Volunteer work?

Q. Gary asks, "What about volunteering? I have heard it is a good way to meet people and to land a job."

A. Volunteering makes sense in some situations. If you are changing careers and have learned that experience is necessary to land a job in your new field, volunteering may be the best step to take. But investigate first to learn if volunteer experience will do the trick.

Volunteering is also a good strategy when you are trying to expand your network. But it is a time consuming process to meet only a few people. Look at the payoff. If a reasonable amount of time invested will pay off with a large number of contacts, then it may be worthwhile.