Volunteer Global

Today's guest blog comes courtesy of Jeff Jung, founder of CareerBreakSecrets.com, a site for people taking a career break or round the world travel. Jeff has traveled to 27 countries and took his career break in 2007-2008. He is currently based in Bogota, Colombia.

Thank you, Jeff!

A TV sales executive working with orphans in India. An advertising executive working at an HIV/AIDS clinic. A marketing executive applying her skills to a ranch on the pampa in Argentina. A teacher going to China to teach English. A management consultant taking the summer off to run an at-risk tennis camp in the US. A business development executive coaching entrepreneurs in Tanzania. A pharmaceutical sales executive building houses in Colombia.
 

These are all real people who decided to spend all or part of their career break volunteering around the world.

What Is A Career Break?

A career break is a time in your professional life when you say, ¨I´ve got to take a break from what I´m currently doing because I´ve got some other things I want to do in my life.¨ Many of us can get so involved with our careers that we literally forget about all the other things in our lives that are important for us to experience. It´s a time in your life when you seek to reconnect with your passions. And, it allows you rebalance yourself and recharge from working those hours at the office.
 

Some prefer the terms sabbatical or gap year. In a sense, you can use these terms interchangeably. I personally prefer the term career break, because it is more descriptive and direct for the working professional. A career break is just that, a break in your career. It implies that you have a career to break from, and it implies that you will return to your career in some form or fashion. Sabbatical tends to have too much of an academic or religious connotation. And, gap year for me is too strongly associated with a younger traveler fresh out of university. Bottom line, I don´t care too much what people call it, as long as they do it.
 

There are three basic categories of things that people do on their career break travel adventures: take time to learn new skill, find an interesting way to see the country they are visiting, and/or find a way to give back. For most career breakers, it´s not an either/or situation. Career break travel can integrate all or some of those elements along with good old fashioned touristy activities.

Why Volunteer On a Career Break?

For many people, they never had the opportunity or never took the opportunity when they were younger to volunteer. Or, after getting into the corporate grind, they simply didn´t have time to give back because they were too busy ¨delivering value¨ or ¨producing¨ for the man. And, by the time they took their break, they needed to feel that what they did contributed to something bigger than themselves.
 

At the end of last year while out filming for our upcoming video travel guides, I spent time with organizations that took volunteers in South Africa and in Chile. What became clear to me was that they all really appreciated the help and that it was needed. What I also learned is that the whole voluntourism movement is still in its ¨wild wild west¨ phase. The organizations in most need of help are often those least likely to market themselves to potential volunteers due to scarce resources. And, when those organizations receive people, there can be a mis-match between the skills being offered and the skills that are really needed. The organizations I got know all said that the vast majority of volunteer placements were success stories. But, when there wasn´t a fit between the volunteer and the organization, it seemed to be a really bad fit.
 

More than anything, most career breakers want to make the most of their time on their career break. They want to make it count. They are deferring a bit of career success, cutting off their salary, and living off of savings (unless they were lucky enough to have it partially funded by your employer). For most, this time in their lives will be their only career break (unfortunately). So, career breakers don´t have time to waste on an experience that doesn´t get them what they want out of it.

How To Have A Successful Volunteer Experience

1. Know Yourself. You know who you are, what your strengths are and what your breaking points are better than anyone else. So, before you start to look for a volunteer experience (whether through an agency or independently), think about what you want, why you´re volunteering, what skills you have to offer, and what kinds of living situations you can handle. Even if you change what you think you can offer or what kind of living situations you can handle, at least you have a starting point before you start your search.
 

2. Look For A Good Fit For Your Skills. A volunteer coordinator for an animal sanctuary in South Africa told me a story of someone who showed up wanting to help with their marketing. Problem was, her organization didn´t need much marketing help. What they needed were people to help feed the animals, clean the cages and do the occasional tour through the sanctuary. After about 2 weeks, the volunteer left and both parties got nothing out of the situation except a lot of frustration. It´s better to choose an organization that needs your skill so you can make a meaningful commitment than choose one because you have a pre-conceived notion of what you think the organization needs from you.
 

3. Ask Lots of Questions Before. Always. There are two main sources: the organization and its previous volunteers. The good organizations will happily pass you on to their previous volunteers. The volunteer coordinators will tell you that they only way to know what to expect is to speak to the volunteers themselves. Keep in mind that the organizations will have have all levels of sophistication in dealing with volunteers. But, before you commit, make sure you get all your questions asked and you get satisfactory. If you go with a placement agency, ask them lots of questions too.
 

4. Be Flexible. It´s Not About You. You will never really know what to expect until you arrive. So, it´s time to check you inner diva at the airport. Your organization will likely do what it can to make your time with them a success. But, their resources are limited. And, most of them will go to taking care of their community. Be prepared to go with the flow. They will appreciate the fact that you rolled up your sleeves to pitch in to do what they need done, especially if what they ask you to do is different than when you first planned your trip. 

Photos courtesy of Jeff Jung, Atif Gulzar, K. Rayker, and Mateo Saenz O'Mara.