CPD23 – Thing 22: Volunteering to get experience

After struggling for many years to obtain a professional post (still trying…) I’m more than familiar with the concept of the “Experience Catch-22“. In many job specs there are often criteria that I can’t meet because I don’t have the relevant experience – experience that I can’t get in the job I’m in. It’s so frustrating that I can’t get the job without the experience but I can’t get the experience without first getting the job.

As Jo says in the blog post for this thing, volunteering to do professional-level work as a way of getting experience is one solution to fill this experience gap. I’ve never been in a position where it was feasible to do this; lucky enough to be able to work full time in the roles I’ve had post qualification, and needing to do so to pay the bills! Of course, voluntary work is only one option. I have been able to put myself forward to get involved with projects and tasks above my current para-professional grade and I think this is another way of volunteering to get the relevant experience. Of course, gaining experience in whatever way possible is becoming more and more important these days!