List Volunteer Work in Your Resume

One of the best ways to highlight some of your essential skills and give your resume more substance is to include volunteer experience. 

Including volunteer work is a good approach and adds a unique and personal touch that sets you apart from candidates who only list professional experiences. 

People who do volunteer work develop a lot of hard and soft skills which is a positive and effective point for them to add to their resume.   

Can volunteering compensate for a lack of work experience in a particular field? If so, how? If you have yet to gain relevant experience, volunteering is a great approach to describe to the hiring managers how your skill set qualifies you for the position you want.

Volunteering often involves a range of skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and adaptability.

These skills are transferable to various professional settings and can enhance your overall employability.

In this article, we will discuss 

• What is volunteer work 
• Benefits of listing volunteer work
• Listing Volunteer Work on Resume
• Relevant or irrelevant to the job 

What is the Volunteer Work

Unpaid work done in support of people, organizations, or causes. Individuals and organizations freely give up their time and skills without expecting any profit in return.

Various objectives include the desire to make a positive influence, experience, and community development.

Benefits of Listing Volunteer Work:

Volunteer work can be included on a resume for several reasons:

• To give information on transferable skills for people wishing to change careers or jobs.
• To provide context when there are gaps in your resume because you took a long break from the job.
• To add a resume with less than work experience (crucial for recent college or high school grads

Does volunteer work count as experience? Should you put volunteer work on a resume? You can add it to the work experience section if it is related to your job. Anyone applying to work in fields where volunteer work is highly regarded, such as academic positions or non-profit organizations, may find it helpful to add to the resume.

Listing Volunteer Work on Resume:

You should include several essential components in your resume when composing it. 

The following samples will teach you how to have volunteer work on a resume.

Name and Contact

List down your full name and also write your phone number. Remember, don't use a business email address. Your mailing address and professional portfolio are examples of optional information.

Work experience

Highlight your experience in powerful keywords to highlight your abilities. Put the most recent three to five relevant experiences above if you have extensive professional experience. 

Consider adding your roles to the professional background area if you have little or no experience. 

Education 

List Relevant Skills: 

Include positive buzzwords and phrases to highlight your skills. List down the skills you have developed from volunteer work. 

If volunteer work allows you to acquire or develop new skills, be sure to mention these skills in the volunteer job description.

Take note of any abilities that might also be valuable to your prospective employers.

Important achievements and projects  

Here's another chance to outline any specifications the employer put in the job description. List down your achievements and awards you have got in volunteer work. 

Highlight your volunteer work projects if you have. If you don't have projects to mention, then you can highlight your personal projects. 

Resume Format Selection

If you want to highlight your volunteer experience on a resume, then chronological resume format is best to use as it highlights work experience.

Relevant or Irrelevant to the Job 

Job-Related Volunteer Work on the Resume

If your volunteer work shows transferable skills and is relevant to the position, you can add it to the work experience section. 

Highlight the organization's name and successes in the position. You can add the dates when the company employed you. 

If the organization you are applying to is a charity or non-profit or offers corporate volunteering, mention your volunteer experience.

Use our resume templates to highlight your volunteer work experience effectively.

Unrelated Volunteer Experience on Resume

If the volunteer work is unrelated to your job, create a separate resume section for volunteer work or community involvement below your work experience section. 

Even if the volunteer experience is not closely related to your industry or the skills needed for the position you seek, it still shows you are a well-rounded person with varying interests.

You can highlight your problem-solving skills while listing your volunteer experience. You can add it by mentioning the heading "Volunteer Experience" or "Additional Activities," depending on what's listed.

FAQs:

Q1: Do you list volunteer work on a CV?

Adding volunteer work to your CV is essential for several reasons. It allows you to fill in the gaps between jobs, work, and study and highlight skills you have learned.

Q2: What is the best volunteer for a resume?

Examples of volunteer work that improve a resume include fundraising, tutoring, providing meals or clothing to those in need, or contributing through the arts.

Q3: Is volunteering a hobby CV?

If your hobbies include volunteer work, consider listing those experiences in a "Volunteering" section or within your work experience rather than the hobbies section.