How can volunteering abroad help you land your dream job?

Are you out of work, taking a career break, keen to change things up, or even thinking about taking a gap year before or after studying? You might not have considered using the time you have off to gain some invaluable life experience, travel and enhance your career prospects but volunteering abroad can help you achieve all these things and more!

Volunteering abroad is an amazing opportunity to grow, both personally and professionally, simultaneously enhancing your CV and developing career-enhancing skillsets, all whilst supporting causes you truly care about. You could be supporting wildlife conservation efforts in Africa, working within an NGO in Europe, or Teaching English in South America - the choices are endless!

Not only does volunteering abroad fill gaps on your CV but it also demonstrates a proactive attitude, deep cross-cultural intelligence and strong soft skills, as well as being an extremely rewarding experience for you personally.

Why do employers favour candidates who have volunteered abroad?

Volunteering abroad is strongly associated with a range of impressive skills which you can add to your job applications or CV, such as:

• Confidence and the ability to push yourself out of your comfort zone
• Independence and excellent organisational skills
• Strong communication and people skills
• Deep cross-cultural understanding and respect
• A strong moral compass and sense of ethics
• High motivation levels, open-minded and conscientious nature
• High-impact work experience that benefits both people and the planet
• Ability to set goals and go after them
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Which is the best volunteer abroad provider for students, graduates and professionals?

International Volunteer HQ provides young professionals, students and recent graduates with a fulfilling way to enhance future career prospects. IVHQ’s programs enable you to explore a career path while immersing yourself in a new culture and even gain hands-on experience within your chosen field.

IVHQ’s volunteer programs have been the number one choice for more than 113,000 international volunteers since 2007. For budget-conscious students, busy young professionals and graduates, alike, these programs are incredibly convenient and are tailored to meet your individual needs:

• Affordable, fully hosted experiences from $20 per day 
• 300+ projects across 50+ international destinations to choose from
• Accommodation, meals and airport pickups included
• Ethical and responsible operations, as a Certified B Corporation
• Impact-driven programmes run by locals
• Free and easy changes to bookings, with added flexibility
• 24/7 in-country support and unrivalled safety records

When IVHQ volunteers were asked how the experience of volunteering abroad impacted them, 83% said their sense of perspective had changed, while 94% agreed that volunteering abroad had made them more resilient. 44% strongly agreed that their career aspirations had changed for the better.

Best volunteer programs for a career in Tourism and Hospitality

Employers in the Hospitality and Tourism industry look for candidates with cultural understanding, practical experience, strong interpersonal skills and communication capabilities as essential soft skills when looking to hire. All IVHQ programmes help nurture these skills, whilst also allowing you to demonstrate your ability to get stuck into impact-driven projects in a new cultural setting.

There are plenty of programmes to choose from in some of the world’s most beautiful destinations across Africa, North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific. Here are some popular choices from volunteers in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors:

• For those interested in Eco-Tourism, IVHQ’s Environmental Conservation projects offer hands-on experience and help you build a deep understanding of sustainable practices.
• If you’re considering a people-focused career in Hospitality, such as Hotels or Events Management, projects such as Community Development are an excellent way to develop strong communication skills.
• If you want to run your own business one day, IVHQ’s NGO Support projects give you a detailed insight into how small organisations work overseas.

Where can you volunteer abroad now?

IHQ has volunteer programs in over 50 countries, all of which are operating in line with local government and health guidelines and accepting applications for start dates up to 2 years in the future. They also have a flexible booking policy in place which enables you to change your dates, destination and project for free, up to 14 days before your start date.

Some of the most popular options that New Zealanders are booking for 2021 include:

• Tanzania - best for community volunteering
• Zanzibar - best for an eco-adventure
• Costa Rica - best for solo volunteering
• South Africa - best for sports volunteering
• Victoria Falls - best for wildlife volunteering
• Croatia - best for volunteering with NGOs
• Peru - best for cultural immersion
• New Zealand - best for environmental volunteering
• Belize - best for marine conservation
• Ghana - best for medical volunteering

To find out more, explore International Volunteer HQ’s range of programs here.