How To List Volunteer Work Experience on a Resume

When her husband lost his job, a full-time parent found that her volunteer work history kept the family afloat. A new college grad with less-than-stellar academics celebrated when his on-campus leadership roles landed him a management trainee position. These are two examples of how unpaid work, showcasing skills, character, and work ethic, have helped my clients land jobs.

Volunteering can be an effective way to develop or maintain existing skills, develop relationships, and establish references for future job searches. If you have given your time and energy to civic causes, consider discussing them on your resume and LinkedIn profile. Making a difference in your community can make a difference in your career.

Understanding the Value of Volunteer Experience

Volunteer experience shows employers you care about a cause bigger than yourself, are industrious, and are likely a team player — all traits they want in employees. In addition, your involvement with an organization over several years indicates loyalty and consistency.

Many skills you develop and use in your unpaid work are valued in the job market and are transferable, meaning they are used in multiple jobs. Employers categorize them either as soft or hard skills.

Soft skills are interpersonal skills and traits that influence how you do your work. Examples include leadership, finding solutions, public speaking, time management, creativity, and customer service. They are crucial for success in any job, regardless of industry or role.

Hard skills are objective, measurable abilities you learned via training, on your job or internship, or as part of your education. They may be transferable depending on your target job. A few examples are proficiency with Microsoft Office or other software; plumbing; carpentry; financial forecasting; bookkeeping; and HIPAA knowledge.

When To Include Volunteer Work on Your Resume

When it enhances your work history

• You’ve been out of the workforce for awhile.
• You have gaps in employment or have frequently changed jobs in a short period of time.
• You are a high school or college student.
• You want to change careers, and your volunteer experience has given you some necessary related skills.
• You are currently employed, have room on your resume, and simply want to show other interests.

When it is relevant to your target job

Does it demonstrate skill sets or industry knowledge related to your target job? In the case of our college student with a management trainee offer, his leadership of an on-campus first-responder team demonstrated his organization of others. It also showed an ability to work under pressure and find solutions to issues — necessary skills for a manager.

How To Show Volunteer Work on Your Resume

The placement

Depending on your situation, you have choices about where you list your unpaid work.

• If you have no paid work experience in the past few years but have substantial volunteer experience, list it like you would a paying job under your Experience heading. Follow with your earlier jobs in reverse chronological order — from most recent to least recent.
• If you are a student or working professional, you can create a dedicated section to detail your unpaid experience, such as “Other Related Experience,” “Campus Involvement,” and “Civic Leadership.”

The description

• Be sure to detail your responsibilities and the contributions you made. Focus the description so the skills related to your target job are evident, just as you would when writing about a paying job.
  • Use active verbs and quantify results when you can.
  • Indicate your scope of responsibility – projects or parts of projects, the number of people you supervised, or the amount of money you managed.
• · Briefly share information about the organization’s mission and scope to give your reader context.

Tailoring Volunteer Experience to the Job Description

Here are some tips for highlighting specific volunteer experiences that demonstrate the skills and qualities sought after in the job listing.

• Review the job posting of interest for keywords, knowledge, and skills desired by the employer. Assess which of your volunteer experiences provided those skills or knowledge bases and list them on the resume in reverse chronological order.
• If you have many volunteer experiences to choose from, select the ones that will most effectively develop your skills and knowledge.

Examples of Volunteer Experience on a Resume

Full-Time Parent Returning to the Workforce

Career Changer – from Management to Event Planning

Recent College Graduate

Tips for Successfully Using Volunteer Work on a Resume

• Be selective about which volunteer experiences you show. Carefully curate what goes on the document using those that have the most relevance and the most responsibility. For example, coordinating a Girl Scout troop’s annual cookie sale is more impressive than making a few sales calls to neighbors. However, if your career goal is a sales position and you were the No. 1 producer in your troop, emphasize that achievement.
• Apply judgment to political and religious activities. In today’s polarized society, it’s a good idea to evaluate how they might be received by your target audience before displaying them on the resume.
• Show loyalty and dedication by listing roles that required more than a one-day commitment and those where you played an integral role.
• Show the value and impact you had on the organization or population you served. When possible, quantify results.

Enhancing Your Resume with resumetemplates.com

Use professional templates

Use a professional resume template that accommodates volunteer experiences effectively.

Find inspiration

Look at these sample templates that effectively incorporate volunteer work for entry-level employees and students.

Apply action words

Choose from this list of action verbs to vividly describe contributions and achievements in volunteer roles.

Carolyn Couch

Certified Master Coach and Academy Certified Resume Writer

Carolyn Couch is a Certified Master Coach, Academy Certified Resume Writer, and Certified Etiquette Consultant. Over the past 20 years, she has helped thousands of professionals start, reinvent, and advance their careers with confidence.