Volunteer Spotlight: Volunteering Ignites Passion for Career Change

Volunteering ignites passion for career change
Article by Volunteering Northland Reporter Janine Duncan

Through volunteering, Soizic Cutforth has secured her dream job as Customer Services Librarian at Whangārei Library; combining her love of books, libraries and helping others.

Originally from France, Soizic, her New Zealand born husband, and four children immigrated to Whangārei in 2021. After several years living in Paris, they sought a lifestyle change, wanted to be closer to her husband’s family, and their children to experience life in New Zealand.

Upon settling in Whangārei, Soizic decided to focus on family, following a busy corporate career in London and Paris as a Personal Assistant, and most recently, a Learning Co-Ordinator for L’Oreal. Having a lifelong passion for reading, she became a regular user of the central library, and through a chance encounter with a volunteer, discovered vacancies for volunteer shelvers. After making further enquiries, Soizic jumped at the opportunity to join the team, and commenced volunteering in February 2022. This decision would eventually change the course of her life, and she has never looked back.

Initially volunteering at least three times a week, she says “it was a really good way to feel part of the community and I felt as if I was receiving as much as I was giving.” For Soizic, it established a sense of routine, enabled her to meet people, and indulged a love of sourcing books for both her, and her family. As her first volunteering experience, she was pleasantly surprised at the staff’s gratitude. “They were very friendly; I was amazed they always thanked me, and I felt appreciated.”

While shelving, she found library users would sometimes approach her with enquiries. Immediately, she discovered a passion for customer services and found helping others deeply satisfying. From this point on, Soizic knew working in a library greatly appealed, and seeking a career change, began applying for positions with the organisation.

Although her initial applications were unsuccessful, Soizic continued to persevere. Despite not having library qualifications, she believed she was highly capable, and considered her transferrable skills from past employment would be greatly beneficial.

Eventually, her persistence was rewarded and Soizic was “so excited” upon being appointed Customer Services Librarian in March 2025. She has no regrets over the time taken to secure her dream job, and believes the additional experience and knowledge gained through volunteering strengthened and gave more credibility to her applications.

Having been in her role for nearly four months, Soizic is very happy and has found her ideal fit, forte and niche. Currently working four days a week, her time is divided between the central and branch libraries. She wants to “keep giving more to the library, be the best she can be in her position, put a smile on people’s faces,” and ensure the customer’s experience is as stress free as possible.

Soizic’s story is an example of the ways volunteering can ignite a passion for a career path, and open doors to job opportunities.

To aspiring volunteers, her advice is “you receive more than you give, and you’re not just giving your time, you are learning from the experience.”