Yeni Singawidjaya: From volunteering to a new career

Yeni Singawidjaya remembers being told by her parents in Jakarta that she needed to be technically competent to gain a well-paid job. Yeni, a seventh generation Chinese, followed their advice and studied diligently at the University of Hawaii to gain a computer degree. She lived there with a relative between 1974 and 1978 while attending university and returned to Jakarta after graduating to start her first job in IT.

As skilled migrants, Yeni, her husband Johanes and their two small children, came to Australia in 1988. Her first job in Australia was with the University of Sydney as a junior programmer and then senior programmer. Later, Yeni joined Fuji Xerox as a project leader and then as a project manager and business analyst. She accepted a voluntary redundancy in 2003.

However, it is her recent experience in volunteering that has prepared her for a new working life. "I wanted to do something different and I got that chance. I wanted to know anything outside IT. I wanted to see what was out there," she said.

"I first started in volunteering by attending the Bridge to Volunteering course at The Centre for Volunteering. That was pretty interesting because we had to list things we were interested in doing. I listed teaching and call centre work. I began by becoming a liaison officer. The role involved updating a database, phoning The Centre's NFP members to confirm their volunteer referral needs and making follow-up calls to members to check various details about volunteer referral and insurance.

"At the same time, I was also applying for a volunteer job to teach cooking to seniors at the Christian Community Centre at North Ryde. Now I have six students and, while they have a whole day of activities, my role is to teach cooking for an hour and a quarter. I enjoy it very much. I have to have an understanding of what food my students like, too, because some seniors have health problems and some don't like spicy food. Generally, I do simple things such as soups, quiches and vegetarian dishes."

With a passionate interest in cooking and food technology, Yeni has enrolled in a food technology course at TAFE. Armed with a reference from The Centre for Volunteering, she is now also back in the paid workforce. She has a new job with a major department store. "I have a lot of confidence doing this job because of my experience in volunteering. I am in the customer service area – bridal, gift-wrapping, bill-paying and lay-by. It's a new experience and I am enjoying it so much!"

Yeni explained that the four months spent volunteering with The Centre helped build her confidence and indeed was a very positive experience. "How would I sum up the whole experience of volunteering? What have I gained? Am I satisfied? I am doing something that I want to do. There is no pressure to do the work as in a paid job. It's work you do because you like doing it. Also, it is something of a test for myself. I like doing new things. I feel I can contribute to society and the community using whatever experience I have from my professional and cultural background."

Yeni now happily spends her week teaching cooking, studying food subjects and working in customer service in a department store – and that's proof that there certainly is life after job redundancy.

Did Yeni inspire you to volunteer? Find out how you can become a volunteer.