I remember back after the Clone Wars, the galaxy spiraled into a recession that lasted for almost a decade.  This was the result of both the Empire having spent so much money waging war against the Republic coupled with the complete collapse of the financial and real estate industries on Corruscant (the wealthiest planet in the galaxy).  I had just graduated from the Imperial Academy where I earned my Corellian Bloodstripe when galaxy-wide unemployment was approaching 11% and companies had simply shut down their hiring of new employees.  My buddy Chewbacca, who had already been out in the workforce for several years, found himself laid off and without a job as well.  As much as we searched, neither of us could find any work.  Here I was without any real world smuggling experience and Chewbacca had the experience yet here we were both sitting around spending part of our day job searching and the other part playing video games.

Then it hit me…Chewbacca and I would find a non-profit organization and offer to volunteer our time for them.  Sure enough we found a humanitarian organization who smuggled medical supplies and food to the outer rim territories.  Turns out they were desperate for volunteers and welcomed us in with open arms.  They were excited about the experience Chewbacca brought to them and really could use some of my new route ideas to keep their missions under the radar of the Empire that I learned at the Academy.  Immediately, Chewee and I were piloting an aged U-33 Transport ship across the galaxy running supplies for them from planet to planet.  It was on one of these supply drops where we made our first Kessel Run and met Lando Calrissian.  He hooked us up with a smuggling gang run by ROA who gave Chewee and I jobs.  We still continued to make some mission runs for the volunteer group on the side to show our appreciation for the opportunity they created for us.

This volunteer work was beneficial for both mine and Chewbacca’s situations for very different reasons.  For Chewbacca, he was able to fill a gap in his resume during his unemployment months by continuing to do similar work in an unpaid setting.  This not only kept his skills current and fresh, but showed he was the type of Wookiee that worked hard and wasn’t content to just sit around.  I was able to gain some real world experience which helped knock the “green” off me to potential employers and I had the opportunity to bring some fresh ideas into an organization.  Both of us were able to make some fantastic contacts there which helped us from a reference standpoint as well.  We also ended up meeting Lando while on a mission for the volunteer group and he was just the contact we needed to get that job with ROA.  None of that would have happened had we not been volunteering and if we were simply sitting at home playing video games and searching thru job postings.  Another benefit on the flip side was that the organization itself was able to get some much needed help.

No matter what level you are in your career, volunteering your time and lending your experience to an organization can be rewarding and beneficial to both you and the group.