Why Volunteering Abroad Needs to Be on Every College Student’s CV

An international experience always looks good on every person’s repertoire. It teaches you first-hand a lot of values and cultures that the other country represents and stands for. A visit to a foreign land as a tourist or on business or as a volunteer is bound to have an indelible mark and leave a positive impression. The most memorable experiences are those that are acquired on the go while travelling when volunteering.

It’s a memory you cherish for a lifetime and relate at social conversations

You’ve always wanted to visit certain countries abroad and have been saving for the trip. You’ve been planning a backpacking tour for a couple of days and were waiting for the ideal weather or the tourist season. Its then you decided to opt for an international volunteering work that came your way and got the chance to stay there and soak in the all-round experience. Isn’t it nice when some things come by your way when you least expect them! Imagine the surprise that your friends and relatives will get and the admiration they show when they hear about your volunteering work. It easily scores way higher than circulating a freak photo-op with a celeb at the airport lounge!

You make friends for life and memoirs for a lifetime 

Volunteering for a cause abroad instils a sense of pride and belonging in you. When you relate to their efforts and find your feet you enhance your emotional quotient for good. It turns you into a better person and a responsible citizen. We live in a connected world and staying in touch and contributing from a remote location can keep the bond alive and continue the relationship you have with the particular country, its people, and your acquaintances who you have grown close to while working towards the cause. You look forward to hosting your friends at your place back home. It may also give rise to an opportunity for all of you to plan a trip to another country to catch up and exchange notes!

You do it for the joy you get and the blessings you receive

Ernest Hemingway had famously said: “You don’t really own anything until you can give it away.” Not everything can be measured monetarily and materialistically. Some of it is spiritual while the others are plainly enlightening when you put your heart and soul into your volunteering stint abroad. The fun and the excitement that fill you when you make a difference and see it unfold right in front of your eyes give a sense of accomplishment that is for you to take pride in. You learn a lot about teamwork, sacrifice, planning and quite a bunch of free lessons as blessings. Not to mention earning the wide smiles on the faces of the community you connect with who appreciate you lending a hand and extend a token of a lasting relationship in return!

Broaden your outlook on various cuisines and cultures

When you see things from close quarters in an unhurried way you tend to notice much more than what mere tourists miss out on. A volunteering stint abroad can help you de-stress, live it up, learn the local language, fully take note of local cuisine and sights and sounds. You can take a break during weekends for a short trip to other parts of the country and live among the locals for the truly been-there-done-that bragging rights. You can pen your thoughts in a blog and start your travelogue as you go on further visits to various countries in your professional life or for a holiday with your family!

Acquire domain knowledge on your chosen field of volunteering

Volunteering abroad gives you immense knowledge and helps develop insights as you work towards offering practical solutions to your area of work. It makes your effort all the more worthwhile as you gain domain knowledge and work around the hurdles. It looks attractive to college authorities and potential recruiters who hold you in great respect for your contributions and the role essayed by you in your selected discipline. It is not necessary that you have to align your volunteering based on your academic background. It is, in fact, essential that you may choose something else so that you can widen your expertise on the subject. It would give prominence to your CV and highlight the fact that you are already moulded in co-curricular activities. No knowledge ever goes waste and it may tilt the scales in your favour when seeking admission abroad or when applying for an employment opportunity.

Bring out the goodness in you and let it show the world what you are capable of and give destiny a chance to be a part of you in a distant land. Become a part of the Global Volunteer Program with AIESEC and leave your mark upon the world.

Happy volunteering, everyone!

 

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[…] for the future. With this rationale in mind, a chance to pursue an international internship or volunteer abroad looks good on every college student’s CV; and Malaysia brings forth a destination for all that and more. Let’s take a look at the benefits […]