I remarked in an earlier column that donating time to a charitable or civic organization could be very beneficial to your career and I promised to give more details.
Many of these organizations exist on a shoestring budget. While they may have some computing capabilities, it is usually low tech and the staff has little access to technical assistance. Donating your expertise to help them better understand and use modern technology can be an enormous boost in their effectiveness. Sometimes, just a few hours of training will do wonders. Installing a simple two- or three-node network could simplify their entire record keeping operation. Their backup and recovery capabilities are frequently primitive. They may have access to limited government or private funds to purchase hardware and software but need help writing an "RFP" and evaluating vendor responses.
If you want to help, first be absolutely sure you are on solid ground - that you know what you are doing. Then define the amount of time you are willing to give and don't quibble later.
Here are some of the things that this kind of liaison can do for you:
· You may find yourself purchasing, installing, configuring, training and supporting a system. You would get the kind of "turn-key" project experience that is sometimes very difficult to get on the job.
· If you work in even a moderately high-tech environment, you may be in for a jolt when you realize how far some people need to come. Reaching back and assisting others to span levels of technology will give you a whole new perspective and allow you to relate to your own users much more effectively.
· Doing a project on your own may give you a taste of what the real world of consulting is about. If you think consulting grass is greener, this could be a way to find out.
· We all work under a budget of some sort but you may not know how far you can make a dollar stretch until you spend donated money.
· Even if you just volunteer to teach a seminar for a local charity, the exercise of researching and organizing the material will be enjoyable and you will learn a lot in the process.
· You will earn extremely valuable "stripes" for your resume.
Incidentally, don't be surprised if you end up better appreciating your paying job!
A reader commented after my initial column that "I believe I have an idea why donating professional abilities and time to organizations is [career beneficial], but I'm not certain how to get started if I don't know someone inside." I have some ideas on the subject including a personal story but it would be most interesting to get our readers to take part. If you are involved with or know of a charitable, civic or religious organization that might benefit from donated technical expertise, e-mail me some details. I will report them back to our readers.
RELATED LINKS
Network World's online archive of Fusion Focus newsletters on Careers.
