The benefits of volunteering for psychology students

Within the current economic climate students are seen as needing more than a degree to succeed in securinggraduate employment. One way that students chose to enhance their employability is through engaging involuntary work. In this empirical study, undergraduate psychology students’ reasons for volunteering areexplored within the context of enhanced employability. Thirty-nine students provided written narrativeaccounts of their reasons for undertaking voluntary work. Responses were analysed together to identify keythemes and subthemes. The main finding from this analysis was the large degree of cluster overlap withinindividual participants’ responses between self and other focused motives, allowing for a model of stronglyinterdependent motives to emerge. Students clearly benefitted from both volunteering and the opportunity toreflect on their experiences. The findings are discussed in terms of their value for promoting volunteering forpsychology students, in and beyond the context of employability.