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Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!

Written by Bernie

Bernie Frazier, SPHR is the Founder and President of CAREERCompass, LLC, a speaking and career coaching firm in St. Louis, MO. She also spent almost 25 years recruiting talent to six organizations across four industries and led the talent acquisition function for four of those organizations, including one global team.

Said Arnold Horseshack on just about every episode of “Welcome Back Kotter.”  For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, it was a popular weekly sitcom in the 1970’s about a high school teacher who taught in a tough New York neighborhood school.  He was in charge of the students who were more “challenging.”  Arnold Horseshack was the one student who would always raise his arm and yell out, “Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!” to volunteer his answer any time Mr. Kotter would ask the class a question.  It was a good show. 

In this instance, Arnold’s volunteering wasn’t especially welcomed by Mr. Kotter or the rest of the class, but a funny thing – Arnold usually got called on.  So, how does this equate to a job search?  Well, I’m glad you asked.  Arnold Horseshack used volunteering as a way to stand out and get what he wanted in the classroom.  Why not use volunteering to stand out and get what you want in your job search?  

Connecting with people is a crucial part of any successful job search, particularly if you’re looking for white collar jobs.  By carving out a portion of your week to do volunteer work, you do four things: 

            1.  Give yourself an opportunity to learn new skills or practice current skills;

            2.  Show employers that you made productive use of your down time;

            3.  Do a good deed by giving back to your community;

           4. Create new opportunities for networking with other volunteers, staff, board members and community leaders

While volunteering, you never know who you may encounter.  Other volunteers and staff members know people who work for companies – some for which you may want to work!  Board members are often decision makers in their respective companies and can connect you with people in their companies who can move on your behalf under the instruction of the board member.  Community leaders are usually connected with a lot of company leaders and workers, and give you access to people they know.

So, if you find yourself on the unemployment line, take a little time to imitate Arnold Horseshack and become a volunteer.  (By the way, Arnold is the one standing in the back with the brown jacket on.)

 Until next time….