Bhubaneswar, June 15: Volunteering never goes unrewarded. Youngsters, for whom social causes take precedence over everything else in life, are making an impression at interviews for admission to the top-notch colleges and universities.

When Anwesha, an English graduate from BJB College, went for the final selection round at a reputed institute in Mumbai, she discovered that she had an edge over the others because of her social service record.

“The panelists appeared very impressed by my CV and congratulated me. Taking part in social activities and community service has, so far, been a rewarding experience only at a personal level. But, I realised that there were benefits in academic terms, too,” said Anwesha, who has been associated with the annual Anjali National Children’s Festival and campaigning for the rights of persons with disabilities.

Ananta Prasad, a student of public administration at Utkal University, is flooded with job offers from many non-governmental and non-profit organisations because of his experience in community service. Prasad has been taking part in volunteering projects since his Plus Two days.

“You get noticed when you volunteer for reputable organisations and groups, but you must be careful not to get exploited,” said Prasad, who is associated with every second social event that takes place in the city.

“I get a lot of respect from my friends and juniors. The concept of volunteering has assumed great significance and people are beginning to understand it as involvement with a social cause and not as offering donations,” he said.

Not just academically, a history of volunteering is also helping youngsters land good jobs. Uday Kumar Sahoo, an engineering graduate, is one such youth, who found its fringe benefits when he had appeared in an interview for an IT major.

“These days, companies ask for much more than academic scores and skills learnt in colleges. I told them about my experience of taking tuitions for children at different orphanages and it worked in my favour. Many recruiters select candidates, who are socially responsible and capable of making a difference in this competitive world,” said Uday, who is a member of voluntary youth group, Uddan Odisha.

He and his colleagues at Uddan Odisha — students and graduates from various colleges in the city — visit orphanages and old-age homes to spend time with the members.

Volunteering has earned Parthasarathi Samal, a first-year MBA student of Regional College of Management here, a ticket to the US. “I had applied to a Boston-based company for the post of assistant HR. In my resume, I had elaborated on my experience at disability rights organisation Swabhimaan and Anjali Festival. Two days later, they mailed me, asking me to join at the earliest. My Visa is being processed now and hopefully by next month, I will be working abroad,” he said.

There are also instances of volunteering experience inspiring the Gen-Y for entrepreneurship. Ask Bhanu Prakash (21), a final year student of Apex Engineering College here, who has founded The Broken Scooter, an online youth magazine. “When you volunteer, you get the confidence of starting or doing things without money. You just need ideas and like-minded people for your venture to kick off,” he said.

Founder of Bakul Foundation, a youth volunteer group, Sujit Mahapatra agreed that volunteering made a huge difference in decisions of the colleges and companies in selecting a candidate for admissions or job.

“Everyone wants to know if you are capable of initiative and leadership. For a young student, volunteering is the best way of proving it. One of our volunteers, Ayusman Sarangi, qualified for Massachusetts Institute of Technology because of his experience at Bakul. We are also increasingly finding parents, who want their children to take up volunteering and commit themselves to changing the world,” Mahapatra said.

But the drive for volunteering for any activity must come from within. “If somebody does it only for the sake of enhancing his/her CV, the volunteering experience is only worth the paper,” Mahapatra said.