I bounced around between jobs a few times in my twenties. Every single time, it took me exactly three months to find a job. It was draining to not hear back for days, and frustrating to not find the right fit.

So, what did I do during that time?

I volunteered.

Since I’m in the nonprofit industry, it made sense for me to continue to hone my skills and reflect my passion for nonprofit service. Now, with the global pandemic, volunteering is even more important across all industries.

Corporate giving programs are being seen as necessary in the for-profit world. Volunteering carries more weight on resumes than it used to.

Volunteering is also a great way to learn new skills. Nonprofits can utilize the skills someone already has, too.

So many people are looking for jobs right now because of the pandemic. You can’t possibly look for a job for forty hours of the week. In my experience, you need a good 2-3 hours a day to job hunt.

Why not spend just 10 hours a week getting involved in your community? Like I learned, looking for jobs is hard and you can easily lose energy and fall into low-grade depression.

Thankfully, the remedy is volunteering! Charity work combats mental health problems. (If you don’t believe me on that, google it.)

Volunteering gets you focused on someone else less fortunate, which allows you to put your life into perspective. You get to build a new community and be involved with new people. Giving feels good!

Additionally, there are increased demands on nonprofits because of the pandemic. Nonprofits need help now more than ever.

I highly recommend charity work if you are bouncing around between jobs. It could possibly even turn into a job. It did for me!