When the topic of volunteering came up, some experts at Nerdify remarked that volunteers are not paid not because what they do is not important but because what they do is priceless. Indeed, volunteers are those people who are not often noticed, yet they are the ones who always change the world.

Regardless if you spend your summertime busy guiding the young scouts in your local community or helping students with special needs to win in the sports competition or elsewhere, your contribution is priceless. It is also a great way to add something special to your resume as you are getting ready for college or plan to apply for a scholarship to finance your studies. In either case, volunteering is a wonderful world that you have to explore!

1. Contribution to Your Local Community. First of all, you are making a significant contribution to your local community. It does not matter if you help to fix the computers at the youth community outlet or assist the elderly with their finances, it is the fact of your participation that makes the difference. As we are living through challenging times, more and more people require any kind of help. Both young and old are looking for guidance as they feel challenged by the social restrictions and isolation. As a volunteer, you can provide both physical and mental help that will make you feel much better. When you know that you have made someone smile, you will realize that the day has not passed in vain!

2. Learning More About Social Work. If you would like to learn more about team projects and community work, volunteering will help you to learn the basics of cooperation. Our experts at Nerdify reviews are always participating in various social campaigns all over the world as we work hard to help fellow learners find valuable facts and information that may help them. It is not always easy and it is only natural to face certain challenges as everyone will have their opinion. What really matters is the list of things that you learn. As you are making each new step, your social skills will improve as you learn how to listen and express your thoughts. It will help you a great deal as you join college or get a part-time job.

3. Helping to Highlight All The Important Issues. When we discussed volunteering, our Nerdify reviews team suggested mentioning the next fact: when we participate in local or international volunteering projects, we also help to deliver vital information and talk about existing problems. For example, if you are helping to educate children in Nepal or preserve the population of wildlife in South Africa, you already receive a plethora of unique information that can and must be shared with the world. As a volunteer, you can become the voice of all the important issues in 2021 and those of the past.

4. Building Up Confidence and Strong Social Skills. Another important factor that we would like to mention at the Nerdify review relates to building up your confidence and addressing your social skills. If you are not confident enough about talking to people, you have to push yourself and go beyond your comfort zone. In other words, as a volunteer, you are forced to do things that you might not do otherwise. You will feel more confident as you will be able to communicate with people like you that come from all the possible social and cultural backgrounds. It is a great opportunity you should not miss!

5. Getting Ready For Adult Life & Responsibilities. For many people that participate in volunteering projects, it is also an important point that helps them to get ready for adult life as they handle various responsibilities and risks. It is a way to get mature and prepare yourself for college, work, internships, and learn things. If you want to explore your creative horizons and make a positive difference, consider volunteering as a way to test your skills and help others. It is a good way to spend your summer and do something meaningful!

6. Adding Volunteering to Your Resume. Of course, another important reason why summer volunteering matters relates to adding valuable entries to your resume. It can be used when you are looking for a job or when you compose your personal statement letter. Volunteering facts will always make you stand out and will show that you are a responsible and caring individual. Moreover, it is also a reason to consider relevant scholarships.

7. The Mental Aspect. Finally, volunteering just makes you feel happy and grateful for every opportunity that comes your way. You will also make new friends, learn to cooperate, and will see how to find solutions and move forward!

As annoying as they can be to write, cover letters are a common part of many application processes. Whether it’s for a job, college, or academic program, knowing how to write a clean, quick, professional cover letter can make a big difference in the application process.

1. Perform research

No matter the reason for the cover letter, researching who will actually read it is an important first step. Knowing what the company, college, or program is about and their beliefs will help add more detailed touches to a cover letter. These will help the letter stand out from more generic entries.

That doesn’t necessarily mean a person will be directly addressed in a cover letter. However, finding actual people to reference or mention in the letter demonstrates not only research but accurately performed research. Such a vital asset in an academic will not go unnoticed by the reader of the letter.

2. Remember Keywords

That said, as annoying as it is, a lot of cover letters are reviewed by algorithm-based AI. This is less likely when applying to an academic program, but the people reviewing such letters receive thousands upon thousands of them. They likely lack the time to review every single one carefully.

That’s why keywords can help make a difference. Whether these words are reviewed by a computer or a person skimming the letter, they can make a big difference. Sites like Reddit are especially helpful for finding the best keywords to optimize a cover letter.

At the simplest, making use of important words and wordings in the application can make for a great start. Jobs that point out what an “ideal candidate” can provide or has experience in or an academic candidate that has proven “extensive knowledge in the following” and the like are just the most common examples seen in applications.

3. Be direct and confident

Now that it’s time to actually write the cover letter, make sure to be direct and to the point. Fancy words and long-winded sentences may look impressive, but they are not ideal for someone trying sell themselves on the merits of their abilities, a lot of meaningless words are just that; cheap talk to hype up the candidate regardless of their actual abilities and talent.

4. Stay professional

Unless the requirements for the cover letter say otherwise, a concise, professional tone and wording will go a long way to showcasing that this is the cover letter that leads the reader to the ideal candidate. A cover letter is basically a hype man, even if the wording and styling are written in a more formal manner.

At the Nerdify Reviews blog, you can find useful information on how to write in a more formal style, but the general gist is to avoid contractions and keep a respectful distance from the reader.

5. Seek advice

No matter how often someone reviews something, they are going to miss content fresh eyes will easily see. Ideally, having someone to review the cover letter will help a lot to fine-tune the wording and content.

In an academic setting, that means consulting a department counselor or even a student who previously attended or is attending. For jobs, someone in the field can provide vital insight. Going to sites like Reddit can help connect with such experienced individuals.

6. Use firm information

Algorithms and academics love numbers. Making use of them in the cover letter to showcase results and experience demonstrate concrete support of the claims made within the cover letter.

That said, throwing numbers around without purpose and just for the sake of including them reveals lack of actual evidence and more bravado and empty words. Numbers need to be backed up with results and, as with any cover letter, must be direct and to the point.

7. Make use of action words

Passive voice can be hard to avoid, as the previous sentence indicated. A strong cover letter, though, will try to avoid passive voice and make use of action and assertive wording to show not just confidence, but proven confidence.

Again, adding such words just to include them in the letter will make the candidate look weak and attempting to talk a big game with nothing to back up their claims, keep the action direct and relevant. Sources like Reddit reviews can help with finding the right words for just about any situation.

In Conclusion

Cover letters are not, generally, fun to write. They are often ignored or overlooked, and yet, they are still an important part of the application process. That means they need to be dealt with professionally and properly. Simply throwing some words together to appease an application requirement will not draw the reader to their ideal candidate.

Nerdify Reviews experts say that a strong cover letter is written with proven confidence, direct language, and content relevant to the application in question. Researching what to write about and who will be involved in the process can help a cover letter stand out, as can keywords to improve readability.

Cover letters do take time and effort to write, but, when completed, can make the difference between an ignored application and an accepted candidate.

Here is another blog post dedicated to Nerdify reviews of the most interesting and important stuff. This time we want you to meet Chelsey – one of our top Nerds. Hear her out.

Hello, I’m Chelsey. I decided to contribute into Nerdify Reviews topic to share my experience and help people who suffer from the phenomenon of “unhealthy perfectionism”. I see myself as a perfectionist, albeit an unhealthy one. I mentally criticize people (specifically new ones) who I think do not meet my standards or expectations.  

I’m afraid of failure because I always want to be “perfect”. In school, I exert as much effort as I can in my exams. When the results are not in my favor, I would internally beat myself up for not getting the grade I desire. I tend to be overly cautious of taking risks, possibly rooted from my fear of failure. If I stay in my comfort zone, then nothing will happen.

I conducted a short research about perfectionism, and I’d say that (to an extent) I inhibit one of the main signs of a perfectionist. I’m not surprised; perfectionism does have harmful effects on my mental health.

What is Perfectionism?

Perfect means “… being entirely without fault or defect.” Now, if we look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of perfectionism, it means “… to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable.”

In psychology, perfectionism in the psychological field means “… striving for flawlessness and setting high-performance standards….”

If they do not meet such standards, it would take a huge toll on their self-esteem and self-worth. On the same vein, unattained goals and standards would contribute to disappointment and unhappiness. Possibly, even depression.

Why is it a Toxic Trait? 

People usually regard perfectionism as a “positive” trait. I’ve read articles that it is a cliché answer to the job question, “what is your weakness?”

Yes, it can be your weakness. But did you know perfectionism is more than that? Are you aware that it is toxic to your mental health and detrimental to your growth? For the curious soul, here are the reasons why:

You can’t bring yourself to commit mistakes or experience failure, for they make you believe you are incompetent. You have to be ready to face failure in order to be successful.

You don’t celebrate with pure joy and happiness. Instead, your success and achievements are met with scorn and self-criticism. Negative self-talk is what harms your happiness. You are too focused on the negative aspect of things.

You are afraid of being judged. You like other people to see you as a perfect human being (when in fact, you’re not). Perhaps you are hesitant in stating your flaws, as it may ruin your “perfect” self. There’s internal pressure involved too.

Apparently, these reasons are also correlated with the signs of perfectionism. Let us move on.

Five Signs of Perfectionism

1. Setting high (unrealistic) goals and standards

There’s nothing bad in establishing standards and not settling for anything less. It’s not even bad to have high goals. However, creating unrealistic standards and goals is unhealthy because they have to be realistic. Further, you are pressured to accomplish your goal no matter what. You may even have the tendency to expect that everyone has to abide by your… demanding and ultra-high standards. As said by Amy Morin, a psychotherapist. perfectionists are critical of people and expect them to be perfect as well.

2. Fear of failure/Making mistakes and staying within your comfort zone

You set a goal for yourself, but you are afraid of failure. In that regard, you are more inclined to focus on the end results (without fail) rather than enjoying the thrill and experience of achieving your goal.  On the other hand, you refuse to move out of your “shell” because you don’t want to disappoint yourself (or anyone). Hence, you lean towards tasks you can do successfully—100% guaranteed. This brings more harm than good to your mental health and personal growth.

3. Trust issues

According to Elizabeth Lombardo Ph.D., perfectionists rarely delegate tasks because they think that their peers cannot do the job correctly. In practical settings, you don’t trust your colleagues enough if you want to assign them work. In the end, you do everything by yourself.

4. Low self-esteem and unhappiness

Let’s say you are angry with yourself because you failed to reach your goals. You immediately conclude you are inadequate and flawed. It can leave you a feeling of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Kendra Cherry states that fear of failure is a sign of low self-esteem.

5. Negative self-talk and too critical

Perfectionists have the habit of finding faults in their achievements— no matter how small that is. You loathe yourself because you are not good enough. Therefore, your mind ends up being clouded with negative thoughts. You are also too critical of other people. Like I said, perfectionists highly expect their peers to be of “high standard” and “perfect”. This may push (or intimidate) people away. Unfortunately, it can lead to loneliness.

Overcoming Perfectionism: What Can You Do?

1. Accept the realities of life

Let’s do a reality check—you have to acknowledge that everyone, including you, makes mistakes in life. We fail in life— tests, interviews, work, assignments, and etc. At the end of the day, they push us to do better and improve ourselves.  Just like everyone else, you have flaws. Don’t expect people to be exactly like you. Every individual is different. 2

2. Take on the challenge

Risk-taking is hard, as we do not know what is beyond the abyss of the unknown. If you are eyeing an activity that you’ve always wanted to try, go on ahead… don’t be afraid of failure and mistakes. Let go, and experience the “challenge” in all its glory.

3. Be open to learning

We have to reskill to cater to the demands of the 21st century. Skills are also a plus point in the workforce. When you are learning, always remember that everyone starts out as a noob or a newbie.

4. Set realistic goals and standards

Be grounded in reality! It’s fine to have high standards, but they have to be realistic. Use your standards as a guide or a framework, rather as an absolute ideal.  Also, make your goals feasible (Remember SMART?). Again, don’t let failure bring you down. Failure does not mean that you are garbage, and it does not define who you are. As said by Oscar the Grouch, “just because you’re trash doesn’t mean you can’t do great things. It is called garbage can, not garbage cannot.”

Don’t forget to reward yourself if you achieved something big or small. Bring nothing but good vibes ☺

5. Learn to trust and delegate tasks

This is a leap of fate you must take. If you are overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to ask your colleague for assistance. You have to learn to understand and work with your peers. Bear in mind that you can’t do everything by yourself all the time. 

After reading about perfectionism, I realized that I need to work on myself. I’d say that it was an eye-opening experience. Perfectionism is embedded in my psyche, and it will be a challenge to completely get rid of it. I hope this article has made you reflect on yourself.

How about you? Do you consider yourself as a perfectionist?

xoxo, Chelsey

More Nerdify reviews to come, stay tuned!