The Secret to Finding Your Next Job, Cofounder, or Mentor: Volunteering

8 Stories of Conference Wins,

For many people the answer to this question comes naturally and usually goes like this: “Because I want to meet like-minded individuals” or “Because I want to learn a thing or two from people that I look up to” or “Because I see volunteering as one of the ways to improve my resume and eventually land an internship or a job position I have always dreamed about”.

All of these points are correct. However, in this article I want to give you more than that. I want to share with you real and inspiring stories of those who have done it (probably multiple times) and so, without any exaggeration, changed the direction of their lives and careers.

Let me summarize it in one simple sentence:

“It's worth the upside, especially if you're just getting started.”

The home is to encourage some of you who haven't done any volunteering yet or those who have tried it before but did not see the envisioned results. Give it a try (and another) as there is literally no downside.

Note: If you have a similar experience and would like to share your story, please fill out this form.

Below are some brief stories of volunteers from all around the world. Some are short, some slightly longer. Enjoy!

1. Anna Zakharchenko (@helloannazee)

Volunteered at: Collision, RISE & Web Summit

Works at: More Wishes

“If I am to describe my volunteering experience in one word, this word would be life-changing.

It all started at Collision in Las Vegas in 2015. I was at the crossroads in my professional life and was not sure what I wanted to do. Nor did I know what to expect from Collision and why I should actually go there as a volunteer. Looking back, I can say it was one of the most spontaneous and, eventually, the best decisions I have ever made.

The main takeaway from the conference was understanding of what makes me tick, and what I should strive for — in other words, that one week gave me the answer that I had been trying to find for months. It was the result of the amazing atmosphere and the many opportunities that such conferences offer: You can talk to inspiring entrepreneurs, investors and speakers, get professional feedback on your ideas and thoughts, find out about the latest trends in the tech industry, and get motivated by thousands of people who surround you every day.

This is exactly what has happened to me during Collision, RISE and two Web Summits. I had conversations with people who are very difficult to reach in your everyday life, and they gave me some valuable advice. For example, about specifics of doing business in Japan, which I already used at work, or the science of winning poker (which I hasn’t used yet). I met new friends who gave me another reason to travel the world, as well as another source of support, motivation, positive emotions and knowledge. I found inspiration to change my career and start working with startups to help them grow and drive innovation. And finally, I had a great time hanging out with diverse people, exchanging ideas, enjoying beautiful cities, their vibrant night life, delicious food and beautiful views.

Another amazing thing about such conferences — their volunteers. I was surprised to find out that my fellow volunteers were entrepreneurs who volunteered in order not to pay for a ticket, as well as organizers of similar events for startups in other countries, ambitious college students, and even investors.

Yes, Web Summit doesn’t compensate your traveling expenses. Instead, it gives you a chance to join their events for free. After all, it costs like a week-long vacation, but gives you much more in terms of emotions, knowledge and networking.”

2. Adam Muniz (@StartupGrindCT)

Volunteered at: Startup Grind Sydney & New Haven

Works at: Glamsquad

“Startup Grind changed my life, allowed me to come to the US, establish a huge network, work with city/state government offices, get accepted into an Ivy League school (Yale University), partner with Fortune 500s, interview at Google, host globally leading and inspiring founders, learn more than I’ve ever learned before and help countless entrepreneurs. I could go on and on here…”

3. Michaela Szilvasova (@miszilvasova)

Volunteered at: Startup Weekend Bratislava

Currently looking for new opportunities

“I started volunteering when I was still at the university. I was a member of a student association and one day I heard that local Startup Weekend Bratislava is looking for students to volunteer at the event. It was my very first experience. I met lot of interesting people there: young people excited to build share their ideas and build startups, successful business people, investors, mentors, community builders and organizers with whom I later established a relationship. This event opened the door to the startup community in Slovakia for me. Thanks to volunteering I got my first job, grew my network and made a lot of new friends. I believe that sometimes when you give first, you can receive even more later on.”

4. Lyden Foust (@LydenFoust)

Volunteered at: Unpolished Conference

Works at: Spatial

“While volunteering I saw that there was a pitch competition. I ended up winning the competition ($3.5k). Got to know the person who eventually became my co-founder. Then we quit our jobs, started Spatial, got into Techstars, got a deal with Ford, and finished raising $2.1m seed.”

5. John Frye (@JFryeOfficial)

Volunteered at: Startup Grind Monterrey Bay

Works at: Growth Juice

“When I moved to California I literally didn’t know one person in the tech scene. I found a tech meetup on Meetup.com where someone pitched this thing called “Startup Grind” that had “50 chapters around the world”. I went up to him afterwards and begged to be involved which he gladly let me do (note: you don’t need to beg someone to volunteer). I ended up volunteering for about 8 months in my city and bothering the founder to give me advice every month or so. Fast forward 2.5 years after I begged to volunteer I was asked to fly back to Silicon Valley to work at the headquarters which is where I am today.”

6. Jon Santangelo (@_jonathangelo_)

Volunteered at: GMIC Beijing

Works at: Chariot

“In 2013, the organizers of GMIC, the largest mobile tech conference in Asia, asked me to be their head of security for VIPs. I gladly accepted. At the time I was doing Business Development for my international talent recruitment firm and saw this is a hidden opportunity to have a multitude of face to face talks with key leaders and decision makers. As one of the conference’s go-to’s for VIPs of some very interesting companies, in two days, I had dozens of potential new clients and contacts, and a refreshed perspective on how to be better at my day job. I was also further immersed in the tech world and knew someday I’ll likely be doing a startup. And I don’t think I met anyone who I didn’t like either!

Ultimately, the year’s conference biggest star guests were Ma HuaTeng, CEO of the mammoth Tencent (you may have heard of WeChat) and film superstar Jet Li. They needed more bodyguards and I was there to assist. For a span of half an hour, I was Jet Li’s bodyguard. I’ll never forget the adrenaline rush of being a security guard for my teen-hood hero. That’s probably my favorite extreme funny/random story as an expat of 6 years in Beijing.”

7. Dave Culligan (@culligandave)

Volunteered at: Startup Grind Halifax

Dave is a passionate daily vlogger

“I volunteered at Startup Grind when I was still in university, and working as a mail-boy at a law firm. Eventually, I ended up befriending and working with the Chapter Director, Oleg Yefymov. I started by buying into the Startup Grind values and just finding ways to help, and I ended up working on a startup with him and traveling for the first time in my life. With this startup, we went across Canada. Then I went to New York, where I met, befriended and stayed with Eric Hu — a young marketing whiz that I’d read about on Business Insider (I DMed him on Instagram). In New York, I also met my professor from an MIT Open Course class that I took, which was really cool! It doesn't end there…I also travelled to China, where I met the Startup Grind China & APAC head, which was insanely serendipitous, as we had Skyped for a Startup Grind interview a few days before my trip to China began.

Now I have been named the new Chapter Director for Halifax, and will attend the Global Conference in San Francisco! On top of all of this, it was at a Startup Grind event that I first had my idea to do a 365 Day Video challenge, which has become a huge passion of mine and has led to news features, awards, business partnerships, freelance video and consulting contracts, and now running a clothing startup called behuman Clothing. So ultimately, I’ve travelled around the world, got my first gig with a startup, made amazing friends, found my passion in creating videos and telling stories through that medium, and as a bonus I now run a startup where I get to work with amazing people everyday — and it is all because I took the step to volunteer at an event that I believed in.”

8. Michelle Mannering (@MishManners)

Volunteered at: The University of Melbourne

Works at: BajaBoard

When I was going through university, I decided to get involved in volunteering. I think it was the satisfaction I would feel after helping, the hope of making more friends, or maybe it was simply $50 voucher I found enticing. Either way, I put my hand up to volunteer at Melbourne Uni’s Open Day. It was my second year and I was a guide for the School of Engineering, showing prospective students and their families through our awesome ICT building and talking about my experiences as a student. I absolutely loved it. It was a chance to impart my knowledge (still very limited as a 2nd year), and explain what it was I enjoyed about my course. As the day ended I thought, “I want to do more”.

A little while later, the University of Melbourne put out a call for applications for Open Day Guides again. Immediately, I signed up, but didn’t stop there. I noticed they also wanted O-Week leaders, Graduation Helpers, and Academic Advice day speakers. I put my name down for the lot. Firstly, I was selected, not only as an Open Day Guide, but as a coordinator. I was given the task to manage a team, coordinate with other leaders, and organize my section of the uni. It was super fun. I loved revving up a team and found I had a knack for it.

I quickly became known to the organizers who wanted to utilize my skills and my upbeat personality. They re-selected me multiple years in a row, asked me to speak on several occasions to students, and I was at the forefront of the volunteers for Graduations. I made tonnes of amazing friends, and volunteering for roughly six years allowed me to see the people I mentored come through the system to mentor others. It was truly inspiring and I received so many heartfelt and wonderful testimonials. At the end of uni, one of my best friends, a girl I’d met volunteering, told me about a great job the university was advertising — Open Day Coordinator. This wasn’t the usual student coordinator role I had previously done, but it was the coordinator of all the volunteers over the entire campus, about 500 in total. I thought, why not? So I applied, and landed the job — a paid job!

The recruiters were so impressed with my volunteering resume and the fact I had completed so much alongside my university degree, they said I was a no-brainer. I had the experience they were looking for and I seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Both myself and another student were hired for this role, and it was ten times more rewarding. We managed all the volunteers, interviewed hundreds of students for positions, and trained them all up. It was like reinvesting in the whole cycle over again. Come open day, some staff of the university were asked to assist me and my partner in crime. It was the most hectic day ever! At one stage, we had people spilling out of the building we were in, and volunteers everywhere trying to sign up for their shifts, pick up gear, and get out in the field. One of the staff made a comment that under all the pressure, we remained calm, collected, and got the job done to perfection. That same person grabbed my details and thanked me at the end of the day. I thought nothing of it. Yep, just another person networking is all that ran through my end.

Three months later, at the end of the year and almost the end of my degree, I had no idea what to do. I moved back to my hometown Albury and started the job hunt. It was really hard. I was either far too qualified (having an almost Masters and Bachelor degree) or I had no experience (what’s with everyone wanting five years’ experience???), and I just didn’t quite match up to the job descriptions. I roughed it out for what felt like FOREVER (in reality, it was less than a month), and I received a call from the Director of the Carlton Connect Initiative: “I’d like you to come work for me, would you come in for a chat?” I was like what? I didn’t even know that Carlton Connect existed, let alone what it was. The director explained to me that I had been recommended to him by the same lady who took my details at Open Day and I should come and meet him. I was on the train the next day, had an interview, and was offered the job there and then, which I promptly accepted. It was seriously the most exciting thing I’d done to date.

I moved to Melbourne with naught but a suitcase, no place to live, and only the slightest idea what Carlton Connect was, but I did so with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. The job was awesome, rewarding, tiring at times, but the best fun ever. I was at the front of all the major events that took place on their site at LAB-14; expos, conferences, art exhibitions, hackathons, talks, seminars, plays, cocktail functions, breakfast meetings — everything. I met so many amazing people and attended all the events, even if I wasn’t running them.

That was February 2015. Two years later, I’ve finished my Masters, started my own company, travelled to America for work, been in international competitions, met the most incredible people, and am constantly amazed at the energy a place like Carlton Connect can create. I still work on the site of the Carlton Connect precinct, coordinating events freelance while I work with an electric skateboard company, BajaBoard — yeah, it’s awesome! I use the skills, knowledge, and experience I got from volunteering almost every day; leadership, organization, time management, coordination, communication.

Without those countless hours I spent giving up my time to help others, I would not be where I am today, nor have the skill-set I possess. It has been an amazing journey, one I hope inspires you to take up the volunteering mantle today.

So, feeling a little inspired? I hope so. What’s next? Time to take action.

I'm sure there is countless volunteering opportunities in your area no matter where you live. You can even start with the events and organizations mentioned above. Great things are waiting for you out there — go get them.

And please, reach out to me (@jsmejky) when you do. I would love to hear your story, thoughts and experiences. Good luck! 🍀

P.S. If you're going to be in San Francisco (February 21 & 22), make sure to check out our Global Conference — we're still looking for some volunteers. ;-)