Volunteering is without a doubt a great resume booster, but beyond that it also builds character, patience, networks, and leadership skills. In this post I share the 7 ways volunteering in Zambia has improved my business leadership skills.

In 2013, I decided to quit my job to volunteer in Zambia as part of Technoserve’s Volunteer Consultant program, working under USAID’s Thrive program, the aim of Thrive was to establish a program to improve the nutritional status of people living with HIV. Thrive also aims to develop new market opportunities for small-scale farmers, local food processors, and retailers. Living in another country has many hurdles to overcome, from language barriers to unfamiliar social customs, there were several occasions where I had to step outside of my comfort zone to survive. But having returned from my trip for just a little over a year, I can definitely say that volunteering abroad has significantly benefited both my personal life and my career. There is research that shows that travelers are better problem solvers, more intelligent, and make more friends.

Some of the benefits are obvious. Volunteering is a great resume booster, but I found some of the benefits are less obvious, and in fact, some of these benefits were not immediately realised until I recently started leading a team again. So for anyone who is contemplating volunteering abroad, below I have detailed a few benefits from volunteering in Zambia that has helped boost my career and leadership skills.

The 7 Benefits I Have Gained From Volunteering Abroad

1. It Expands Your Network

My professional contacts have grown at least threefold (literally!) through my volunteer work abroad. When you’re volunteering in a foreign country you never know who you might meet and the people you meet you’re unlikely to cross paths with otherwise. Through my work with TechnoServe and UN Women’s Knowledge Gateway, I met ministers of government departments, international diplomats, C-level executives, seasoned academics, and of course, many people that dedicate their lives to making the world a better place. The best thing about meeting other volunteers is that they tend to be passionate people that can offer great professional referrals and references. Working with other volunteers opens up a whole new world of networking connections that share the same passion that you do: building a better world.

2. What a Great Story to Tell

Humans are story-tellers by heart. We all love to hear a good tale and volunteering abroad creates many opportunities for great stories when you get back home, from that language snafu to that crazy thing you never thought you’d eat but you did. Volunteering abroad offers a great way to break the ice during a traditional corporate introduction. It instantly makes you a more interesting person with exciting stories to tell. It makes people want to get to know you and, even better, there’s never an awkward silence when you first meet someone because there is so much to discuss.

3. Be a Global Citizen

Volunteering abroad, especially in a less-developed country, puts you outside of your comfort zone and helps you become more aware of the everyday realities of people from another part of the world. Tough topics like famine, poverty, sickness, inequality, and even war might be much more exposed in a new country than back home. It’s easy to tune out the news, but harder to tune out the reality in front of you. The severity of some of these circumstances really comes to life when you’re standing right in front of it. This newfound awareness can help your career by making you a more understanding, compassionate person. You will become more knowledgeable about difficult subjects and how to navigate their murky waters. Also these situations give perspective and you’ll find yourself cool under pressure because you’ve seen worse and know how to handle it. I can definitely say that I feel more confident working with others after the time I spent in Zambia.

4. Become More Compassionate

When I stepped off the plane in Zambia after I made the decision to quit my job back home, I knew that my time in Africa would not be about me. Before I went to Zambia, I would make occasional donations to charities to support various causes, but I was never emotionally invested in them. After seeing a lot of things firsthand, it has changed the way I think about volunteering, donating, and relating to others. Now I wonder about how I can help others, even if I am 27 hours away. Since returning from Africa, one thing I ask myself every day is: what can I do for others? It was a question I constantly asked myself in Zambia to make the most of my time there and it’s a question I still ask myself, because I learned that volunteering and activism doesn’t have to stop after you leave. Even little actions can make big changes.

5. Learn Patience

I have started my own businesses and helped others do the same. It’s no secret – the majority of my career has been built in the start-up scene. Many times when creating a new start-up, things happen at lightning speed. If I come up with an idea today, it’s usually completed in a matter of days. My experience in Africa was a complete 180. Working with government departments and NFP sector was an exercise in patience. Most of my ideas had to be stair-stepped through layers of approval and ushered through red tape which resulted in projects I was used to lasting a few days taking weeks or months of planning and follow up before projects could even be started. A project idea I introduced in Zambia over a year ago has only recently been approved by the government. It’s anticipated to take another 12 to 18 months for the idea to be rolled out. These kinds of timelines have made me a more patient person that knows how to handle project delays and has made me a more flexible planner in my professional career.

6. Improving Skills

Volunteering in Zambia has made me a more fact-based person – everything I do needs to be backed up with data to support it. Case studies, examples, or statistics are my bread and butter in the corporate world so that I can use cold logic to describe why I know something would work, instead of trying to convince someone why I think it might work. Making decisions based on facts means no more taking gambles when there’s money on the line. Sometimes stepping outside of your comfort zone in a foreign country means you need to cultivate skills to handle the pressure. This can be a great way to sharpen or improve professional skills in a different environment.

7. Other Unexpected Benefits

You can’t always anticipate everything that you will learn or grow from in an unfamiliar setting like volunteering abroad. For me, I learned to become a better and healthier cook! Before I volunteered in Africa, I barely ever turned my stove on. I even got a call once from Stevan Premutico, the CEO of the restaurant reservations website Dimmi, toi tell me I was one of dimmi’s top diners (by booking numbers). The dining options in Zambia were much more limited, which means that my roommate and I had to get creative with cooking our meals. We were constantly brainstorming ideas for substitutes for familiar ingredients that were hard or impossible to find in Africa. We even learned to grow some of our own herbs. I am extremely proud to say that I no longer use packaged cake mix and now I bake everything from scratch. But what does this have to do with my career? Well, making my own meals now means I’m eating healthier food which gives me more energy and of course my team enjoys the occasional surprise of gourmet cakes in the office – definitely an unexpected benefit of volunteering in Zambia!

Have you thought about volunteering abroad? If so, here's a few resources to help get you started:

Technoserve

Since 2001, TechnoServe has engaged more than 900 Volunteer Consultants on three- to 12-month projects throughout Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and India. If you are looking to take a break from the ordinary and employ your professional skills in a dynamic international setting, to find our more visit TechnoServe’s Volunteer Consultant Program website.

United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development, and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers. For more information visit the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme website.

Not ready to quit your job and go abroad yet? If you have access to a computer and the Internet coupled with the right skills then you should consider volunteering online. UNV Online Volunteering service one of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme’s corporate tools to mobilize volunteers for development.

The Online Volunteering service connects volunteers with organizations working for sustainable human development:

Volunteers contribute their skills online to help organizations address development challenges. For more information and the current available opportunities visit the UNV Online website.