Does volunteering really help people get paid jobs?

• Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Important research by Professor Bryony Hoskins is published in the journal Sociology, questioning the effectiveness of undertaking unpaid work as a strategic career move.

Young people are routinely told by their school, college or university that getting some work experience, even if it's unpaid, will look good on their CV and be a helpful first step along their chosen career path.

But in a challenge to this standard careers advice Roehampton's Professor Bryony Hoskins offers evidence in an article in the journal Sociology, that volunteering is not unequivocally beneficial for employment, particularly if it doesn't offer career-related experience or is imposed rather than self-initiated. Volunteering can even have a negative effect on employment. Furthermore, factors such as social class can affect one's access to those volunteering opportunities which are most likely to lead to a real job. Read the full report here.