Volunteer Spotlight: Gaining skills and experience
30th May, 2023
We caught up with Oluwatimileyin, a former meeting and greeting volunteer at Moorfields City Road, to hear about his volunteering experience and find out what he’s been up to since.
How did you get involved with volunteering for us?
I decided to study optometry during my time in Sixth Form, so I’ve always wanted to have experience working in that setting. My mother was informed by a friend of hers who worked there that there was a chance for me to volunteer, and that is how I got started.
What was your volunteer role?
My responsibility was to greet each patient, ensure that they were wearing a face mask (this was during the height of Covid-19, so steps had to be taken to keep everyone safe), and check their appointment letter to direct them to the appropriate ward. I liked it because I could serve people and communicate with them in this position, which put me in the forefront.
What skills and experience have you gained volunteering?
I feel like I’ve developed a lot of skills, but two in particular that I think are crucial for all jobs are communication and teamwork. My everyday interactions with patients have helped me become more assertive and self-assured wherever I go. Also, there were times when there were many patients and we volunteers needed to work together to support them all quickly and efficiently.
I also had a lot of fun and laughs with other staff members and volunteers, they made volunteering so much fun for me.
What are you up to now?
My new job is a pathology support technician post, which involves working in the lab. My employer does want to train me for the position, which is wonderful. Despite the fact that my volunteering had nothing to do with the new job role I was offered, I believe it was a big benefit to me. Even though I wasn’t paid, I was still able to list it on my CV and, as I had no prior work experience, I was able to receive references, which helped me land the new position. In other words, I urge everyone thinking about volunteering to do so since it could be beneficial in the future, just like it was for me.
I hope in future to become an optometrist and work in either the hospital or local community. I would like to express my gratitude to the Friends of Moorfields teams for giving me the chance to share my experience and participate in volunteer work.