Consider Volunteering as a Way to Find Employment

Volunteering your time, services, talents, and energies is actually a multi-faceted endeavor with a great deal of benefits. In addition to helping others, it will help you as well. Have you just recently graduated? Are you seeking a change in your career path? Are you reentering the work force after a period of time? Do you seek new challenges? Finding employment nowadays can be a challenge, but you mustn’t become discouraged. Perusing the classified ads in the local newspapers, searching the jobs postings online, or contacting recruiters, all takes time, but will eventually yield potential prospects.


Also, since networking is an excellent way to discover that “hidden” job market, the source of unsolicited jobs, you might consider volunteering, which could be thought of as a non-networking way of networking. It is particularly appealing if you are somewhat introverted or simply aren’t comfortable trying the conventional ways to network.

Through volunteering, you expose yourself to other people with similar interests. Along the way, you are bound to learn new skills as you take on the duties and responsibilities for the activity you have committed yourself to. Your leadership potential, willingness to take initiative, desire to assist, ability to function as part of a team – all these assets will certainly be discovered. You could very likely be working next to well-connected people, even a senior executive of a company that you are considering targeting.

When deciding where to volunteer, one prospect to consider is trade shows, a highly targeted way of exposing yourself to people in your field. Another is civic activities. Many chambers of commerce plan and staff local events and are always looking for people to help. And be sure to search the internet – countless opportunities are available.

If you feel you are being held back from using this method of finding employment because you have a criminal record, you should definitely contact Pardon Services Canada to obtain a Pardon. A Client Specialist will ensure that your application will be processed expeditiously and you will be kept informed at each stage of the process.

Canadian Criminal Records – The Stumbling Block for would-be Volunteers

Canadians love to volunteer. Each and every day, Canadians devote their time to worthy causes. In fact, over a third of Canadians over the age of 15 have volunteered! The benefits of volunteering are tremendous, both on a community level, as well as personally. Volunteering gives Canadians the opportunity to give back to their great communities, or to contribute to a worthy cause. Furthermore, the personal benefits gained from great team environments, involvement in event planning, coordinating, and multiple other business operations are invaluable to Canadians looking to gain experience to supplement their resumes and CVs.

            

The opportunity for volunteering is drying up in Canada, however, as a result of recent criminal legislation. This legislation stipulates that an increasing number of volunteer organizations, including many large and well known non-profits, require criminal back ground checks on prospective volunteers. This legislation is not limited to any province in specific; it has a nation-wide effect.

            

The results have had an impact on the organizations as well as the prospective volunteers. Firstly, the organizations that are now required to get the criminal background checks face increasing waits with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for their results as more and more requests pile up. Secondly, these organizations, due to the long processing time, lose out on valuable volunteers which many rely on for their day-to-day operations and special events. Finally, the would-be volunteers lose out on the opportunity to give back to their community or cause, as well as the valuable experience that volunteering provides.

           

13% of Canadians have a criminal record. This is a large number of Canadians that are being excluded from the ability to volunteer. It is important that checks be done in some circumstances for safety and diligence; however, the broad and often misrepresentative criminal record checks provided by the RCMP’s database which logs all encounters, not just offenses, can be seriously harmful to great volunteer candidates.

            

A criminal record check can be done quickly and affordably. It is in the best interest of these good Canadian samaritans to get a fast, cheap, background check to expedite volunteering and to get back to doing good for the community, environment, Canada, and themselves.