Featured image: Microsoft Copilot
To get into esports and make a career out of it, just like every other industry, requires that one makes professional strides gradually. One’s rise to their preferred heights in an esports career will have to start from somewhere, and where better to gather experience and improve on skill sets than volunteering.
Volunteering in esports is a way to gather valuable experience and be one of one with your newfound skill set. This is a preferential move to make as an individual pursuing an esports career, but can still be considered strongly as it comes with its benefits:
Photo Credit: Microsoft Copilot
- Experience: By volunteering you gather valuable experience in the industry; you get a feel of how things run, and see how a day-by-day basis of a specific job or role plays out. It helps to clear certain perceptions you may have had about esports and provide you with a hands-on experience which can establish you if you like the role. You are likely to become a potential employee as the companies you will be working with will also be looking for hires from their pool of volunteers, so volunteering helps spark the initiative to start an esports career.
- Networking: There is the likelihood of meeting and interacting with a diverse group of people when you take on volunteer opportunities with esports companies, and this can help you land future opportunities. You open up doors for yourself when you speak to someone, and when you develop a good relationship from it you are likely to secure some good connections. Having relationships with already established persons in the industry gives you the chance to reach out to them for advice, and that will come if you take the networking part of volunteering seriously.
Photo Credit: Microsoft Copilot
- Skill Development: You may have some experience in the specific role you will be taking up during your time as a volunteer, but it is also going to help improve your skills and potentially help you get into another specialty. It will take you from starting with the basics and then later help you showcase your desire for other roles. With this you widen your horizons and make yourself a potential for other employment opportunities in the industry. One could make the case for say video editors or writers, where you can build your portfolio of content and show your willingness to grow.
- Freelance Opportunities: With the invaluable experience you gather from volunteering, you can make way into freelancing to help you get booked by organizations. Because volunteering is oftentimes unpaid work, it makes it a bit off-putting for some people, but the building of one’s portfolio and skill development help to make you know your worth — which is significant when applying for any industry. Some of the volunteering opportunities can turn into paid roles, so it is best to put yourself out there to learn. This is all still preferential, so you are very much allowed to keep your options open.
- CV Development: If you have participated in esports in various forms including voluntary work, you are likely to be taken notice of by employers instead of persons who do not have any experience. Showing that you have had experience in an unpaid role will make employers see the dedication and passion you have for the esports sector, making you an employable candidate on your CV.
Conclusion
Volunteering helps to progress your career, develop your skills and give you invaluable experience to help you get selected for jobs faster. So consider taking these opportunities on because you give yourself a shot at being a permanent hire in an esports company; steady making your rise to your preferred heights in esports career development.
Esports has helped create jobs for lots of people. Interested in knowing about the business side of esports? Listen to the Gamers Change Lives Podcast! We get experienced guests from all around the world featuring.
Written by Jeffrey Osei-Agyeman
