Service Learning: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff?

Employers today have an ideal environment for hiring. With a full-on recession in effect, the workplace is flooded with unemployed workers. In addition to this, there is a whole generation of students that are frantic to get a job in their field, let alone a dream job. With so many options, any prospective business or corporation may have whomever they wish to fill their ranks. Only the most aggressive, well-trained and experienced people will be given serious consideration.

So, what does this mean for students fresh out of school? Rudimentary theory and basic job skills are no longer enough to guarantee that the clean-shaven college grad will get the coveted position that he has worked so hard for. Our young men and women need something to set them apart – or to at least show that there is some real, gritty experience to strengthen their greenness.

This is where service learning can be of tremendous help. Service learning allows a student who is still in school to work and gain real, marketable experience. There are other methods of gaining this credibility: Intern- or externships for example. However, these methods require the student to be subjected to the demands of a central authority. While these means may prove valuable in showing that an intern has the willingness to follow orders, it does not allow creativity. Employers unanimously desire two things in an employee – competency and self-government. Competency refers to the employee’s ability to carry out his or her job function, while self government means much more. Self-government is a workers ability to govern themselves through maintaining a good work ethic, developing a drive to perfect his or her talents. There are few opportunities to develop such a skill when you are constantly monitored by some form of oversight. Service learning, on the other hand, is not a form of benevolent dictatorship. It is, rather, a cooperative effort between two separate entities that is voluntary and relatively spontaneous. It permits creative energy, exchange of ideas, and unified effort. These are all part of self-government as it relates to our professional lives.

Service learning is an excellent opportunity to gain experience in your field, while showing prospective employers that you have the ability to work with others, engage in team projects, and complete assignments without the need of oversight. Completing a service learning project will demonstrate the qualities of creativity, dedication, perseverance, professionalism, and conscientiousness in your work ethic. Employers cannot help but be impressed!