Searching for the perfect volunteer opportunity? LinkedIn, the social network for professionals, has you covered. In August, the website added a section to user profiles that allowed people to include that they’re looking for volunteer opportunities, in addition to pre-existing sections that asked for volunteer experience and participation in charitable causes. According to a LinkedIn spokesperson, more than 600,000 people added that they were looking for volunteer opportunities since August, and more than 3 million users have added volunteer experience and causes to their profiles since 2011.
MORE: You Can Do More Than Just “Like” Your Favorite Charity on Facebook
Now, Linked is going even further in its volunteer-friendly efforts. The site on January 15 opened a new marketplace for people to find volunteer opportunities that suit their skill sets. Users can search through 500 postings (more will be added in the coming weeks), including everything from board seats to pro-bono consulting.
It’s not surprising that LinkedIn would add volunteer opportunities to the site. According to the company’s research, it can benefit your career. Unemployed people who volunteer are 27% more likely to be hired, LinkedIn says, and 47% of hiring managers that the site polled said they considered volunteer work equally as valuable as paid experience. “Volunteering is not just good for the community, it’s good for your career,” Meg Garlinghouse, head of LinkedIn Good, told Mashable. “That’s just another [reason] why we feel so bullish about making this a part of the LinkedIn experience.”
Tag: Volunteer Opportunities
Free Help to File Your Taxes
During tax season, low-income workers often fall prey to high-fee tax preparation services and charges for rapid refunds. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program aims to change that by offering free volunteer tax assistance to Americans with incomes up to $60,000 a year at centers across the country. Volunteers are given free training in tax preparation, and those who are skittish about accounting but still want to help can contribute in a way that doesn’t require tax law certification. Last year VITA volunteers in Middletown, Connecticut helped almost 500 people file their taxes for free. VITA volunteers in Tennessee have provided tax assistance to 1400 people over the past 9 years, returning $2.5 million to these taxpayers. VITA is now seeking new volunteers across the country for the upcoming tax season.