 8
for sample résumés.)

The preferred way to express that you offered your labor and
talents at no charge is not by writing “volunteer” or “intern” as a
title on your résumé. If you negotiate a time with your supervisor
to talk about a suitable job title to place on your résumé, you can

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