Volunteering: keeping spirits up while looking for work

Adam Woods: "keeps your mind going and keeps you on the ball"

PAMELA DUNCAN

When he left his job five months ago, Adam Woods (27) had no idea how difficult it would be to find new employment.

After two months of searching job websites, Woods, who is an accountancy student, decided to volunteer to keep himself occupied during the day when he wasn’t studying.

He now volunteers in the Oxfam Ireland shop on George’s Street where he works about 10 hours a week.

Woods, originally from Kildare, has been living in Dublin for eight years. He says that volunteering has kept his spirits up while he has been looking for work.

“It keeps your interest up, keeps you motivated,” he says.

“Working in a shop helps your interpersonal skills because you’re talking to people. It keeps your mind going and keeps you on the ball.”

Woods adds: “It’s meeting people and talking to them that I enjoy the most. It also gives me a routine. I think that’s the worst thing when you’re out of work.”

He says that volunteering has helped him to retain his interpersonal skills and he hopes that this will help him when he is attending job interviews in the future.

He also says that it has given him the motivation to volunteer, something he has always intended doing.

“I’d always wanted to do some charity work but as it is, I wouldn’t be able to go away for a year’s volunteer work, although that’s still a goal I’d have.”