Getting the Most Out of Your Volunteer Position

By Ginger Hultin and Emily Haymond, GSDA Nominating Committee Chairs

You may volunteer to give back, grow your own skills, and/or be part of a community of like-minded colleagues. Volunteering – especially stepping into a board leadership position in a group like GSDA – is an important part of our dietetic profession but there are a lot of benefits that it can bring to your personal and professional life, too! 

Your Nominating Committee Chairs are breaking down exactly how to get the most out of your volunteer position: 

• Utilize Professional Growth – Maybe at work or in school, you don’t hire or train people. You don’t manage budgets. You don’t give presentations. You aren’t part of the strategy team. But as a volunteer, you can develop these skills to benefit your future career! Volunteers at GSDA do all of these things – recruit members, manage the website, plan and run events, manage a budget sheet, create trainings, and lead a group of people. Using a volunteer position to gain critical skills for your career can boost up your resume and lead to important talking points at your next interview! 

• Network and Connect –  The dietetics community is small….very small and dietitians across the country know each other and stay in touch. Making connections through working together on the GSDA board or through attending events could have far-reaching effects for you. You never know when someone may want to share a job posting, have a contact at a job you’re interviewing at, or be able to connect you with a position you want to learn more about. Be sure to take every opportunity as a volunteer to network with others – you could gain a new friend or it could seriously benefit your future career. 

• Build Your Resume (and Your LinkedIn!)
  As you volunteer at GSDA or in other positions, be sure to capture all that you do so you can showcase your skills over time. Be sure to take a moment to update your resume with your volunteer positions and get creative with action words for what you contribute to the team: “organize” “plan” “strategize” and “create” are just a few that you could use! Don’t forget to update your LinkedIn profile, too, in the volunteer section so that potential employers or people you may network with can see how you go above and beyond in your local community. 

• Get Continuing Education Credits – Though you invest in your Academy membership and your GSDA membership, you can actually get back so much value. Take advantage of all the free/included “CE” events that come along with both memberships (Washington State Academy, too!) so that every time your 5-year renewal comes around, you’re set without any added stress or financial commitment. 

Many people are hesitant to join a new board because they’re not sure about the time commitment or may be a little nervous about joining a new team of people that they don’t know. Remember, GSDA is just a group of local students, interns, DTRs, and RDNs that are working together for the good of the community. We welcome you to be a part of it! Even if you’re not sure yet how your skills may fit in or if you’re new to the profession, there’s room for you and we’d love to have you. We hope you’ll reach out as we start to build our board for the “new year” which starts June 1, 2022.