#5 Volunteering Work, Networking, Freelance - the future of job market

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my website and my 5th blog post.

Today I will talk about the importance of volunteering work and how it will impact one’s future success in entry-level job opportunities. My opinion is based on changes I observed in the job market. So, it will surely affect you if you are a bachelor/master/Ph.D. student.

I have completed my 6 yrs of Ph.D. from inStem Bangalore, India. I have been pursuing my postdoc at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNew), Copenhagen, Denmark, for the past 1.5 yrs. However, it has only been in Denmark that I see vibrant student-led non-profit organizations working like companies, where people work as volunteers. They consider the work as necessary as their primary job and work with a single objective, i.e., how their contribution can help the organization grow.

The organizations I know of are:

1. PhD Career Stories (I am a part) – an online podcast sharing stories of career transitions of PhDs across the world.

2. Ph.D. and Student Association – reNew (I am a part) – student organization working with the administration to organize workshops and events for researchers and scientists.

3. Synapse Life Science Connect – bachelor’s and master’s student-driven organization providing career mentorship and networking opportunity to life science students and scientists within academia and industry.

4. Rebbls – academic and industry professional-driven organization creating networking events within the Copenhagen bio-entrepreneurship community.

5. MarketingLab – Copenhagen Business School student-driven organization brainstorming marketing strategies and business development ideas. Also collaborating with companies on distinct projects.

Non-Profit, Volunteering based organisation in Copenhagen

Why do they do it?

a. They can apply their knowledge and produce tangible results. These results act as validation for the caliber of their CV.

b. Working in an organization generates industry-specific skills like project management, portfolio management, communication management, etc.

c. Volunteering work generates a lot of networks that increase your chances of getting an internship which paves the way for an entry-level job (more than 50% of jobs are acquired through networking).

Important to note: Current signs suggest that volunteering work will drive people’s success in industry FREELANCING POSITIONS…

Events that helped me expand my network

Covid19 had forced companies to create a new job category called Work From Home. But soon companies realized that Work From Home reduced office space requirements and could attract talents worldwide. This increases the Return on Investment for companies. Thus, companies are now more inclined to outsource jobs online to talented freelancers. Especially for startups, Bioinformatics, Marketing, Communications, and Business Development roles will be freelanced or set as a work-from-home category.

The selection of candidates for such job positions at an entry-level will depend on Volunteering Work Experience. Freelancing/Work From Home categories does not require a company's long-term investments. It can be used as an entry-level testing position. Furthermore, if the employees deliver, companies can screen them for higher-level positions.

Thus, it’s not far away when talent acquisition for startups and companies will check for freelancing work very seriously. I think, the future pattern of hiring will look something like this:

FUTURE: Volunteering Work + Network -> Freelance Role -> Temporary Role -> Permanent Position

PRESENT: Volunteering Work + Network -> Temporary Role -> Permanent Position

PAST: Degree -> Application -> Temporary Position -> Permanent Position

Did you see the shift in mindset?
It’s all about work experience and experience in working with diverse employers.

Mark my word: 10 years later, Freelance experience will be regarded as a strong factor in job applications.

Find out opportunities to gain volunteering work/freelance experience. It’s never too late.

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See you soon… 🤟