Richard Booth, a Customer Success Architect at Salesforce.org, has been delivering skills masterclasses to students on the Career Ready programme for the past year. Here, Richard shares his experience, how it has helped him professionally, and why he is so passionate about volunteering.
I still vividly remember being a young person and feeling totally unprepared for the world of work, feeling more than a little isolated, and very much out of my depth. Through volunteering with Career Ready, I want to share the skills and knowledge I’ve gained over the years. I want to reduce that level of apprehension and prepare the next generation in presenting their best selves to potential employers. I find volunteering is both incredibly rewarding and thought-provoking.
In terms of direct impact on the young people, there are immediate takeaways from the Career Ready masterclasses that I and my colleagues deliver, things that the students can put into action as soon as they leave, like building their networks and thinking about personal brand.
We also share approaches that can be practiced and honed over time like how to handle interviews. At Salesforce we also give our own insights into what it’s like to work as part of a global tech company that cares about the communities it operates in and the people who work here – that’s a message I don’t remember hearing when I entered employment.
Delivering masterclasses has definitely helped my own personal development. Hearing the opinions, thoughts, and passions directly from the students helps give me a perspective I wouldn’t normally get. The entire experience has been rewarding, from the first session to the most recent. I’m already looking forward to participating in the next – volunteering is good for the soul!
To anyone thinking of volunteering with Career Ready I would say this: don’t think to yourself ‘there’s nothing I can offer’. Skills, knowledge, experience, and passion for what you do, mean you’ve got something that could prove invaluable to a young person.’
