Volunteering is a fantastic way to develop new skills whilst at university. Employers are looking for graduates with a diverse skillset that goes beyond what they have learnt from their degree and volunteering is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to a particular cause or role. This article will tell you the sort of hard and soft skills you could develop by taking part in one of our 80+ opportunities across the 128 organisations registered with City Volunteering.  

Hard vs. soft skills 

Hard skills are specific, quantifiable abilities or knowledge sets acquired through education or training and are usually required for certain roles. Soft skills are interpersonal attributes that are unique to every individual and often gained through experiences and are valuable across many kinds of jobs. Both are important to employers are they contribute to an organisation’s ability to achieve their objectives and deliver their services. Volunteering gives you the chance to find an opportunity that will help you develop whichever skills you think you need to add to your overall skillset and employability.  

Developing hard skills through volunteering 

Many of you will be learning hard skills through your degree, and volunteering is a great way to put what you’ve learnt into practice before you enter the professional world. On the other hand, volunteering is a great way to learn hard skills that don’t form part of your academic training. Some examples of hard skills many employers look for are data analysis, computer programming, graphic design, languages and report writing. Charities may lack the resources to hire staff with these specific skills, so you’ll be making a huge difference by offering your expertise for even a few hours a week.  

Developing soft skills through volunteering 

Soft skills are developed in different ways to hard skills: they are gained by learning by doing, rather than being ‘taught’. Most jobs will require you to possess an ability to communicate with others, whether this is delivering information to clients or working with colleagues. Many degrees at City will require you to develop both your written and verbal communications skills, and you can demonstrate these with real-life volunteering experiences across a range of social causes and sectors. Another important soft skill employers look for is adaptability and problem solving: employers will want to know how you have overcome adversity in your previous workplace or voluntary experiences to demonstrate your ability to think quickly and provide innovative solutions. In many charities and non-profit organisations no two days are the same, and problems may arise from internal issues, or the organisation may need to respond rapidly to sudden changes in global affairs. Therefore, they are a great place to develop your ability to adapt to problems within a workplace. 

You can use filters when looking for a volunteering role to narrow down your search by the skill you want to gain.

To find out more visit City Volunteering or book a 1-2-1 for more specific advice on volunteering at City.