Volunteer like a Pro this School Year

"Volunteer like a man." That's what Going Back to Work author Mary Quigley said in an interview on CNN's In The Money back in 2004. Offering advice to on-ramp moms she continued, "A man doesn't run a cookie sale. He runs the fund-raising drive to raise $10,000 for a new playground." Career columnists, job coaches and other back-to-work advisors have since echoed her words. Volunteer like a man. Ugh.

Do they also suggest doing manly things like stopping to scratch your crotch as you unload heavy boxes of frozen Market Day foods? Or leaving a copy of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in the PTA office?

No, what Quigley meant and later said was, "Volunteer in areas where there are measurable results." So let's change that to Volunteer Like A Professional. For example, if you're a writer, or an aspiring writer, volunteer to craft press releases, write grants or help with the school paper. Take on meaty tasks that build up, and on, your professional experiences. Use your volunteer time to make contacts, develop skills, and work on projects that make an impact.

Good enough advice, but let's get real. Does heading up a $10,000 volunteer fundraising effort stand out on a resume? And if it does get noticed, will it lead an on-ramp mom to a job offer or even an interview given the bias against hiring moms?

The fact is that schools need volunteers for the gruntwork. There's usually much more work to do than there are volunteers to do it. Sometimes the work can be done from home, some can be done at night or on weekends, so it may be working-parent friendly, but it's not all high-profile, fun, growth-oriented, or interesting. In fact, much of it isn't.

Professional backgrounds or aspirations shouldn't serve as an excuse to avoid lunchroom duty or cleaning up after Bingo Night. Despite Quigley's take on this type of "women's work," I've expanded my network by rubbing elbows with other moms and dads doing these things. But instead of counting them among my "network contacts," I tend to call them friends. You can really get to know a person in the time it takes to mix up 60 gallons of lemonade.

Lest I sound too self-righteous, though, I must admit that for me, the volunteer line is drawn at counting up the Campbell's Soup labels. Even contemplating serving as the label program coordinator makes me anxious and depressed. Damn it, Campbell's, I will not be your whore!

I started thinking about the concept of volunteering like a pro last year when helping with our school's largest fundraiser- a silent auction. When the chairperson told me that I was an account manager for a select group of donor prospects, I suddenly felt so important. I no longer saw myself as an underachieving mom begging for donations. Suddenly, I was transformed into a hotshot account manager, cultivating relationships with qualified donors in order to increase revenues by 50%. How great will that look on my resume?

I don't care if you volunteer like a man, a 50's housewife or a chimpanzee. But please, please get involved in your child's school even if it doesn't add umph to your resume.

And let me know if your school volunteer experience helped you land a job; those kind of stories are very encouraging for on-ramp moms.

Originally published in Kim's back-to-work blog, Navigating the On-ramp at www.austinmama.com. She also blogs at Hormone-colored Days and Scrambled CAKE (where it's Back to School with Food Allergies week).

Comments

[katesanford]

Volunteer like a man? . You were TOO KIND.

Your kind of volunteerism sounds pretty nice, btw. Perhaps to be compared with our frustrated-type-a-for-alpha-ex-professional-star-mommy who-could-use-a-valium-volunteerism here in the silicon valley (shudder).

I'm all for the "volunteer to lead the most well-known auction and make a billion bucks" projects, but I blow kisses of appreciation to the mommies who will suck it up, be pleasant, and work with the others to do pedestrian things like setting up the pot-luck for the teachers and driving field trips.

Welcome to the blog, btw!

[Amy S.]

All kinds of volunteering -- the count the soup label kind and the dynamic raise a billion dollars kind -- are extremely valuable and needed. Kisses for everyone. And by the way, the count the soup label jobs are perfect for working moms like me who don't have a whole lot of time, but still want to contribute.

I once hired a SAHM because she had been President of her PTA. To me, that meant she was organized, ambitious, dynamic, creative, politically savvy and knew how to build consensus -- all things that were required for the position. You can spin any kind of volunteer experience into an asset. It's all in the packaging.

[george penzione]

As a web pro, I took it upon myself to web-ify my daughter's kindergarten class. So all the class parties and responsibilities were logged on www.qlubb.com (a free class/event collaboration site), all photos were shared on picasa (picasa.google.com) and an email distribution list was set up (Yahoo and Google groups).

[Cate]

hey! I am one of those frustrated-type-a-needs-a-double-shot-non-fat-latte-micro-managing-wound-up Silicon Valley moms! And I LOVE the "pedestrian" tasks. I love going in to my son's school and pulling the weeds in the vegetable garden. I love shelving the library books. I love planning teacher appreciation parties. Isn't that the joy of being a room parent?

That said, I really like using Qlubb to delegate and manage classroom volunteerism (can't take the micromanagement gene out of me!)