Member: IAM Leadership Alliance Council

With busy lives, it can be hard to find time to volunteer. However, the personal and professional benefits of volunteering can be enormous. Volunteering offers vital help to people in need, worthwhile causes, and the business community, but the benefits can be even greater. In my experience, volunteering is a way to make myself healthier and happier.

Volunteering connects us to others and provides an opportunity to network and showcase what extra you can offer to the business community. It is good for our mind and body to think differently and challenge ourselves with opposite thoughts at times. Also, in many ways it advances our careers and brings fulfillment to our life when the recognition comes along.

Finding the right volunteer opportunity for you is key, and there are many available at IAM. Once you find a position that you would enjoy and can do, it's also important to make sure that your availability for commitment matches the organization’s needs.

For example, I have become part of IAM Leadership Alliance, where we have created resources to help people become outstanding leaders. The whole process was quite innovative and unique, and I am sure it will have a lasting impact on the industry and the association. 

Volunteering with IAM has greatly helped me develop my own leadership skills and expand my professional network. Helping others gives me an opportunity for self-reflection, and it is a win-win situation. On the one hand, dedicating some of our own time to others is a support to the association, to the excluded and to our community. On the other hand, it will help in our own growth, both professionally, spiritually, and personally. The reasons are different.

First, serving others will help you to increase your happiness and will give you more energy in your daily life. You will increase your productivity at work since you feel useful for a cause, for all society. Moreover, volunteering is a good practice to develop leadership skills: Understanding the needs of other people, developing strategies to solve their problems, working in teams, and delivering services in a positive way. Helping others is more than just giving our time. It is investing our time and practicing certain skills in a different context.

For anyone who is considering volunteering with IAM, but is unsure of where to start, think about what matters to you and be selective about where you spend your time. Choosing opportunities at IAM that make you feel good while helping others build stronger communities and enriches your own life at the same time. Here are a few suggestions:

• Know the issues that are important to you.

• Identify the skills that you can offer.

• Do you want to learn something new?

• Combine your career and life goals with your community involvement.

• Balance your schedule—Do not over-commit!

• Community-based organizations have needs, too.

• Consider volunteering as a group—your family, friends, or student organization.

• Consider serving as a virtual volunteer.

• Think outside the box!

• Listen to your heart by giving and volunteering.

One important step to making a positive impact through volunteering is meeting people and expanding your social circle beyond the annual meetings and business. It’s an effective way to socialize, contribute to society and your industry, and develop new life skills among many other benefits. Your first priority should be to get hands-on experience, even if it comes with no remuneration. So, narrow down the organizations like IAM where you’d get the best exposure and start contacting them for voluntary work (if it’s permissible and allow you time for our normal work). Also, in these times, remember that organizations like IAM conduct much of their volunteering online.

Volunteering at IAM helps develop a variety of skills that are industry specific, including:

• Cross-cultural communication;

• Heightened cultural awareness;

• Wider community-circle;

• Foreign language proficiency;

• Self-confidence;

• Awareness of global and political issues;

• Building new networks;

• Work ethics and critical thinking skills;

• Problem solving ability and establishing rapport;

• Time management;

• Self-reliance and ability to convey ideas verbally;

• Assertiveness and adaptability; and

• Teamwork and leadership skills.

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Volunteerism is a great way to improve your engagement in the industry. There are many personal and professional benefits associated with volunteering at IAM, which include:

• Enhancing your personal skills;

• Building interpersonal skills;

• Establishing new contacts;

• Promoting happiness;

• Staying up to date;

• New challenges to overcome;

• Recognition and promotions