March’s winner is Jakob Rieckh, Technology Strategy Consultant at Accenture. Jakob was nominated for going over and above in planning for an employability workshop for job seekers he undertook in March with our Employment Works team. As early as December he was helping to plan the workshop while on holiday in Austria and ensured his team had the day off to participate in the activities. He continued to help planning throughout January and February and arrived early on the day of the workshop to help set everything up, something we do not expect our volunteers to do. The day was a great success and his managing director Thanos Malevitis described the session as “life changing” for him as well.

We asked Jakob to tell us a bit about his experience of volunteering:

Why did you volunteer?
In the hectic day-to-day working rhythm we run the risk of adopting some kind of a “tunnel vision”, focusing on the next project milestone and neglecting the privileges that come with the job. Engaging our team in a full-day volunteering session was therefore a great opportunity to get fresh perspectives while doing something good and giving back to the community. The possibility offered by Accenture UK to dedicate a certain number of working days to charity activities was an additional motivation to volunteer.

Why do you think volunteering is important?
The candidates appreciated the chance to hone their CV and interview skills with industry professionals. At least as important as these “hard skills”, however, was our effort to foster the candidates’ self-confidence for upcoming real interviews.

Would you recommend volunteering to a colleague and if so why?
A clear YES! Volunteering is a “two-way experience”. As much as it’s about giving, it’s about the chance to benefit from the candidate’s unique backgrounds. Dedicating a full day out of the busy project schedules proved a very rewarding experience for us. We had a great team experience and took away new perspectives that no classroom training can deliver.