Adding Volunteer Experience to Your Resume: A Sample Guide
6 min read
When you think of volunteering, what springs to mind?
Helping to build a school in Uganda? Selling cookies door-to-door for the girl scouts? Giving up a few hours a week to dole out tasty soup at a homeless shelter?
Volunteering comes in all shapes and sizes… and at all times of life. If you’re a busy mom with a full time job, the chances are that you won’t have time to volunteer as you’ve got enough on your plate. But if you do have the time, volunteering can be a rewarding and worthwhile pastime.
It can:
Bring self-worth and a true sense of accomplishment.
Give you the chance to meet like-minded people.
Boost a feeling of wellbeing.
Help a cause close to your heart, such as environmental, animal welfare, or education.
Expand your skill set.
And it is this last point that’s the one this post is going to focus on when it comes to adding volunteer work on your resume--your skills.
If you’ve dismissed including your voluntary roles on your resume, because you don’t think they are worth championing, think again. Being a volunteer can provide you with so much experience and skills that to leave it off your resume would be a crime in itself!
Of course, listing hobbies and interests on a resume is normally reserved for those with little or no work experience. Still, inserting relevant volunteer work on a resume is pretty essential, if it is relevant, as it can show you off in a different light and hone in on your other interests outside of work.
Expert Tip
It’s best to only include volunteer work that is relevant to the job you are applying for, which means customizing your resume each time.
According to a survey carried out by Volunteer Logistics, roughly 63 million Americans volunteer on a regular basis.
Wow! That is a lot of cookies!
It equates to about a quarter of the adult population, with the main focus of volunteering being on tutoring, coaching, environmental clean-ups, and animal care. Think of all of those skills that are amassing!
What is volunteering?
First off, though, let’s clear up exactly what volunteering is, and what it entails. When you volunteer, you are offering up your time and labor for free, to do something that will benefit others. It can either be an informal or formal arrangement between you and a charity, a neighbor, a friend, or whoever you are giving up your time to.
When you should include volunteer work on resume
Not everyone will need to include volunteer work on their resume. As with all things, when compiling a resume, you have to decide what is best for you.
However, there are times when including volunteer work on your resume is a good idea.
If you are going through a career change, and the volunteer work you do has particular relevance to your new career path.
If you have little or no professional experience i.e. if you are still at high school or college, or are a recent graduate.
There is a gap in your resume, and you want to show that you didn’t waste your time during that period.
You are aiming for a step up the career ladder into management or a leadership role, and you want to emphasize those skills even though you haven’t used them within a professional capacity.
Expert Tip
If you are an experienced worker with many years of relevant experience, it is best to omit any volunteering experience as it will be seen as a waste of space on your resume.
What skills do you gain from volunteering?
Of course, it totally depends on what you undertake in a voluntary role, but there will be many transferable and soft skills you’ll develop over time. These can include relationship building, leadership, time management, problem resolution, people management, and organizational skills.
For example, if you regularly help out at the local food bank, you could gain skills such as effective communication, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
Examples of volunteer work on a resume
There are several different ways in which you can include volunteer work on a resume. See below for some examples of how this can be done.
Changing careers
If you’re embarking on a new adventure and have relevant voluntary work, treat it like part of your Career Summary. You can give it the heading of Relevant Work / Voluntary Experience. The client below is a Paralegal who is hoping to train as an Attorney, and took on a voluntary role with a local firm to gain valuable experience.
VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY Aug 2019 - Apr 2020
Volunteer Legal Services, Oakland, CA
Played a key role in assisting self-represented litigants in court by drafting orders after hearings as well as resolving child custody, visitation and child support conflicts.
Meticulously prepared judicial council forms at the Family Law Clinic for individuals acting as their own attorneys.
Key Achievements
Successfully represented a client who had mental health issues with their legal documents.
Received the Wiley Manuel Certificate for Pro Bono Legal Services.
Starting afresh
If you haven’t been part of the job market for a while, undertaking some volunteering can be a foot in the door to the career of your choice. This job seeker had been a stay-at-home mom, but is now ready to get back into the workplace, with the eventual idea to train as a teacher. Being a Volunteer Teaching Assistant was the ideal route for her to start.
VOLUNTEER TEACHING ASSISTANT Sep 2021 - Jun 2022
St Charles Elementary
Primarily focused on supporting the class teacher by helping to manage behavior in a Grade 1 class.
Prepared learning materials and helped children who needed extra support with completing tasks.
Adopted a firm yet approachable manner in order to supervise pupils.
Taking a break
If you have a gap within the Work Experience section, you can fill it with valid volunteering work, to show that you weren’t just sitting around playing GTA all day!
Career Break May 2022 - Nov 2022
Undertook conservation work at two rehabilitation centers in Borneo, SE Asia, as a volunteer with orangutans.
Developed skills in animal care, relationship building, and teamwork.
New to the world of work
For recent grads, volunteering work is vital as there might not be much more within the resume. The graduate below has offered up three different types of voluntary work that he carried out, using a dedicated section to display it all.
Voluntary Work
Volunteer, Railway Land Wildlife Trust, CA 2021 - Present
Tasked as a key member of the Youth Action Project, learning conservation skills and gaining an understanding of how a small charity functions.
Volunteer, ABC University, Salt Lake City, UT May 2021
Methodically collected data on species inhabiting the university campus.
Junior Baseball Coach Volunteer, Boston Baseball Club 2017 / 2018
Planned, prepared and delivered coaching sessions to under 10s.
Adding extra detail
While incorporating a section with your hobbies is not always advised, in some circumstances it can add value. This client wanted to portray leadership qualities that she didn’t possess within her working life, so this was the perfect way to do it.
Hobbies & Interests
Away from the Technical Account Manager world, I enjoy volunteering for a Mexican charity where I have gained skills in people management and team building.
Expert Tip
Dovetail the attributes you’ve gained from volunteer work, such as time management skills, to the job you want by including appropriate keywords and key phrases from the job advert… as long as they apply.
Can you use volunteer work as a reference?
There is no reason not to as long as the reference you choose knows you well enough, and can write a comprehensive reference that highlights all your good points that lean in towards the job description. They would also be great when you need a personal reference.
Reach for interview success
If you feel it is time to update the volunteer work on your resume, first consider whether it is appropriate to have it on there.
If it’s relevant, that’s a big yes!
If you’re a graduate with little or no work experience, that’s another affirmative.
Best of luck with your ongoing job search.
Once you have added on your volunteer work, use ZipJob’s free resume review tool to assess the whole document and see if it is job-ready. The review will offer up a clear oversight of where to improve your resume, so check it out today!
Recommended reading:
6 Ways Volunteering Can Help Your Job Search and Advance Your Career
Adding Part-Time or Contract Work to Your Resume (+ Examples)
10 Examples of Negative Behavior in the Workplace And Tips for Dealing with It
Written by
Elizabeth Openshaw, Editor & Content Writer, Elizabeth Openshaw, Editor & Content Writer
Elizabeth Openshaw is an Elite CV Consultant with over 12 years of experience based in Brighton, UK, with an English degree and an addiction to Wordle! She is a former Journalist of 17 years with the claim to fame that she interviewed three times Grand Slam winner and former World No.1 tennis player, Andy Murray, when he was just 14 years old. You can connect with her at Elizabeth Openshaw | LinkedIn.
