Volunteering is super easy. All nonprofits are looking for help all the time: Just walk into your local soup kitchen ready to get to work. Oh, wait, none of that is true. Finding the right organization and best time to lend a hand isn't simple at all, which is why one of the biggest players in the social networking space is stepping in to help.
LinkedIn has always been Serious Business: A place where you furiously job-hunt or, if you're a luckier sort, sit back and wait for headhunters to come a-callin'. But the professional social network found that more than 600,000 of its members in the last six months indicated that they wanted to volunteer or serve on a nonprofit board. So LinkedIn on Wednesday launched its Volunteer Marketplace to connect nonprofits in need of skilled helpers with professionals who want to pad their resumes with good deeds.
The new marketplace isn't just full-time employees who want to spend weekends picking up trash or building Habitats for Humanity. LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman said in a Wednesday blog post that students, retirees, and stay-at-home moms and dads looking to keep their skills intact while they sit out the job market will benefit from the Volunteer Marketplace.
"When I talk with LinkedIn members, many tell me they aren't actively looking for traditional job opportunities," Hoffman said. "Instead, they want to hone or leverage their skills while also making a positive impact on the world."
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