For, me volunteering created a structure to my week and kept me skilled and motivated during my job search. But at the same time, I was able to meet the Jobcentre requirements for job-seeking benefits and didn't let it distract me.

My approach was to be totally upfront with charities about the fact that I needed to be flexible with my time and that interviews and preparation for them came first - and they were totally receptive to this.

As a result, I've been able to give my skills from event organising to training and development, in a variety of friendly and social office environments – which is great personally – but I still got to do my job search effectively. As I wasn't working directly with the public, I was able to keep my mobile on silent to pick up calls about possible jobs.

For me, volunteering gave me a raison d’être to keep busy honing important skills and networking with interesting people in a more relaxed setting than a job fair or conference. It can be difficult to think of anything BUT job searching, but volunteering's career and personal benefits are considerable.